Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Recommended Read - Exposure by Brandilyn Collins


Exposure
by Brandilyn Collins
Zondervan, 2009
Fiction, 268 pages

We have so many reasons for reading: picking up new knowledge, spiritual growth, delighting in wonderful images or other writing techniques, gaining understanding of a different culture, learning “how to” do something, escape through introduction to interesting characters. All are good reasons.

There are several genres that I’ve not seriously explored when reading, and one is works of suspense. Oh, perhaps an assignment now and then—such as The Pit and the Pendelum by Edgar Allen Poe. But even then, when the work is clearly identified as art by literary experts, I remain untouched. I tried a Sherlock Holms story once and gave up before half through.

With that as a background, I’m hardly the person to review Exposure. For this is a suspense story through and through. Creepy feelings of people watching abound from page one. That may be your thing and I won’t argue with you, but I was bored all the way through Part 1.

In Part 2, however, plot elements became more interesting. Two story threads never seemed to connect. I wondered how Collins would bring this all together.

The resolution in Part 3 took me completely by surprise—and I’m usually the one who irritates family members by knowing how the story will end. Perhaps it’s because I’m new to the genre, but I’m not so sure. And regardless, the conclusion was eminently satisfying.

And then the Epilogue—a shot of ironic humor that bemused me when I read it and that generates a chuckle now as I remember it again.

Where does Christianity fit into the story line? The main character has only recently been introduced to Jesus and faith. When she’s afraid, she remembers what she’s learned about God, and she prays.

Is this truly a Recommended Read?

Well, I admit I’m not going out anytime soon to find another suspense novel. But I saw genuine merit in the creativity and craftsmanship. I think I can enthusiastically recomend it to people who enjoy suspense. And if, like me, you aren't into suspense, you might enjoy it in spite of yourself. As a quick read, it provided escape and pleasure. There are times when that is exactly what a person needs.


I have not received compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned or pictured. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Recommended Read - The Secret Fire of Mother Teresa by Joseph Langford

The Secret Fire of Mother Teresa
by Joseph Langford
Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, 2008
Non-fiction, 301 pages (including appendices)

I picked up Secret Fire because I knew little about the woman so many people look to for inspiration—and I thought I should learn something. The first section, Fire in the Night, provided the information I wanted—basics about her origins, how she arrived in Calcutta, the supernatural experience that motivated her to begin the ministry that would eventually catapult her to fame, and essentials of her spiritual orientation.

Langford doesn’t provide the story succinctly. Getting through Section One required discipline, but I wanted to know. That completed, I wondered if I wanted to read more.

It scares me to think of what I could have missed. Langford returns to the mystical experience in Section Two which is titled Illumination. Implications of the I thirst metaphor are examined, and this is where my reading pace truly slowed down—not because the narrative was slow but because the material required meditation.

A quote: As a thirsty man thinks only of water, so God thinks constantly of us . . . As a thirsty man will give anything in exchange for water, so God gladly gives all he has, and all he is, in exchange for us: his divinity for our humanity, his holiness for our sin, his paradise in exchange for our pain. (pg. 77)

And another quote, The intimate, spontaneous drive to embrace those we love points to the full merging and eternal union with the Godhead for which we were created, and which is symbolized in every human embrace. (pg. 118)

Section Three, Transformation, focuses on how Mother Teresa daily relied on her intimate time with God. The key to her metamorphosis was not human effort, but her encounters with the thirst of God. It was the mystery of this grace at work over time that transformed . . . The thirst of Jesus, which she clung to throughout her dark night. . . . (pg. 143)

Mother Teresa’s goal was becoming transparent so others would see Jesus in her, and she sought to draw others into the same experience. She embraced holiness because, Holiness points to the ultimate dignity of our human nature, and to the heights any human can attain, even when burdened with poverty and pain. (pg. 160)

I could go on and on quoting nuggets of truth. I can’t forget to mention that when she visited western countries she saw a different kind of poverty—poverty of spirit.

Two meditations are included, one within a chapter and another as an appendix. Other appendices include additional supporting Scripture texts, an anthology of quotes from Mother Teresa, and a overview of the thirst metaphor throughout church history.

I eventually used this book as devotional material. If you’re looking for a quick read, look elsewhere. If you want to be challenged by the possibility of a closer walk with God, Langford's Secret Fire would be of great interest.


I have not received compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned or pictured. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Recommended Read - Poetry by L. L. Barkat


insideout
by L.L. Barkat
International Arts Movement, 2009
Poetry, 112 pages

L. L. Barkat made a decision to spend about fifteen minutes in her back yard every day for one year—or at least long enough to drink a cup of tea. Did she know when she began that she’d emerge from her experiment with a book of poetry?

insideout is of special interest to me. When I began exploring the internet, I somehow landed on Barkat’s blog, Seedlings in Stone. (I really can’t remember how, and I didn’t know what a blog was at the time!) Because I enjoyed her writing, I kept coming back. And so, from time to time, I read the occasional one-sentence poetic word-images she shared, images written to reflect her experiences in the back yard.

