Book Review: The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle: A Memoir, by Jeannette Walls, Paperback: 288 pages, Publisher: Scribner;
1 edition (January 9, 2006), ISBN-10: 074324754X

Source: Farming of Books Book Club and on my General Non-Fiction TBR List
Rating: 4.5 of 5 STARS

It seems like everyone has read this book! I remember when a friend first told me about it years ago and had loaned me a copy. I was on a road trip somewhere with a bunch of gals and had brought it with me. (Along with a whole bag of other books. My theory is when traveling you can never have too many books or underwear so I always have plenty of both!) Another friend hadn't brought anything with her to read and I let her have The Glass Castle. She gulped it down and insisted I read it as soon as possible. But, for whatever reason, I never did and eventually returned it to its owner.

I picked up a copy at a used book store a couple of years ago and put it on my TBR list for General Non-Fiction. And now I've finally read it... I inhaled it, too. For me, anyway. I'm usually a pretty slow reader. I read it last weekend while we were driving to and from D.C. and in little snippets in the hotel lobby waiting for E and Matt to join me for breakfast each morning. It was our book club's pick for the month of April and we discussed it this past Thursday. We gave it a rating of 4.6 as a group.

Jeannette Walls story totally captivated me. So, why not a 5 star rating? Well, I didn't mark one single page as especially beautiful or truthful writing like I do in so many books. (See Good Words entries.) But, oh, the story! A vagabond family - mother, father, four children - always on the move, always on the edge of homelessness, always fighting for the next meal. But loving each other and loving the excitement of life. True - the father was an alcoholic. True - the mother was either totally selfish or mentally ill. True - the children were really the parents of the family. True - the children suffered at the hands of their inept parents. But, they all loved each other.

In telling her story, Jeannette Walls never condemns her parents for their choices and how they affected her. That made a big impact on me. I spent so many years (especially in my twenties!) blaming my parents for things I didn't like about myself until I finally realized it was my own sinful nature that made me the way I was and no amount of blame-placing on my parents was going to change me. The only thing that could ever change me was God. That was a long road for me. It seems Jeannette Walls skipped that phase.

Also, the last half of the book is set in West Virginia and is a powerful description of the poverty that so many live in there. One of my best friends hales from West Virginia and grew up in extreme poverty. I know her story and I've visited her hometown with her twice. I remember when she read this book she said, "This was my life." Now reading it, I understand a little more. And my heart hurts for the little girl that grew up in such poverty in the "holler." And now even more, I admire the woman she is now... the one who "got out," went to college, moved to NC to live a different life... and went on to graduate from Duke with her masters a couple of years ago. Oddly enough, like Jeannette Walls, I've never heard her condemn her parents either. She's often told me they did the best they could. And that seems to be enough for her.

So, I definitely recommend this one to you. It's a quick read. I wouldn't say easy, necessarily. You'll be heartbroken for the children and outraged at the parents. But it's a fascinating story and one I'm glad I read.

Have a great Saturday, bloggy friends!

CONTINUE READING...

Book Review: The Prodigal God

The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller, Hardcover: 160 pages, Publisher: Dutton Adult (October 30, 2008), ISBN-10: 0525950796

Source: Farming of Books Selection for August (See sidebar waaaay down at the bottom)
Rating: Book Club Rating = 4.2 STARS; Mine = 4.0 STARS

Tim Keller is probably one of my most favorite preachers to listen to. I put him up there in my top five and I've been fortunate to hear him in person probably three or four times at his church in NYC. But mainly I download sermons and listen to them driving back and forth to work or on long walks. (The first time I ever heard of him was when Matt came back from a PCA Mercy Ministry Conference talking about hearing this cool pastor from New York speak and how he exhorted the crowd to just get out there and do something, anything! to help the poor.)

So, I was happy to see The Prodigal God as our book club's selection. It's a really short read based on Jesus's parable we typically call "The Prodigal Son" The first half went a little slowly for me, but, then Wow! the second half gave me a lot to think about.

First of all, the title catches you a little off-guard. The Prodigal God? Huh? Well, prodigal means (according to TK) 1. recklessly extravagant, 2. having spent everything. So, the title's point is that God is a recklessly extravagant, spending everything on His children.

Second, the whole aim of the book is really at those (us - gulp!) elder brothers out there. Keller looks at younger brothers, lost in the world, but spends a lot more time on people in perhaps a more dangerous position of being lost in their religiosity. If you're a believer, be prepared to take a hard look at yourself after reading this book.

Third, Keller then takes a look at what the elder brother should have really been like, what he should have done for his younger brother. And from that discussion you end up with a beautiful picture of Christ as the true elder brother, one who sacrifices and leaves home to find and save that younger brother out in the world.

