Book Review: Lifting the Wheel of Karma by Paul H. Magid

The lessons of Karma are sometimes quick and available for all eyes to see. The action seems quite obvious. Yet there are the times when Karma is slow to deliver, those times when the receiver may feel that he has eluded the wheel of fate as Karma takes time, and ponders the truth and possibilities of redemption itself.

Paul H. Magid has given us an exciting and strange adventure into the realm of Karma, and what might happen when past and present meet. In Lifting the Wheel of Karma, we follow the life of Joseph Connell, a young man from Montana. He is loved by his family and leads a life as many young men do, but what sets him apart are the visions and nightmares he cannot seem to escape. They change who he is and set him apart from others.

Joseph’s life takes a turn when he is injured in an accident, but it also brings a knowledgeable old Wiseman into his life, one who lives well hidden in the Himalayas of India. The meeting is quick and yet powerful. Knowing his life will never be the same, Joseph understands that he must convince the man to reveal the secrets he knows, in order for Joseph himself to understand the torment he has been undergoing. What is it that brought this man into his life? Can knowledge finally bring about the peace that Joseph is looking for?

Magid has taken the life of a young man that seems so normal on the outside, and given us a deep and magnetic look at how dreams and nightmares may be more than just that, but a possible doorway into other lives that may have been. He creates characters that have depth and pain, people you can be drawn to for their very normalcy. The family he creates resonates with feeling about each other, so much so that the story is very reminiscent of our own family moments.

Magid takes us from Montana and the wide open spaces, with the quiet peace and transplants us into the hustle and bustle of India, full of people and color, with beliefs that are quite varying. The change is such a shock in culture, and yet as Joseph finally finds his wise man, he is immersed back into the quiet he is more used too. The characters continue to grow and evolve, with new ones added, each with a place in this story of life.

His descriptions of the scenes and places make you feel like you are there. You can see the sky and the colors; you can feel the atmosphere. It is as though you too are on this journey and have a stake in the outcome.

If you enjoy mysteries and myths, or just a good story, you will find this to be a great example. If you wonder about Karma, or the mystics, Magid has done an amazing job of giving us a place to start. Once I picked up this story I could not put it down, each turn of the page just took me deeper. I found it to be both interesting and enlightening. Magid is an author to watch for.