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Searching for Eternity

I just finished a very good book: Searching for Eternity by Elizabeth Musser. (You may have read her other books, both set in Atlanta: The Swan House and The Dwelling Place.) This one is set both in France as well as Atlanta, and it begins in the mid 1960's. A French boy, Emile, is swept from his beloved home in Lyon to Atlanta under very mysterious reasons. He doesn't know where his father is, and his mother is very protective but not very talkative.

Of course, by the end of the book, you know exactly why Emile was taken to America so abruptly, and although you get the feeling that maybe he should have been given a little more detail, the vagueness certainly makes for a great story.

There are so many threads running through the book, and they all eventually weave together quite nicely. In France, we get to know Emile's family who were French resistant fighters; and some have become Nazi hunters. In Atlanta, we see Emile learn a new culture and face bullies and racists. But there are many nice people he meets too! One family, in particular, becomes very special to Emile, but the children in the family are dealing with child abuse, rape and an alcoholic mother. Since the book spans over twenty years, we get to see the effects of rape and child abuse, and it's distressing. So there's a lot of sadness in the story, but a lot of redemption too. I liked the mixture of history and family relationships. And the ending definitely brought everything full circle.

A good day for Chicken Soup

With the rain and the chilly air, it's a good day for Chicken Soup... Chicken Soup for the Soul, that is. I picked up the latest one last weekend: Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tough Times, Tough People. It was published this year, so you can well imagine that a lot of the stories are about surviving layoffs and foreclosures and reduced incomes. Most people do survive, and most even come through stronger and more confident.

There was a story about a lady facing life after her husband had been convicted of securities fraud. She could have lived the life of a victim or decided to move on. You can guess what she did. She pointed out that most of the time it is actually easier to move on: "You can sweep your troubles under the rug, but eventually you will trip over them."

Not all the stories are about financial crises. There are cancer and brain tumors to face, hurricanes and fires. In fact, a powerful story involves a little girl who accidentally burned down her family's house. The father, mortified himself, summons up the power to forgive his daughter on the spot. That story reminded me of a few times when my parents also forgave me for doing stupid things like totalling our car and breaking some good china. The love that you feel after being forgiven is not soon forgotten.

I'm about half way through the book and am trying not to read it too fast.

Some good books

I've read some good books lately, and thanks to a buying spree of used books on Amazon.com, I still have a couple in the bank.

Here's what I've read lately:

1) A World Lost - by Wendell Berry, an author recommended by my sister in law. It is about a little boy who lost his dear uncle. The title of the book pretty much sums it up: this little boy is devastated. Most of the book is spent describing the effect that the uncle had on both the boy and his family, while he was living and even after he died. The dead uncle is my favorite character! I love how his carefree way of life really gets the goat of many of his family. They are both exasperated and charmed by him!

2) Nathan Coulter - by Wendell Berry! This book recounts the boyhood of Nathan (who grows up to marry Hannah Coulter who has her own book too). Without giving too much away, one of my favorite parts of the book is when Berry recounts in such evocative detail the funeral of one of the family members. A favorite character in the book is the carefree uncle; he will make you laugh. (Wendell Berry must have had a funny uncle in his family to model!) I'm still reading this book.

3) Embrace Me - by Lisa Samson. This has a couple of major plot lines. One involves a group of misfits who belong to a road show. One of them is at her wits end. She is depressed and mad. The other major plot line centers around a former preacher who is also at his wits end. In some some amazing plot twists, they end up in the same town and just when you think they are going to metaphorically crash and burn, God's amazing grace and love come pouring through. Forgiveness is also a dominant theme in the book. It's a little uncomfortable to read, but I'd totally recommend the book.

Here's my still to read list:

1) Tiger Lillie by Lisa Samson - I'm beginning to like Lisa Samson!
2) Searching For Eternity by Elizabeth Musser - I've read The Swan House and The Dwelling Place by her, and I like her books, particularly since they are set in Atlanta.

So many books, so little time! Hmm... I wonder if I should try some non fiction one of these days?

