Reminiscing about Books #4

2010 was a good year for accumulating new favorites. It was the first year I read D.E. Stevenson. Winter and Rough Weather is the third in a trilogy, but stood up on its own. I've read almost 40 of her novels since then and very few have disappointed. I even own 20 of her audiobooks! She is light without being fluffy, which gives me a good break from heavier reading.

I'd read some C.S. Lewis by this time, but when a friend loaned me Experiment in Criticism. I was so enamored that I shamelessly underlined fifty percent of it. (Of course, I bought her a replacement copy.) I wrote a review here.

Also that year, I read Peter Pan, and was absolutely charmed. (Reviewed here)

Two Catholic novels stretched me in good ways: Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M. Miller and Silence by Shusako Endo. In my review of Silence, I explain how I've learned to appreciate the gravitas that Catholic authors bring to their fiction. Canticle for Liebowitz (reviewed here) turned me into a die-hard dystopian novel fan.

Another delighful discovery was Wednesday Wars, YA fiction by Gary Schmidt (a living author, for a change), which I reviewed here. 

Any thoughts on these authors or titles?

Blessings, 

To Be Where You Are by Jan Karon

Although Karon originally planned to end the Mitford books with book 9, Light from Heaven, she kindly graced us with several follow-up novels. Books 10 and 11 focused on Father Tim (travelling to Mississippi and to Ireland, respectively). Book 12, Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, took us back to Mitford and re-introduced all her beloved characters. Books 13 and 14 focus on Father Tim’s adopted son’s marriage and career. But most of the rest of the Mitford crowd shows up in all their glory and humanity. To Be Where You Are (#14) is the last and longest in the series (450 pages), and does its best to tie up loose ends.

The writing is always good. It is amazing how Karon gives each character his or her own way of speaking – not just their accent, but also their vocabulary. Then there are the literary nuggets “hidden” throughout the novel that make lit lovers’ hearts sing. I chortled on page 44 when Father Tim ruminated on a past experience: “He had been there, done that, and upon arriving home, caked with mud, half-starved and exhausted, he had agreed with his wife in what the raven had so judiciously quoted.” (a sly reference to Edgar Allen Poe’s famous poem). Later as the police chief instructs Coot Hendricks on how to act like Santa for the Christmas parade, he tells him to touch the side of his nose, which fans of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” will understand perfectly. Finally, she definitely had my number when she mentions the drool-worthy Library of America editions of favorite authors on page 343. (Have you ever seen those????? They are gorgeous hard covers with ribbon markers that fit perfectly in the palm of your hand. A book lover's dream.)

I know I say this in every review, but Jan Karon is one of the few authors of light fiction who capably adds heft to her work by showing both the joy and suffering of human existence. She also succeeds in weaving faith into her stories without giving easy, pat answers. The fact that the story ends at Christmas makes it especially poignant, and it also brings wonderful closure. As Father Tim and Cynthia read their Christmas cards to each other, we hear bits and pieces about the friends we met in the novels that took place outside of Mitford (Whitecap Island, Holly Springs, The Blue Ridge Mountains, and Ireland).

This was the perfect ending to the Mitford series.

Blessings,

In This Mountain by Jan Karon (Mitford #7)

I am slowly re-reading the first eight novels in the Mitford series to refresh my memory before tackling the later novels (which I somehow missed). It's a joy to be revisiting these dear literary acquaintances after almost two decades.

Every time I review a Jan Karon book, I reiterate that I don't know of another author of light novels who so deftly weaves together stories of joys mingled with suffering. She manages to write about the Christian life in a way that puts most Christian fiction to shame. Take this conversation between Father Tim and Buck Leeper as an example. Buck and his new wife Pauline came from rough backgrounds, but after putting their faith in Christ, are trying to piece together some of the wreckage from their past. One thing they are attempting to do is find her children (who she gave away at various times when she was too poor or too drunk to take care of them). 

"A few days ago I asked Pauline to tell me everything she could remember about the boys, like if they had any birthmarks, an' th' color of their eyes."

"Good thinking."

"She couldn't remember the color of their eyes." 

There was a long silence between them.

"When she realized she couldn't remember the color... Buck hunched over, his head in his hands. "It was the alcohol, of course. All those years...."

"Those years are behind you." 

"Yey, they are, thank God." Buck looked at him. "But you pay the consequences."

"True. But now God is in the consequences with you." (p. 83)

I have seen a lot of miracles in my sixty years, but I know that God just as often works through the daily grind of life. I despise books where everyone gets saved and their problems just go away; that is not how real life (or real Christianity) works. Karon beautifully balances the miracles with the uphill climb that life can be.  

