As the author states, western interest in eastern religion, and feminism has greatly expanded the interest in Kuan-Yin, but it also misappropriated, either smearing her and other female goddesses into a translucent light blue, elevator muzak "great goddess". This makes learning more about the worship and ritual of this goddess a treacherous course, with a lot of books in the market not really discussing anything of the fascinating unique Chinese beliefs (in fact, this can be said about the entire "neo-pagan" mavement).
Having recently travelled with my wife and in-laws to Hong Kong, and escorted my chinese wife and mother-in-law to the Wong Tai Sin temple during the Chinese New Year, I wanted to learn more about the indigenous beliefs and history of Guan-Yin, and eventually decided on Chun-Fang Yu's book.
Like Walter Burkett's Greek Religion, it is not a light, fluffy telling of tales, but a detailed exploration of the goddesses origin, sources and changes in both myth and ritual over time. She starts with the original, the MALE indian bodhisattva Avelokitesvara, and the source suttras, and then discusses how it became a female goddess. The text is amazingly well researched and thorough.
However, the additional pleasure in the novel comes from Yu's own personal experience with Guan-Yin, starting with her grandmother, and this direct connection is interwoven throughout the book, so instead of a dry scholarly approach, we have a book created by an author whose approach to a loving topic is not to skim over it, but to pursue it in full depth. I can't think of a better tribute.
