Notes on the Need for Beauty: An Intimate Look at Essential Quality

by J. Ruth Gendler

The introduction of this book reads, "Beauty, like every other quality -- courage, fear, ugliness, trust, truth, wisdom -- is a part of us and apart from us, inside us and outside us, personal and impersonal. Beauty invites us to build bridges and make connections between the senses and the soul, between contemplation and expression, between ourselves and the world." In this wide-ranging and deeply felt book, artist and writer J. Ruth Gendler invites us to reclaim and celebrate the often misunderstood quality of beauty as one of the most profound and essential forces in our lives. Drawing upon observations from art and mythology, science and nature, contemporary culture and personal experience, the author looks at her subject in its most generous implications -- not simply as a reflection of surface and image, but as a pathway to wholeness, integrity, coherence, and ultimately, to love. Written with curiosity, courage, a discerning eye and a lyrical sensibility, and illustrated with evocative line drawings by the author, Notes on the Need for Beauty displays the strong personal voice that has made her previous book, The Book of Qualities so beloved. It is a work to savor and to share.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 25, 2007

Reviews

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

In our modern world, the word beauty has changed into something restrictive and judgmental. We are convinced that that actors and supermodels are beautiful and we as ordinary people will never achieve such status. It seems that we've lost that joyful imagination that we had as a child. A time when our parents told us we were beautiful and we knew it to be true, without question. When we all saw the beauty in a flower, in a rainbow, or in our favorite shirt.

Notes in the Need for Beauty takes beauty back where it belongs. This work is almost poetic in feel. To me, this work gently guided me into the world of the artist who still sees the beauty in everyday things. As I continued, I began regaining a little bit of my child self. In doing so, I felt lighter and the world seemed to be a much more beautiful place.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is whimsical, playful, and artistic and meaningful, opening the reader's eyes to new conceptions of beauty and ways of seeing and understanding the world. At times I felt the book went too slow, but in fact, the pace is essential to the experience of the book and the lessons regarding curiosity and delight that it offers. Overall, I loved it!

[Kathy Durand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. Beautifully written. Totally lived up to my expectations that were based on The Book of Qualities. This book is like poetry in narrative form. I could go back and read sections or chapters and be totally enthralled again.

[Wendy Esterly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this and most of it is highlighted, lol! I believe we are here to create beauty and that beauty is an energy, so was completely delighted to find this book, describing beauty exactly as that. It just seeps into your soul and warms you to the core.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gendler presents a lovely, quiet series of meditations on beauty - our yearning for it, our creation of beauty, understanding and finding the beauty in what we consider ugly, body image, and spiritual expression. The written meditations are interspersed with Gendler's visual meditations, line drawings. Recommended for spiritual writing groups, individuals, and small spiritual groups.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first chapter was perfect but it got a little tedious and too 'new age-y' after that. More of a book you pick up and get a taste of than something you chow down on.