In this seventh novel in the series, In This Mountain, Father Tim has a brush with death. Instead of having him say a prayer that erases all the toil of his slow recovery, Karon paints a believable picture of a man who struggles just to get out of bed in the morning and who has to learn all over again how to trust God for every single step he takes. 

As usual I was encouraged by the reference (which appears in almost every Mitford book) of "the prayer that never fails." This is the prayer of surrender, "Thy will be done." Last of all, I enjoy Karon's books for their lovely literary references. When Father Tims meets up with his bishop (and faithful friend of many decades), Karon describes their reunion: "They laughed together, at ease. Few things in life were more consoling than an old friendship in which all the hair, as in the story of the velveteen rabbit, had been rubbed off."

For previous reviews click on these titles: At Home in Mitford (#1), These High, Green Hills (#3), Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good (#12).

Any other Mitford fans out there?

Blessings,

The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni

I often say I prefer Catholic authors to modern Christian fiction writers because they address human suffering without giving overly simplistic answers. The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni is a perfect example.

The novel take place in Italy in the 17th century, and covers actual historical events of that time, particularly the plague of 1630. Renzo and Lucia are pledged to be married to one another, but serious impediments arise that keep them apart for several years. Can their love withstand the challenges that each must face alone?

Fortunately, this is much more than a story of separated lovers. There are villains and heroes. In the midst of political instability, lawlessness, famine, kidnapping, rioting, and narrow escapes, themes emerge of redemption, forgiveness, and trust in God's ultimate plan. It shows suffering as the great equalizer. When famine comes, both the rich and poor go hungry. When the plague hits, both outlaws and saints succumb to death. AND yet there is a difference in the reactions to the calamities. Some become hardened and rob the dead bodies and pillage the houses. Others lay their lives on the line to help the helpless. Though written from a Catholic perspective, The Betrothed does not blindly glorify Catholicism. Selfish, ungodly leaders intermingle with the humble and self-giving ones. 

During the plague, the priests are given the task of manning the lazarettos (housing for the sick and dying). Manzoni writes that as the plague took its toll, means, men and courage failed as the necessity for the lazarettos increased. Nine out of ten of the priests died. But where suffering was, there they were. 

Without giving any big spoilers, I will say that both Lucia and Renzo grow through their trials and learn that God never disturbs the joys of His children but to prepare them for one more certain and endurable. Manzoni reminds us that the most cautious and blameless conduct cannot secure us from troubles. [But] when they come, whether by our own fault or not, confidence in God alleviates them and makes them cohesive to a better life.

If anything, the book teaches that the Christian life is full of testing, but that God is faithful.

The Betrothed is supposedly the most famous and widely read novel in the Italian language. I listened to a good translation, but I will admit that it was still not easy to get through. Some of the chapters on politics and geography (and even the detailed descriptions of the plague) were laborious. The audiobook, narrated by Nicholas Bolton, helped me to stick with it, and when it was all done, I felt deeply nourished by the hours I had spent in this book. 

Anyone else familiar with this title?

Blessings,

These High, Green Hills by Jan Karon (Mitford #3)

I thoroughly enjoyed the first two Mitford books, but there is something very special about These High, Green Hills. Maybe it's because I feel like I know the townspeople well enough to really care about them. Or maybe it's because this book (even more than the others) shows deep suffering while still offering plenty of solid hope (not to be confused with fluffy optimism).

The other books hinted at Father Tim's childhood, but Book Three digs a little deeper into that subject and we begin to see some necessary healing take place. In fact, quite a few people in the book are dealing with past hurts.

But it's not primarily a sad book. The Mitford folks band together to support one another. Laughter is interwoven with tears. Written 25 years ago, there are jokes about adapting to life with computers when hardly anyone knew how to use them. Delightful literary references are sprinkled throughout such as C.S. Lewis quotes, snippets of poetry and an occasional quote from The Book of Common Prayer.

Karon has a gift for balancing suffering with hope, and lighthearted banter with more serious conversations. Quite a trick, but the end result is delightful.

Blessings,

The Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson

Published in 1907, The Lord of the World was one of the first dystopian novels. The action takes place in the early 21^st century where established religion has all but been abolished. Catholicism has been confined to the Vatican and its surrounding cities, but by the novel’s end, faith of any kind has been outlawed. Two young priests, Father Franklin and Father Francis, play key roles as these changes take place.

