MindScope Seven’s Silent, But Superhero, aims to help readers overcome “obstacles” in order to live life “as Authentic Self.” Unfortunately, the book is more puzzling than illuminating.
Readers are never told who MindScope Seven is or what she does. Likewise, an oft-cited woman named Beatrix, an abused child and now a successful businesswoman, remains an ethereal character whose vague stories tend to confuse.
The book alternates between the author’s wordy musings on various self-help topics—from “solution-based thinking” to the danger of assumptions to the lessons of the life of Jesus—and Beatrix’s personal story. While Beatrix’s segments are titled, there’s no delineation when Seven assumes control of the narrative, leaving us to wonder momentarily which one is speaking. And who is Beatrix in relation to the author? A friend? A family member?
Beatrix obviously has a message to share, but her stories are frustratingly nebulous. “This time, I was at the hands of very dangerous and powerful people,” she states at the end of a long monologue, but never mentions who these people are and why they’re dangerous. Later, Beatrix talks about a strange man who unexpectedly protects her—but similarly never explains who he is or what he’s protecting her from.
When Seven takes over the prose, her religious, business and philosophical advice is, for the most part, abstract and unfocused. Oddly, the author’s writing shines in her summaries of historical atrocities, different generations and socioeconomic groups, and a section called “Beauty and Fashion Trends That Killed People.” The points about corsets, foot binding and high collars are interesting, although they don’t belong here.
Had the author concentrated on fleshing out Beatrix’s stories or shaped this into a business book on getting ahead or a Christian volume on faith, it might have worked. As is, Silent, But Superhero can’t decide what it wants to be and requires too much work from readers to be effective.
Also available in hardcover and ebook.