The slowness at the beginning is why I didn't give it a 5, but I highly recommend it to you, bloggy friends, and I've got it in my "read again" pile.

A few quotes:

Mercy and forgiveness must be free and unmerited to the wrongdoer. If the wrongdoer has to do something to merit it, then it isn't mercy, but forgiveness always comes at a cost to the one granting forgiveness. (Something my pastor Ken taught me a long time ago.)

There seems to be a sense, then, in which we are all like the younger brother. We are all exiles, always longing for home. We are always traveling, never arriving. The houses and families we actually inhabit are only inns along the way, but they aren't home. Home continues to evade us.

Speaking of the preacher that changed his way of thinking about Christianity (Dr. Ed Clowney): ...he also taught me that it was possible to be theologically sound and completely orthodox and yet unfailingly gracious - a rare and precious combination.

CONTINUE READING...

Book Review: The Poisonwood Bible

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 1998, ISBN-10: 0060786507

Rating: 5 of 5 STARs
Source: Farming of Books Selection for April

I read The Poisonwood Bible at least 6 years ago and reread it for our book club selection in April. It took me quite some time to plow through the 543 pages. I'm not sure why...it was a wonderful read: entertaining, thought-provoking...But for whatever reason, I felt like it would take me forever to finish. But finish I did, and it was well worth the second read. Kingsolver is simply an amazing artist. Her words ring true and stand solid on every page.

This is the story of a missionary family (father, mother, and four daughters) who live in the Congo in the early 1960s. Mostly, it's about a man who loses his family because of a tragic faith in a God he believes is demanding repayment for his own perceived cowardice in World War II. Here's the summary from the back of the book:

"...a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it - from garden seeds to Scripture - is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa."

Christianity could not possibly been seen in a poorer light. However, I think Kingsolver's portrayal is true and should make those of us who claim the name of Jesus stop and consider what our lives, especially how we treat our spouse and children, tell the world around us.

I highly recommend this book! Here are some "Good Words" I found.

CONTINUE READING...

Book Review: A Good Man is Hard to Find

A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O'Connor, Mariner Books (August 23, 1977), ISBN-10: 0156364654

Rating: 4.5 of 5 STARS
Source: Farming of Books book club selection for March

Our book club read this collection of O'Connor's stories for our March selection. It was a great follow up to Blood Done Sign My Name that we read in February for Black History Month. (I didn't finish it, hence no review here.) O'Connor so wonderfully (and truthfully) captures the South in her writing...the good, the bad, and the ugly...including bigotry. As a group, we rated the book as a 3.9 and had a huge spread of ratings. A couple of 1.5's and then mostly 4.5's and 5's. Apparently, you either love O'Connor's writing or hate it.

The first story for which the book is named turned me off a bit. I finished it and went, "Huh?" I just didn't get it. Even after a great discussion led by one of our members this week at book club, I still don't get it. But the stories got progressively better and better through the book. By the end, I was in love with her writing and imagination.

A good man is definitely hard to find in this collection. Almost every story shows men to be criminals, nare-do-wells, or just generally deplorable. And most of the women aren't much better. But, as another member pointed out, the last story finally shows us a "good man." I won't tell who it is here, but I think it was a great insight into O'Connor's point about the depravity of man and redemption.

My favorite story was titled "The Artificial N*gg*r." Don't let the name turn you off. It is a beautiful, beautiful snapshot of a man recognizing his depravity, his sinfulness, and then immediately understanding the mercy and grace of God.

O'Connor is writing from a Christian worldview and it definitely shines through. The leader of our discussion said that O'Connor believed we are constantly presented opportunities in our daily lives to give and receive grace and that's what her writing is about....portraying those moments. But don't think you'll walk away from this book being greatly uplifted. Her writing is classified as Southern Gothic, and its definitely dark. I did find a lot to laugh about, though. I like her sense of humor.

Finally, read it. It's worth the time. I didn't give it a 5 simply because of the first story...I disliked it that much! You can read here and here some "Good Words" from this book I posted earlier. What talent!

I love this book club...it's made me read a lot of things I never would have without it. You can check waaaay down at the end of my sidebar and see what we've read since starting over two years ago.

CONTINUE READING...

