Title: Viglets: PITHY WISDOM for a Balanced Life
Author: Viggo P. Hansen
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1456753231
Pages: 88
Genre: Self-Help & Psychology Humor
Reviewed by: David Allen
Hollywood Book Reviews
We know how the meek shall inherit the earth. How about the wry? Or the droll and lyrical?
Viggo P. Hansen, your time has come – stand up and get counted. Hansen, ever handy with a clever turn of phrase, is a writer and educator in mathematics. He is also a generous gift giver: witness this collection of ‘Viglets,’ a handy set of poems, aphorisms and reflections on contemporary digital life.
Viglets are pretty much whatever you want them to be. Sometimes they rhyme (the ones in this collection happen to chime), and sometimes they don’t. Hansen invites readers to share the wealth, providing many fun opportunities to sit back, reflect, take a breath, and compose. (The book is in a sense interactive, with blank Viglet pages there for inspired readers to fill in.)
Tongue in cheek is the rule of the day: the book is ‘dedicated to all who daily see their lives being trampled on by sassy electrons in cute boxes. It is time to rise up.’ Viglets are a Luddite’s dream. According to Hansen, Viglets may be mankind’s only hope for salvation. They are remedies for the modern ailments of polarization, black and white thinking, Yin and Yang, all-or-nothing categories. (Hey, the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.)
Uninformed, I thought the name ‘Viggo’ was perhaps a nickname, another expression of the author’s playfulness. So, I went online. Wrong! Viggo is a Nordic man’s name, stemming from the old Norse ‘vig’: “battle, or fight.” In this collection, the battle lines are well drawn in a world “rapidly succumbing to computers and apps.” Hansen’s preoccupations are clear, including but not limited to freeway traffic, stupid groupthink, flatus…and how to escape these.
Pick up a pen (crayon or pencil will also serve): There are no rules – whatsoever. / And that’s truly true. / Oops, I forgot – there is one / You must have fun. / That is how a Viglet is begun. And: True beauty is not far / It is usually in a special jar / That can only be opened / By a specialist like / You. After all is said and done / Who has really won? / The one who got it / Done.
When it comes to creativity – and relevance, and contemporaneity – the sky’s the limit. Sections of the book are devoted to Viglets and Time; Viglets and Food; Philosophical Viglets; Practical Viglets…and Rambling Viglets, too.
I’m reminded here of Boswell’s Life of Johnson, and Tristam Shandy, fast forwarded to the I.T. age. The insouciance and cheer are here for the taking. Step right up and log on.