The Painful Dance

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Singh’s preface begins: “This book contains two stories which is
hoped to inspire many with its moralistic message. The (first) story ...
offers learning to young children about compassion and living in
harmony. The second story ... is written for teenage and adult readers,
and is hoped to awaken the mind of anyone seeking the path of
knowledge.”

Two very different tales follow. The first, titled “The Dancing
Rooster,” is about a conceited chicken whose uncontrollable
selfishness continually lands him in trouble. Although the theme is
commendable, Singh’s narrative suffers from overwriting. The moral is
lost in the rambling storyline and the story seems to end twice.
Karimi’s black-and-white illustrations are of mixed quality.

The second tale is a seven-chapter religious/philosophical parable
about a small rural family who experience a series of calamities, but
rather than give up and die, seek to understand themselves and the world
around them as a harmonious force. The story is set in the modern world,
but has the tone of an ancient Eastern-religious tract. Many readers
will find this path to knowledge a tad wearying. Not a first-choice
purchase.