Confessions of a Taoist on Wall St.

by David Payne

Book Overview

Sun I, the illegitimate son of an American aviator and a Chinese beauty, leaves his remote Taoist monastery to find his father on Wall Street and is caught up in the way to wealth and power of the other Tao.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345326962
• ISBN13: 9780345326966
• Release Date: November 1985
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 10 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Wishing there were more than the 800+ pages

He rings the bell often for any who have ever delved into and admired philosophical Taoism, but not without a price as paid to Christianity, contemporary Judaism and Acquisitionism... Payne has obviously paid his dues in all quarters and more importantly, to erudition. A masterful work complete with episodic prose-poetry.

Happy to see it's still here and loved...

I, too, read this book several years ago and remember it vividly. For a long time it was almost like a bible for me. I carried it everywhere, would read parts of it to friends. I found that it engaged every emotion. I particularly enjoyed the first part, where the"orphan' boy sets out on his journey from the great canyons of China to find his father in the great canyons of Wall Street. Every scene is vivid and gripping, especially the one in which he comes upon the great panda bear - a terrifying and thrilling omen (no cuddly stereotyping here!) This is a book that is very funny and mysterious at the same time, a combination of gloppy egg foo yung and stirring oriental mysticism. (With a little deli thrown in for variety). How did he manage to do it? This writer is a magician and "Confessions" is a literary classic - your loss if you miss it.

years later and it is with me still

I love his work. It is compelling and beautiful and this is his most incredible story. It is about adventure, family, love and the search for self. It is a life changing book and I wish he would hurry up with that sequel to Ruin Creek!

I highly recommend this book!

This book is a book of a lifetime. It is a book that I respect and pay tribute to. David Paynes masterpiece! East to West this story implants characters and circumstances that cultivate your mind. This book is an inspiration to entering life and its stages.

An Wonderful Romance. Every Orphan's Dream.

This book carried me away. I was stuck thinking about it for years. David Payne followed this book with "Early From the Dance". He is a moving writer. You could think of him as a cross between J.R.R. Tolkien and Anne Tyler. Go ahead, read it, you'll see what I mean.