Paulo Coelho’s novel The Alchemist is many things. It is a fairy tale, an adventure story, a spiritual prose. Santiago is a shepherd who sets out to follow a dream. Literally. He follows the advice of a gypsy who interprets a reoccurring dream about treasure at the pyramids of Egypt. He leaves the lush fields of Spain to cross the dessert. Along the way he meets spiritual guides, falls in love, learns to listen to his heart. “My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer,” the boy confides to the alchemist one night as they look up at a moonless night. “Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself,” the alchemist replies. “And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.” This tale is filled with beautiful spiritual truths, themes we teach our children and strive to live every day. Woven in a tapestry of adventure, we find dedication to a commitment, diverse cultures, a healthy respect for nature and the universal language.
I enjoy watching the movie version of a beloved book. The scriptwriters and director can often bring out in the visual what was subtle in the the written word. When done well, it gives the story depth. I’ve been disappointed a time or two, but I press on…
Coming soon to the theatre:
Type in the title or author of a favorite book and this site will give you a list of several books. This is a great way to discover new favorites.
I typed in LOVE MEDICINE and got these results:
Happy reading!
-Traci
Now for the parts I didn’t like. First, this is a fiction book that pretends to be non-fiction. Normally, that’s ok; but with a subject this important, it feels almost subversively deceptive. Second, the writing in this book is over simplistic. I understand that Young’s goal was to be accessible to most everyone, but the style he chose bored me. Third, the framework of the narrative bothered me. Can one only come to these understandings following a tragedy? If nothing really bad ever happens to you, will you not get to commune with God? Also, the “was it real or only a dream” felt a bit trite. I almost expected someone to say, “And I’ll miss you most of all”. Of course, there had to be something about reconciling with your inadequate father. What is it with baby boomers? Fourth, there were a few issues that I felt were glossed over or ignored. The mini-discussion of hell felt almost PC. The part about there being no rules or expectations rang a bit hollow as well.
“The Shack” is a good book for new Christians or for those who feel trapped in religion and are looking for spirituality. I just wish it had been better written and more complete.
originally posted at MrWard.tumblr.com on June 28, 2008
-Jason
weaves a twisting and turning tale of murder and political intrigue. FBI Agent Patrick Bowers is called in on the case of a serial killer abducting and and murdering women in the Asheville, NC area. The killer is playing a deadly game of chess. He taunts the investigation team by making contact with future victims and leaving clues at crime scenes. (In chess, if you touch the opponents piece you must then take that piece in your next move.) He is always one step ahead.
To complicate matters, Patrick is trying to come to terms with the death of his wife. He struggles in the role of single parent to his teenage stepdaughter.
The setting of this story was of particular interest to me. The characters fly in and out of my local airport. The monuments and location markers referenced in the story are familiar to me. Because I could picture so many of the scenes, I felt even more involved in James’ narrative.
The Pawn is a fast paced, intense thriller. You’ll be turning pages trying to keep up with Patrick or maybe, if you’re really sharp, get one step ahead of our killer.
originally posted at Haystacks on June 27, 2008
-Traci
Fleur Pillager sets out to avenge the theft of her land. She takes her mother’s name, Four Souls. She becomes the laundress in the family home of the land baron who robbed her family. She cures the ailing mogul, because she wants him healthy and strong minded when she kills him. In her close contact with Mauer, she seduces and is seduced by him.
The most fascinating aspect of this narrative is the fact that Four Souls does not tell her own story. Nanapush, an elder tribesman and Polly, the genteel sister-in-law of the land baron narrate Four Souls’ turn from assassin to lady of the house. Readers are kept at a safe distance by seeing the story unfold through another character’s eyes, yet we know the very depths of Four Souls’ heart. It is as if we cannot come any closer, first person, without being scarred as Four Souls’ is.
This story is a raw representation of one of the greatest misdeeds done to Native Americans. In forcing Indians to defend their land, white men taught the natives to see the land as a possession to be bought and sold.
originally posted at Haystacks on June 20, 2008
-Traci
and he sailed off through night and day
and in and out of weeks
and almost over a year
to where the wild things are
~Maurice Sendak
In only 338 words Sendak takes on a journey from our hero’s room across the ocean to the Island of the Wild Things and back home again.
Max makes mischief. He says to his mother, “I’ll eat you up!” She sends him to his room without supper. And Max’s (and our) adventure begins. Max’s room becomes a forest. The walls disappear and his bed becomes a boat. He sails to The Island of The Wild Things, where he tames the beasts by looking into their yellow eyes without blinking once and becomes their king. Max leads them in their wild rumpus, then sends them to bed without their supper.
Max becomes lonely and wants to be where someone loves him best of all. He sails off through night and day and in out of weeks and almost over a year back home, where he finds his supper waiting for him. And it was still hot.
Max taught a generation of kids how to deal with the conflict and rage. The Wild Things really are the anxiety and pleasure and immense problems of being a small child. The Wild Things grow larger and larger as the story progresses, but Max learns how to be open about his anger and find a resolution.
These are lessons we could all learn, at any age.
originally posted at Haystacks June 14, 2008
-Traci
I started wondering what it would be like to be one of those fish, swimming through this mountain lake minding my own business and then one day rising to the ceiling of all that there is and finding that I could poke my nose through the surface of the sky. And not only my nose but to learn, in a moment of glorious discovery, that with the right flip of my tail I could break through the rippling curtain of my world and take flight, experiencing the strange and wonderful and dangerous freedom of the air.
I imagined I might swim back to the others and tell them about the new world I’d discovered – a place too magnificent for the language of fish to describe. I wondered if they would believe me. After all, sometimes news is too terrible to believe. But sometimes we don’t believe because the news is just too incredible.
At first I thought it was somehow unnatural for fish to jump like that: They’re fish, right? They’re just supposed to swim in the water. After all, that’s what they’re made for. But as night fell and the stars began to bespeckle the sky, I realized that for a fish to leave the water isn’t breaking the rules at all – it’s just exploring the true extent of what it really means to be a fish.
Of course fish are made for the water. Of course they’re made to swim.
But they’re also made to jump.” – Steven James “Sailing Between the Stars”
If you haven’t picked up your copy of Steven James‘ Sailing Between the Stars, stop reading. Go here and place your order. I’ll wait for you.
Steven’s writing often brings me to tears, not because it is sappy or sentimental (That rarely makes me cry.), but because it is pure and real and clear. I read passages like the one excerpted above and I feel the rush of excitement at the thought of breaking through the ceiling of my existence and flying!
Steven encourages the reader to believe the unbelievable. And because he sees it in everyday life all around him and conveys that magic in his storytelling, you are drawn in. I have begun to look for the mysteries of God in nature and everything around me. I seek out opportunities to embrace the illogical, radical, paradoxically absurd Jesus.
originally posted on Haystacks June 2, 2008
-Traci
