Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah is a book I could easily read ten times through and still have more to understand and learn from. The book can be interpreted in infinite ways. But one aspect is for sure, Donald Shimoda is a reluctant messiah. He possesses divine knowledge and power, which unfortunately for his character, people have come to recognize. They flock to him for advice they don't believe they are capable of giving themselves. Shimoda does not, and perhaps cannot, desire to be a glorious messiah. His solution: simply pass his job to another . . . Richard Bach. What he chooses could easily be viewed as the most cowardly decision, but seems to lead him to happiness, as quoted from the novel, ". . .he went his way through the crowds and left them, and he returned to the everyday world of men and machines." Illusions is an excellent book, laced with advice and wisdom. Advice including, "You teach best what you most need to learn." and "Argue with your limitations and sure enough they're yours.", both which stem from a handbook, given to messiahs to cultivate an advanced soul. This novel is truely a handbook not only to the messiah, but to all who read it. Although at times, Illusions was difficult for me to fully grasp, it opens up a new world of ideas to me; the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. The writing itself, though not complicated, I sometimes was forced to read over in order to understand. However, Mr. Bach does connect the reader with the characters and incorporates enough emotion so that they become real, and thus the characters are more easy to relate to. I recommend Illusions to anyone from the casual reader searching for a good read to someone searching for a new outlook on life.