Another good book

I just finished reading another good book by Wendell Berry: The Memory of Old Jack. Berry has written a whole slew of books about the inhabitants of Port William KY and the impact that living in a closely-knit community where most everyone depends on each other; everyone knows each other's "good, bad and ugly", and they still support each other. Most of the community are farmers, and no one is perfect, but everyone is endearingly human. The community reminds me a bit of William Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County, but Berry's characters are way less dysfunctional and a whole lot more believable.

In this book, Old Jack is about at the end of his life and spends a lot of his time recollecting past events. The book shifts poetically between the present and the past. For example, seeing his nephew Mat reminds him Old Jack of a scene several decades earlier when Mat was a youngster and Old Jack himself was still relying on the wisdom of Mat's father.

Jack's life was far from perfect, and he was the source of many his own hardships, but he's just so darn likeable! And, he accepted his hardships like a man. Oh, and the ending is, well, let's just say it's emotional.

I read Hannah Coulter, another book by Berry last month, and I believe my next book of his will be Jayber Crow.

Paperback swapping

My friend highly recommended an online bookswapping site: paperbackswap.com. I signed up last week, posted a few paperback books and so far, someone has already requested one of them. When you send a book, you get a book credit, which means you can request a book. I haven't yet requested any because I have a whole stack of books in my to-be-read stack. At this point, for me, I'm elated to give some of my paperbacks away, for although I enjoyed most all of them, they are not worth the space for keeping. (If you live in a 2-bedroom condo like I do, you'll understand!)

This is exciting for me! I love books and I treat them like fine china, but they pile up, about as fast as souvenir cups do. For books I've read to go on to a good home gives me a go-green kind of feeling.

This might be something you're interested in too!

Hannah Coulter

I was sorry to see the book Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry come to an end. What a story full of the circle of life and death. Hannah marries into the community (or rather "membership" as they call it) of Port William and becomes its staunchest supporter! Port William is a small Kentucky town full of farmers along with other townspeople who hold it together. Life is hard and death and grieving follow, but what do you do but "live right on"? In other words you face it and do the best you can! That's what Hannah has done all her life, and lucky for her, she married a man who had the same philosophy. By the way, this was Hannah's second marriage as she was widowed by the war.

Wendell Berry is such an elegant writer. It was hard to believe that he could write so aptly from a woman's point of view. Berry has been compared to William Faulkner with Port William being the Kentucky version of Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County. (The big difference though is that Port William families are not nearly as dysfunctional as Yoknapatawpha's, though they  they certainly have their fair share of struggles.) Berry has written several books about Port William and since it's a small town, you can imagine that the other books contain the same characters from a slightly different perspective. I'm trying to figure out which book of his to read next!

If you like Southern fiction, books about husbands and wives who depend so beautifully on one another, and books that make you want to connect more with those you love, then I'd recommend Hannah Coulter!

Books and more books!

In the past month, I've read some good books:

• Sisterchicks Go Brit by Robin Gunn Jones, which got me in the mood for our trip to London and got me reading the book of Jeremiah again because she references it a few times in the book. (Jeremiah is actually a very positive book in the Bible; there are lots of promises from God to give us hope!)
• Sometimes a Light Surprises by Jamie Langston Turner, a novel about the effects of long-term bitterness and how it impacts our lives and those around us. The way Jamie portrays what a person is really thinking is just amazing and clever. And, even up until the last chapters, I had no idea how the book was going to end! (I can't wait for her next book!)
• Quaker Summer, by Lisa Samson, which actually won a Book of the Year award a couple of years ago for some genre of Christian fiction. It was thought provoking. A lady is struggling with her life: her husband is a successful doctor and her son is an adorable teenager, but something is missing. She is caught up in material possessions until one day, God gets her attention via a kangeroo! (That's all I'm going to say, except that I couldn't put this book down. And, like Jamie, Lisa Samson has a way of capturing a person's thoughts and she makes them part of the plot, and some of them are pretty funny too!)

