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=                 The_Kin_of_Ata_Are_Waiting_for_You                 =
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                            Introduction
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'The Kin of Ata are Waiting for You' (1971) is a  novel by American
writer Dorothy Bryant.  It deals with the idea of how the negation of
dreams as a guide to life affects the real world. Author Alice Walker
has described it as "one of my favorite books in all the world".

The book has been cited in a number of academic articles and
text-books in the fields of philosophy, psychology, and law.

The book was first published as a novella by Evan Press in 1971, under
the title 'The Comforter: A Mystical Fantasy.' Although it was
initially rejected by major publishing houses, despite the success of
the author's first novel, its publication led to the inception of
Bryant's private publishing business, the Ata Press. 'Kin' was
subsequently picked up for publication by Random House, a major
publisher, and has remained in print for over 30 years. The novel has
a cult following among feminists, psychologists, and teachers of
religious studies.


                            Plot summary
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After murdering a lover, and crashing his car while fleeing the scene
of the crime, a ruthlessly "successful" man is transported to an
unknown island (called Ata) whose location is never revealed, the
implication being that it doesn't physically exist in our world. The
island is inhabited by people he gradually learns are deceptively
primitive. Every aspect of their waking lives is governed by their
dream life. Initially in conflict with their ways, the unnamed
protagonist, according to Bryant, "is dragged kicking and screaming to
his own salvation." He gradually comes to realize that the people of
this island support and maintain the real world through their
dreaming, and that he needs to incorporate this world view so he can
successfully return to his former life. It can be read as an allegory
of spiritual growth, and shows the influence of modern anthropological
writings on indigenous peoples and the writings of psychologist Carl
Jung.


                             Reception
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Spider Robinson praised the novel as "a deeply spiritually rewarding
book" featuring "some of the cleanest, sparest, 'simplest' prose I've
seen all year."


                           External links
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*[http://www.holtuncensored.com/members/column311.html#dorothy Holt
Uncensored - online literary review column by Patricia Holt]
*[http://www.iblist.com/book29718.htm Internet Book List page for this
work.]


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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kin_of_Ata_Are_Waiting_for_You