 I was fascinated by Benson’s prescience about the devastating effects that socialism and communism would have on societies that embraced them. He mentions Karl Marx and Gustave Hervé (still living at the time Benson wrote) as key influencers. In the book, Esperanto is the main language and Euthanasia is widely accepted as a way to escape physical and emotional pain. Humanitarianism (as expressed through the teachings of freemasonry) is the new world religion since superstition and progress were irreconcilable enemies.

Oliver Brand, a leading figure in this future society is happy in the knowledge that men and women had learnt at least the primary lesson of the gospel, that there was no God but man, no priest but the politician, no prophet but the schoolmaster. He explains to his wife that the precepts of Christianity were nice, but not true… My dear girl, if I had told you in your cradle that the moon was green cheese, and had hammered at you ever since, every day and all day, you’d very nearly believe it by now.

In spite of the government’s best efforts to abolish Christianity, people must worship something and a messiah figure comes on the scene. I can’t tell much more without spoilers. Needless to say, the premise of the book is fascinating and many quotes are a hundred years ahead of their time. Sometimes the writing was uneven, but when the story dragged, I could count on the audio version by the excellent Simon Vance to keep me going.

This novel should not be avoided because it is “too Catholic.” There is a lot of rich food for thought in its pages.

Blessings,

By the Light of a Thousand Stars by Jamie Langston Turner

After I read Jamie Langston Turner's Winter Birds (2006), I was quick to download several of her other titles because I was pleased to finally find an author who could write good Christian fiction without bashing me over the head with the gospel.

By the Light of a Thousand Stars (1999) is another example of excellent writing and intriguing characters. Each of the protagonists has a unique story of brokenness and is at a different stage of her faith walk. Dottie has been a Christian for a long time and is struggling with her faith since the death of her daughter. Della Boyd has lived a life of service to others and can't imagine why anyone would call her a sinner. Catherine is a cantankerous, shallow housewife who criticizes everything and everyone. Barb is the fairly new Christian who is trying her best to share her faith with others. Each woman is likable and believable. I loved the other kooky characters (the poetry club members) that Turner introduces into the story as well.

Turner taught in the English department at BJU for many years and weaves references to poetry and plays throughout her narrative, which I enjoyed. But the book fell short in two areas. First, the excessive teenage banter/humor got old after a while. And the fact that so many people ended up getting saved robbed the book of the sense of authenticity that I so appreciated in Winter Birds.

But I'm still a Jamie Langston Turner fan. Her writing ability is light years ahead of most Christian novelists and I look forward to dipping into her other books.

Blessings,

Seek and Hide by Amanda G. Stevens

One of my New Year's resolutions was "no more substandard fiction," so I've been ignoring all the free Christian e-books that have come across my path. But when I saw the premise of Seek and Hide, I couldn't resist:

Six years ago, the government took control of the church. Only re-translated Bibles are legal, and a specialized agency called the Constabulary enforces this and other regulations. Marcus Brenner, a new Christian, will do anything to protect his church family from imprisonment--including risk his own freedom to gain the trust of a government agent. (The story is a lot more complicated than that, but that gives you the main themes.)

Brenner is doing his best to save people before they can be arrested for hate crimes (i.e. owning a Bible) and in the process he meets an intriguing mix of good guys, bad guys and folks in between. I was especially intrigued by the number of people who were not Christians in the book, but who were sympathetic to believers because they felt that their loss of religious freedom was unjust. The book takes place in the not-so-distant future when evangelism is equated with terrorism and Christians are "re-educated" to give up their antiquated, hateful ideas of sin.

I liked this book for so many reasons. Beside the fact that it is darn good storytelling, I appreciated that Christians are portrayed in a realistic manner and that the book offers no easy answers to life's problems. In addition, Stevens manages to write about gritty situations without sordidness. The conversations are believable. And, unlike most Christian novels, the characters are complex and interesting.

If you like your novels squeaky clean, you may be uncomfortable with a few brief episodes of women ogling a bare-chested man. There are also references to rape and alcoholism. These were handled discreetly and added to the multi-layered story.

A fascinating read!

P.S. The sequel, Found and Lost, is very, very good. Unfortunately it contains some mildly steamy love scenes, which I thought were unnecessary. (This is a risk some Christian writers are willing to take so as not to replicate the saccharine-sweet tripe that is peddled as Christian fiction, but it's a hard line to toe.) If you watch American TV, it won't faze you at all.

My thoughts on Book Three, and Book Four.

