I read three fiction titles: The Enchanted April was fun though I had a few reservations about it (reviewed here). The Fair Miss Fortune by D. E. Stevenson was also a nice break from some of the heavier books I'm reading (reviewed here). Lastly, I finished Paradiso as part of the 100 Days of Dante challenge. I barely scratched the surface of this classic and hope to revisit it now that I've gotten over my trauma about reading it.
My three non-fiction titles were: Israel, Palestine and Peace by Amos Oz (reviewed here), Key Principles of Biblical Fasting by Kay Arthur (reviewed here), and The Narnian by Alan Jacobs (reviewed here).
We didn't have a lot of time for TV or movies, but we watched one episode of The Chosen each week leading up to Easter. My husband hates rom-coms, but I convinced him to watch Finding Normal because Candace Cameron Bure always makes a fluffy movie better. Our son showed us the first three episodes of Hawkeye (a new Marvel series), which would have been wonderfully family friendly except for all the swearing. If you watch a lot of TV it won't bother you, but somehow I don't think that is true for most of my readers. Last of all, I found the movie version of The Enchanted April on YouTube, but did not love it as much as the book.
What about you? Did you read or watch anything you can recommend?
2 comments:
Hi, Hope!
Thank you for your many insightful reviews
and recommendations. I read your emails
every time they hit my inbox.
I tried to find your Goodreads review on
The Enchanted April, but couldn’t find it.
Is there a way to easily find your Goodreads’
reviews?
Grace and peace to you,
Sunshine
Sunshine, I don't know how to make the link any better so I'll just post my review here:
I thoroughly enjoyed this adult fairy tale. The writing was terrific. The characters evoked my sympathy (even Lady Caroline, the type of person I would probably despise in real life).
The four women who meet together for a month in Italy have very differing views of what love is, but each in her own way is hungry for the real thing. During their holiday, each discovers new truths about herself and how to love more deeply.
Therein lies my main quibble with the story. For the most part it portrays love as an overwhelming feeling rather than a choice. The heightened, ecstatic love felt by the women after the effects of their stay in San Salvatore is something that cannot be maintained long term. Nor should it be. As Elizabeth Goudge so often wrote, when you don't feel any love, you act as though you do, and often the feelings will follow. (This is not a direct quote but a theme in almost all of her books.)
My secondary quibble is with the way religion is portrayed. Rose's "faith" has made her a cold, judgmental wife. For non-Christians this will only reinforce the caricature that Christianity turns everyone into religious prudes. I would contend that Rose did not have "real religion" but a type of religiosity that had to be abandoned before she and her husband could be reunited.
Post a Comment