Book Review: Mr. Pip

Title: Mr. Pip
Author: Lloyd Jones
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Finished Reading: February 1
Own: Yes!
Why Chosen: Farming of Books January 2008 selection

Ok - I was wrong. I can admit it. I did NOT want to read Great Expectations last month for book club. I don't like Victorian literature. It takes me awhile to wade through all the fluffy words. I find it very annoying. But - I ended up liking the story. (See my review here.) The reasoning for the selection of Great Expectations in December was so we could better enjoy and appreciate the January selection: Mr. Pip by Lloyd Jones. And getting through Great Expectations was definitely worth it once I finished Mr. Pip. Absolutely LOVED it! Loved the story. Loved the writing style. Loved the connection to Great Expectations.

Favorite Excerpts:

Our houses sat beached in a sloppy row, all of them gaping back at the sea.

Silence is an indicator of good manners...When I was growing up, silence was the bits left over after the blimmin' dogs and the blimmin' roosters and the generators had had a go at the world....But silence is good for a lot of things - sleeping, being at one with God, thinking about the Good Book....stay away from boys who abuse silence. Boys who shout have mud in their souls. A man who knows about the wind and sailing a boat also knows about silence and is likely to be more sensitive to the presence of God.

There are some things you never expect to lose, things you think will forevr be part of you, even if it is only a toenail.

I had discovered that the plainest house can crown a fantasy or daydream. An open window can be tolerated. So can an open door. But I discovered the value of four walls and a roof. Something about containment that at the same time offers escape.

Dreams are private, she said. And she is right. A dream is a story that no one else will get to hear or read. Thanks to dreams, in the history of the galaxy the world has been reinvented more often than there are stars.

Your shoelaces are useless on their own. They need a shoe before they can work. A human being without God is just flesh and blood. A house without God is an empty house waiting for the devil to move in. You need to understand boundaries.

But on thinking about it, this rain was wetter and more persistant than any I have ever known. It was rain that insists you take it more seriously; pay closer attention to it.

Or else she would have stared those words down until they curled up with shame and dropped off the wall in flakes.

CONTINUE READING...

Book Review: Great Expectations

Title: Great Expectations
Author: Charles Dickens
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Finished Reading: January 10th
Own: Yes!

Why Chosen: Farming of Books January Selection

I was not very happy when our book club picked this book to read for January. I typically don't even enjoy contemporary British authors (I don't think they write in the same English as us) so I really didn't expect to like this classic British novel. I also don't care for books from the Victorian era - much too flowery. I knew this would be a difficult read for me.

BUT...it was a great story. I'm glad I read it, even though it wasn't an easy read. Unfortunately, I didn't have an edition of the book that had notes to explain out-dated words or phrases, so that probably made it more difficult. I was only willing to pop for the cheap-o Bantam classics version.

With all that said, I had to rate it as a 4 out of 5 simply because the story is so good and Dickens made the characters come alive to me in a way I know will make them live in my mind for years to come. I'll never be able to get the picture of Miss Havisham sitting in her decaying wedding dress with all the clocks stopped out of my head! Or Estella sitting at her feet knitting as Pip pours out his heart to her...good stuff. I'm glad I read it.

Some of my favorite passages:

Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself. Cleanliness is next to Godliness, and some people do the same by their religion.

In a by-yard, there was a wilderness of empty casks, which had a certain sour remembrance of better days lingering about them; but it was too sour to be accepted as a sample of the beer that was gone – and in this respect I remember those recluses as being like most others.

Certain wintry branches of candles on the high chimney-piece faintly lighted the chamber, or, it would be more expressive to say, faintly troubled its darkness.

Miss Sarah Pocket, whom I now saw to be a little dry brown corrugated old woman, with a small face that might have been made of walnut shells, and a large mouth like a cat’s without the whiskers, …

- the secret was such an old one now, had so grown into me and became a part of myself, that I could not tear it away.

Mr. Wopsle’s great-aunt successfully overcame that bad habit of living, so highly desirable to be got rid of by some people.

Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears for they are rain upon the blinding dust of the earth, overlaying our hard hearts.

So throughout life our worst weaknesses and meannesses are usually committed for the sake of the people whom we most despise.

All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences did I cheat myself. Surely a curious thing. That I should innocently take a bad half-crown of somebody else’s manufacture is reasonable enough; but that I should knowingly reckon the spurious coin of my own make as good money! An obliging stranger, under pretence of compactly folding up my bank-notes for security’s sake, abstracts the notes and gives me nutshells; but what is his sleight of hand to mine, when I fold up my own nutshells and pass them on myself as notes!

There was a gay fiction among us that we were constantly enjoying ourselves, and a skeleton truth that we never did.

Occasionally, the smoke came rolling down the chimney as though it could not bear to go out into such a night…

…when the day came creeping on, halting and whimpering and shivering, and wrapped in patches of cloud and rags of mist, like a beggar.

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold – when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade.

CONTINUE READING...