Blessings,

2017 Reading Challenge for Christian Books

I was looking around for a book challenge targeted at Christian books and found this one at Goodreads. They suggest 52 books in 52 weeks. Even though that is more than I'm aiming for, I decided to join so that I'll have some semblance of accountability.

Here is the challenge:(on the Goodreads page they even list possible titles for each category) The 20+books marked in brown are my (flexible) plans. I'm thrilled to finally be attacking my TBR list of Christian books on my Kindle.

1. A book about Prayer. - Power of Praying for Your Adult Children 8/13/17
2. A book about Forgiveness
3. A book by a Chr. conference speaker. Divine Design by MacArthur 7/26/17
4. A book by or about a Pastor's wife. - Church-Planting Wife by Hoover 9/25/17
5. A Christian Novel - Refuge on Crescent Hill 9/30/17
6. A Christian Non-Fiction book. - The Cross of Christ by Andrew Murray 4/22/17
7. A Memoir.
9. A book by or about a missionary. - Climbing by Goforth 8/10/17
10. A book by C.S. Lewis. - On Stories 5/8/17
11. A book with the word "Gospel" in the title. - The Gospel in Ten Words by Ellis
12. A book about Christian Living.
14. A book by your Favorite Christian Author - By the Light of a Thousand Stars by Jamie Langston Turner 1/17
15. A book on Marriage
16. A book longer than 400 pages. - The Island of the World by O'Brien
17. A book you own but have never read. - Songs of Heaven by Coleman 1/17
18. A book about a current controversial issue. - Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield 10/11/17
19. A book with a one-word title.
20. A book more than 100 years old or takes place more than 100 years ago. - Poetic Wonder of Isaac Watts
21. A book published in 2016.
23. A book recommended by a Christian Friend. - Death by Living 5/26/17
24. A book about Joy or Happiness.
25. A book whose title comes from a Bible Verse. The True Vine by Andrew Murray 11/24/17
26. A book on Theology. - Creed by Winfield Bevins 5/10/17
27. A book by an Indie Christian Author.
28. A book on Christian Growth. - Don't Waste Your Life by Piper 3/22/17
29. A book about Church or a specific Church.
30. A book with Heaven in the title.
31. A Christian Romance novel.
32. A book about Christian Persecution.
33. A book on Spiritual Warfare.
35. A book about a Religious Cult.
36. A Christian Dystopian book. Seek and Hide by Amanda G. Stevens 2/14/17
38. A book by a Christian Author you've never read before - Because we are Called to Counter Culture by Platt
39. A book that was a Christy Award winner. - Heartless by Stengle (I got through 193 pages) DNF
41. A Christian science fiction/fantasy book.
43. A Christian fiction book with a beautiful cover. The Elusive Miss Ellison 3/22/17
44. A book with 100 pages or less.
45. A historical Christian book.
46. A Historical Christian Fiction book. - Vienna Prelude by Thoene 3/12/17
47. A book on Evangelism. - Nudge by Sweet - DNF
48. A book about a Faith different than yours - Beyond Opinion by Ravi Zacharias 3/17/17
49. A book with God in the title.
50. A book with Jesus or Christ in the title. - The Loveliness of Christ by Rutherford 8/30/17
51. A book of the Bible.
52. A book of your choice. - Weakness is the Way by J.I. Packer

Blessings,

 

Books I Read in September

I have been trying to give Christian fiction a go this year. I've read 21 titles and only one author, Jamie Langston Turner, succeeded in impressing me. Most were okay but a couple were so dreadful that I've decided to give up the effort to find diamonds among the coals. It's just too much work for too little pay off.

Here's what I read this month:

1) Insight by Deborah Raney (better than most CF)
2) Sixteen Brides (mediocre CF, What can I say? The cover snookered me in.)
3) Paper Roses (horrific CF)
4) Arsene Lupin & Herlock Sholmes by Leblanc (nice little mysteries, free for Kindle)
5) Rules of Murder by Deering (clean mystery/romance, a little too heavy on the romance for me, but very well written, free for Kindle at the moment)
6) Lifted Veil by George Eliot (bleak sci-fi short story, free for Kindle)
7) Crispen's Point  by Reardon (ugh! I'm tired of CF heroines who swoop into town and fix everything)
8) The Age of Innocence by Wharton (definitely not Christian, but more satisfying because of good language and having to wrestle with important ideas WITHOUT simple solutions.)

The only title I reviewed on the blog was Age of Innocence. The others I reviewed at Goodreads.