Book Reviews: Fiction

I'm halfway through 2014, and I've read eleven books so far. Rather than invite the reader to read 22 or more reviews in January of 2015, I thought I'd post my reviews at the halfway point for easier reading.

Over the past year, as I've finished books, I have written my thoughts down so they're fresh in my mind. I've given each book a rating based on a 5 star system (because stars are easy to think about, and I don't have a last name that's conducive to something cute or fancy). One Star: Lousy, don't bother; Two Star: Not worth spending money, but okay if you can get it for free. You'll get something out of it; Three Star: Average book. I liked it, and it's worth a buy, but it wasn't stellar, and not something I'd say is a must have. Four Star: Impacted my life in some way (even for entertainment value), and would say the reader should probably purchase it if given the chance; Five Star: Near perfect book, and highly impacting, i.e. completely transformed some area of my life. Would suggest that the reader should purchase this at the first opportunity and read it right away. Some of them I've rated for impact, some for content, and some for readability. Some I've even rated for a couple of things. And the reality is that my ratings aren't perfect, and are strictly my opinion. I'm not even sure my wife would agree with me. But, then, again, it's my review. Since the reviews are already written, I'm just going to copy and paste, and see how that works.

I'll break this up into fiction, leadership/pastoring, biography, and theology. So, let's start with fiction, and go from there. As you go, you'll see why I decided to go ahead and break these up into multiple posts, and do this batch now, and the second half of 2014 in January, 2015.

The Curate's Awakening by George MacDonald: Set in a 19th century English country village, this is the story of a newly minted, young curate - the only equivalent I can come up with is the difference between a licensed pastor and an ordained one, the curate being the former - Thomas Wingfold, who discovers that he really doesn't believe what he's preaching, and he's too honest a man to not care. The story chronicles the next year as Wingfold, within the bounds of his parish duties, takes a faith journey to discover whether he is really going to believe (and therefore keep his job), or set aside both his job and the Bible. Parallel to this story is the story of Helen Lingard, a young lady in Wingfold's parish, who takes an entirely different journey of faith, starting further away, and continuing to move further away from truth, as she is wooed by a confirmed atheist lawyer, and nurses her sick brother, a murderer in hiding. Yet for all these two stories, the full story itself isn't an action-adventure story or mystery, but more a drama of real life doubts and fears, and what the two primary characters, and even the secondary ones, do with those doubts and fears. That said, the story is but the vehicle for the author to communicate his love of the church, and God's tremendous love and grace for us. There are some amazing nuggets of truth hidden in the dialogues of this story. There aren't too many works of fiction in which I underline quotes, and even fewer that I highlight whole paragraphs, but this is one of them. This is the third time I've read this book, and I continue to be challenged to a simpler, yet stronger and deeper faith in God, and a deeper walk with Him. While I would give this book a 4.5/5 stars for continued impact, it is a slow read, especially if one is used to our cultures constant need for action-type drama rather than the type that makes one think. For that reason, I think I'd give it a 3.5/5 for readability, which may not be fair to the author, basing my score on our culture's values, but I want the reader of this review to be prepared for the type of book he or she would be diving in to.

The Ladies' Confession by George MacDonald: A sequel to "The Curate's Awakening," (and part of a trilogy 'starring' the curate, Thomas Wingfold), the title indicates that the book is about Juliet, a young lady whose past we never really learn a whole lot about, other than the important piece having to do with the confession. The story really has to do with the question, "Why does a good person need Jesus?" and centers around Dr. Faber, Juliet's doctor, and eventually her husband. MacDonald does an excellent job of addressing this question through Dr. Faber, as well as a few other more minor characters, expertly woven through the story without making them feel forced. Despite MacDonald's focus for the story, the lesson I learned was one of grace and patience. I was reminded of the truth that a person's story is never over as long as they live; that God is always working on people through their circumstances, as well as the power and drawing of His Holy Spirit. My role is to be patient, as well as follow the nudging of the Holy Spirit to speak truth into their lives as God gives me opportunity. This speaking probably won't be in "preaching at" them, but will more likely be in words of encouragement, loving them with His grace when they know they don't deserve it (and even if they don't), and especially in asking questions. Through it all, it's about having patience and trusting God for their soul rather than feeling like it's all on me, or they're hopeless. This is the second time I've read this book, and, despite the great lessons here, for readability and enjoyment, and even impact, I'd only give it a 2.5/5 stars. It simply didn't hold my attention like the first book in this series did. That makes it an average book, which isn't a bad thing, but not something I'd highly recommend unless the reader is the type that is able to think while they read rather than just turn their brain off.

The Baker Street Mystery Series by Thomas Brace Haughey: This is a mystery series that I actually began reading to Matthew in 2013. It's made up of six books, and tells the stories of Geoffrey Weston, a great-grand nephew of Sherlock Holmes, and his Watson-like partner, John Taylor, Esq., who tells the stories. The stories are: The Case of the Hijacked Moon, The Case of the Invisible Thief, The Kidnapped Shadow (taking place in Mexcio), the Frozen Scream, The Case of the Maltese Treasure, and The Case of the Unbolted Lightening (which takes place in the United States). Like Sherlock, Weston is not only brilliant and well-read, but is also great at making deductions, and secretive in disclosing his deductions until he's got all his ducks in a row and is ready to make the arrest. The stories take place in modern England (or at least start there), though modern is relative - they were written before cell phones were invented. The twist to these stories is that the detectives are solid Christians. Because of the nature of their jobs, it's completely logical (pardon the pun) that they primarily share the Gospel through argument/debate and apologetics. This was an especially popular way of sharing the Gospel in the 80's, so it fits the time frame that the author was writing in. Whether they're interviewing a witness or a suspect, or they're just visiting their friend from Scotland Yard, they're always looking for an opening to talk about how God can transform your life. Overall, these books are great brain candy - they're not deep (despite the efforts of the author to create some great apologetic arguments), the stories are fun, and not completely obvious. For entertainment value, I'd definitely give them a 3/5 stars, though Matthew may have enjoyed them more than that.

The Tower of Geburah by John White: I don't know how many times I've read this book, or had it read to me. My mom discovered the book when we were kids, and read it to us. It's a great read, very similar to Narnia, yet definitely with its differences. My wife and I have now read it to our boys (at least the three youngest), and we not only appreciated the story (as did the boys, who clamored for me to read it every change we got), but we also appreciated the lessons the author interwove through the story. To our eyes/ears, they were pretty basic and obvious, yet to children, or those who haven't been Christians long, they're quite subtle. The story opens up great dialogue with our kids for examples of what it means to live for Christ in a way that our boys are open to. My boys would probably give it a 4.5 out of 5, so I'll stick with that, as those are the ones it's written for, and I'm very thankful for the lesson opportunities it has and will give Shari and I. We look forward to reading more in the seris as the library acquires and sends them to us.


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