Thanks to my generous, gift-giving sisters-in-law, I have a few more books to read now:

• Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes, by Robin Gunn Jones, which is definitely a light-hearted book, but the theme of most of her Sisterchicks books, and this one will probably be no different, is that God is good and he wants our relationships on earth to bring us closer to our relationship with Him.
• Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry, which is about a lady, Hannah, who is reminiscing about her life over the past 70+ years and her life has not been easy. Her wisdom looking back is is almost poetic. I've actually already started reading this book, and have already cried at least twice. (That's a good thing: I love books that make me cry!)
• On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson, which is a fantasy, probably a little like The Lord of Rings. This is definitely a type of book that I'm not used to reading, but the book looks so charming and there are good illustrations throughout. (Maybe I'll do better with this book than the Rings trilogy, which I never really quite understood.)
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows which is a novel set on the island of Guernsey during WWII and right after. The book is basically a series of letters! I like it already, because it'll be a fun and painless way to learn more about the German occupation there.
• Embrace Me by Lisa Samson which is a book about some very interesting (that's an understatement!) characters whose lives collide, and then I bet we can watch what God is able to do! I've read the first couple of chapters and look forward to getting back to it.

Do you have some good books, too, to read this summer?

When it rains it pours

After a few weeks of "nothing to read", I now have four books in my stack! I'm about halfway through the first one, Sisterchicks Go Brit by Robin Jones Gunn. It's an easy read about two friends who get a surprise trip to England and find themselves coping with unplanned events but end up actually having a super time. (At least so far!) There is a Christian theme throughout of God exceeding our expectations in ways we never imagined...if we let Him. I read Sisterchicks Say Ooh La La last year and was pleasantly surprised at how such a light-hearted book can deliver so mightily the goodness of God. Thanks to my sister-in-law Elaine for recommending the Sisterchicks books to me!

 

The next book (definitely!) will be Sometimes a Light Surprises by Jamie Langston Turner. It's the latest book one of my favorite authors. My other sister-in-law Ellen recommended this author. And, oh... Jamie is good! Her stories are ones of redemption. Her characters are very human and many end up reaching rock bottom in their lives and that's when God's amazing grace shines through. Jamie's books are chock full of literary references & Bible verses, and her writing is exquisite. I can't wait to start Sometimes a Light Surprises!

 

The next two books, I bought on a whim from Amazon. They came recommended that if you like Jamie Langston Turner, you'll like these books. Both are by Lisa Samson: Quaker Summer and Embrace Me. They have good reviews, and ordering them certainly seemed worth the risk. Have you ever read any of Lisa Samson's books?

The Shack

I just finished reading The Shack, a story of a broken and hurt man transformed by spending a very powerful weekend with God. The story of this man’s pain juxtaposed with God’s goodness, mercy, and empathy brought me to tears over and over. It was such a reminder that God wants us to want Him to be a part of our lives. He yearns for a relationship with us. And, God is “especially fond” of us all.

The Shack has been criticized for its non-traditional portrayal of the Trinity. (That’s all I’m saying!) Although the presentation was a little "interesting", the message I got was that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are at one with one another. They feed off each other and love each other and even have fun with each other. Is this exactly like the Bible describes the Trinity? I would have to say no, but their relationship towards each other really drew me in. The way they treated each other is a model that we on earth could learn from.

The bottom line for me is that I love books about down-and-out people who are redeemed by the redemptive powers of God. And I love books that make me cry, whether it's tears of sadness or tears of joy. So, this book is really one of my favorite "types" of books.

Does it replace reading The Bible which has dozens of stories about people who face tragedy and find redemption? No, of course not! The Bible is the divine word of God! However, if you’d like a good example of how letting God into our lives will peel away our layers of hardness, guilt, cynicism and sadness, this book will not disappoint. A bonus is that The Shack gave me a very beautiful glimpse into how glorious yet real Heaven will be. Just a reminder, though: you will need Kleenex.

The Shack

Have you heard of The Shack, a novel by William Paul Young? A friend recommended it to me in the summer and I bought it on a whim last week. She said she couldn't say too much about the story because it's something that "You just gotta read for yourself." Without giving away more than is on the back cover, it involves an abduction, a sad father, God and a shack. Just about 2 chapters along, I predict that God, as only God can do, will turn the ashes into beauty, but as far as how... that'll be the good part!

Have you read it?