Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis

I wanted to mention this book in passing. This was actually the first time I have read the book, which is not odd in itself except that I've read almost all of Lewis' other books including the more obscure ones. I tried to read Mere Christianity several years ago, but only made it about 50 pages in. I still find the book a bit on the dry side, but I suppose my tolerance for dry books has gone up, or on the other hand, I suppose my appreciation of solid rationale and powerful rhetoric has also increased.

Even as I express my admiration for Lewis' thoughts, opinions, and arguments, I do want to note one interesting habit that is especially prevalent in this book. Lewis tends to spend about 80% of his time in Mere Christianity describing allegories to explain his argument. This normally wouldn't be a problem--most great teachers use allegories--but about halfway through the book I have to admit I got a little tired of them. Overall, however, it was a great read and full of powerful and thought-provoking explanations of Christianity.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain - Wallace Stegner

Once again, Stegner does not disappoint. I was skeptical about how much I would like this book at first. Following popularity and general acclaim as a measure, I had already read Stegner's best two books, Angle of Repose and Crossing to Safety, both of which I highly recommend to anyone. After those two books, I read The Spectator Bird, which was very good, but not as good--in my opinion--as the first two. So, when I picked up The Big Rock Candy Mountain, I wondered where I would place it among Stegner's works.

Usually, when I pick up a Stegner novel, it takes a good hundred pages or so of reading before I really get "into" the book--with, perhaps, the exception of Crossing to Safety. I think the reason for this in my case is that Stegner's novels rarely rely on a "page-turner plot" to pull us in and drive the story and meaning of the book. Rather, Stegner's characters become real so that every time I open the book, I feel like I'm coming back to old friends who I care about and want to experience life with.

In the end, that's exactly what Stegner writes--experiences into other people's lives.

He writes people who live ordinary lives that somehow become extraordinary and profound as we reflect on them. I found this novel to be comparable to Angle of Repose in a lot of ways. It focuses on a small family being swept around the American west by the changing fortunes and endeavors of the husband--though admittedly, the husbands are very different in the two books. The focus of the novel seemed different to me, however, and Angle of Repose seems like an evolution from The Big Rock Candy Mountain. This novel focuses on the marriage of Bo and Elsa Mason, but more than that it focuses on parenthood, as the perspectives shift to the children as they grow and understand their parents. In Angle of Repose, Stegner focused more on the marriage in the story, but he also went to another level of depth, writing the story from the perspective of the modern historian, Lyman Ward, whose wife had left him. In that book, Stegner added an extra level of depth that didn't exist in its predecessor. Lyman Ward gives us a catalyst of application and relatability as we see the lives of his grandparents through his eyes.

Despite my rambling about Angle of Repose, I heartily recommend The Big Rock Candy Mountain. I believe much understanding and applicability to our lives can be gleaned from its pages.

Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell

I have to admit, this book is even more depressing the second time around. If you are frequently plagued by thoughts about the futility of human endeavors, well, this book won't help. Despite making you feel disturbed and occasionally grossed-out, it also makes you feel grateful that the book is (for the most part) fiction. And perhaps one of the powerful messages of the novel is to make sure it continues to be more fiction than reality.


As I see it, Orwell isn't dealing with any "out-of-this-world" ideas. Rather, he's taking the ideas that are commonly tossed around in politics and progressive thought and pushing them just a few steps further or corrupting them just a bit. In this way, his novel acts less as interesting speculations than as a warning of what is politically and culturally only a few steps away. What are those steps? Perhaps the further dehumanizing of the human, or perhaps the continuance of a trend of the working class being less politically active. And combined with these a slack in the freedom of speech and a rise in propaganda. Yet as I look at this novel as a warning to the free world, the most disturbing part about it is that the use of the words "free world" already implies that there is a "not free world," which often resembles Orwell's vision more than we would like to imagine.





In the end, I prefer "Fahrenheit 451" (which is similar in many ways) over this book, if only because it's a bit more uplifting.

Genre: Fiction/Modernist Lit

Angle of Repose - Wallace Stegner

I read this book earlier this year, but since it's at the top of my favorites list, and will likely stay there for some time, it deserves some explanation.

Winner of the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and Stegner's best known work, Angle of Repose is a masterpiece of contemporary American literature. The story is built around a crippled historian telling the sub-story (which actually takes most of the book) of his grandparents in the western U.S of the late 1800's. Admittedly, the novel is long and occasionally even slow, but well worth the effort. At first the story of a couple making a life in the rugged west captured me more than I thought possible. I felt like I was reading about people I knew, and indeed, the power of the book is not in plot twists or action, but in the power of the characters and how much you begin to care about their life together and more especially their relationship. By the end of the book (and don't worry, this isn't a spoiler), the life of the historian narrator becomes the more pressing an relevant of the story lines as the two stories come together with one of the most powerful and profound endings I have ever read.

Even if you're not too keen on "high literature," don't disregard this one. It's more readily applicable to everyday life than your average high school English required reading. "Angle of Repose" explores themes of survival, ambition, love, forgiveness, and perhaps more than anything, marriage. And on that note, readers who are or have been married will generally find deeper insights and meaning in this novel.

Genre: Fiction/Post-modern Lit

The Spectator Bird - Wallace Stegner

I actually finished this book a few weeks ago, but it's worth mentioning for my first post. This book would only be less-than-excellent when compared to Stegner's other, more widely known novels (Angle of Repose, etc.). Like most of Stegner's work, it's a fine example of careful, engaging writing about the significant and personally applicable experiences of rather ordinary people. While it's not the first Stegner book I would recommend, it's definitely more than worth the time. For those who can't get by on anything less than constant thrills and action-packed pages, however, be sure to steer clear of this one -- unless you're ready to broaden your horizons.

Genre: Fiction/Post-modern Lit