Daily exposure had heightened Barkat’s senses, and her work appeals to them—sight, sound, feeling, and even taste and smell. However, her poetic expressions reveal not only sensual responses but also the thoughts she took with her when she went to drink her cup of tea.

Now that the International Arts Movement has published insideout, you can experience many of these word-images as well as her longer poems. The longer poems usually fill most of one page. I like them.

But I believe the unique short images set this work apart. Many are untitled. Each stands alone as a slice of life—perhaps two or three to a page. Together, they provide a satisfying, balanced, but intense reading experience.

The book is divided into the four seasons, each with its own mood. I especially appreciate winter—perhaps because, as adults, we don’t usually expose ourselves to winter elements.

Barkat employs poetic devices: even rhyme at the close of lines in some of the longer poems.

But other devices abound as well. An example of internal rhyme: sears dares

Some of her poetic devices surprised me. But they work to convey an impression. An example of alliteration: wind whips / flakes fleck

Other poetic devices invite the reader. An example of both alliteration and assonance: Snow sifts / softly, oh / so gently, covers / me

Wanting to include one poem in its entirety, line by line, I opened the book and discovered the first poem will do beautifully. It’s even has a title.


Autumn Milkweed

A thousand seeds
burst from this
rough belly,
fling themselves
to the wind…
a tumble
of silken forgetfulness.


And I must add one more, one without a title.

Shall I teach
you the way of a blossom,
the way of a cherry
twisting beneath
her stem,
shall I.


I have not received compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned or pictured. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Recommended Read - Fiction by Mary DeMuth

Watching the Tree Limbs
by Mary DeMuth
NavPress, 2006
Fiction, 239 pages

and

Wishing on Dandelions
by Mary DeMuth
NavPress, 2006
Fiction, 257 pages


DeMuth has shared her own story of sexual abuse as a child, and she knows whereof she writes. Clearly, although the subject and themes of these two books are difficult, they read with ease and grace. That in itself is a triumph.

Watching the Tree Limbs takes place in the small town of Burl, Texas. Heroine Maranatha Weatherall is a nine-year-old, imaginative girl with a life readers quickly identify as unsatisfactory. Then she meets a young boy named General who repeatedly rapes her, and she has no one she can turn to for help.

There are other themes. Mara’s identity is uncertain. Childhood friendship factors in. Mara’s friend Camilla, knowledgeable about much but secretive about her family, offers helpful hints for coping with events. The relationship between two young girls shines through their antics, and Camilla often provides necessary comic relief. Inter-racial marriage is also introduced.

Mara’s safety and healing begin when her identity is revealed. She receives a new family, becomes Natha Winningham, and through Uncle Zane's housekeeper Zady, she's introduced to authentic Christianity.

Wishing on Dandelions picks up on Natha’s story when she’s 17, a young woman still struggling with the effects of childhood sexual abuse. Again, DeMuth knows her subject. Some things don't go away easily.

Although twisted motives drive some events in this book, most conflict occurs when familiar characters fail to respond to each other as they should. Natha regularly misunderstands others because her self-image is marred by her past. As does her Uncle Zane, Camilla, Charlie, and even Zady. DeMuth's story is excellent, but her strength is her ability to create vivid characters.

Inter-racial marriage becomes a major theme by the end of this book. Charlie has what Natha wants and needs—except that he’s Black. And because he's Black, he has only a limited education and no future.

I also appreciated God's role in these books. He lives in the hearts of characters who respond to Him and the content never becomes preachy. Mara’s—and then Natha’s—thoughts about God are so human—she’s not crazy about everything that happens in His world. Nevertheless, she finally meets Him under the pecan tree before the close of the first book. We learn in the second, however, that she continues to keep Him at a distance. Deep healing doesn't begin until she’s willing to go into the dark places and face her fear. Then, and only then, is she free to experience the love of God and of other people. By the conclusion of this book, true healing has begun. But only begun; DeMuth is realistic.

I reviewed these books on one of my earlier blogs, Sunny Pathway. However, in light of tomorrow’s poem and Thursday’s essay, they fit a theme of sorts for the week. Almost too neatly.

Stories have power to touch hearts, and I must admit that while I'm not aware that these stories changed my opinion, they perhaps solidified some things. One is about childhood abuse, the other is about dealing with the past. Both offer gut-wrenching, delightful, and realistic insight into the depth of the human experience.


I have not received compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned or pictured. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255; "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."