Wednesday, April 30, 2008

The Children of God This is a continuation of the story that was started in The Sparrow. In The Children of God the story is told from the point of views of the people on Earth after Emilio returns from Rakhat, and from the people of Rakhat after he leaves. The two storylines come together so the reader can see how the original Jesuit mission has changed the society on Rakhat. As in the first, it has a nice blend of faith and science fiction. 2:28:57 PM

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

The Sparrow An interesting combination of theology and science fiction, The Sparrow is the story of Emilio Sanchez, a Jesuit priest, and his friend's discovery and voyage to a planet in a different solar system. Emilio is an expert linguist and is able to learn the language of the first beings they meet. They are very surprised when they find that there is another species on the planet that is also verbal. The two groups have an odd relationship, which the party from Earth tries to figure out. Some of the party from Earth believe in God, some do not, and this is one of the themes throughout the book. Another theme is how a new group can bring new ideas into an established way of doing things, and the changes that can occur because of this. The Sparrow's sequel is Children of God 3:07:34 PM

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Keeping Faith "Keeping Faith" by Jodi Picoult. It's based on a 7-year-old girl named "Faith" who's parents divorce. After the divorce, Faith starts talking to an "imaginary friend", whom she reveals later is her "Guard". At first her mom doesn't think a whole lot about it, however, she starts noticing some peculiar things happening with Faith. Her grandma has a massive heart attack and dies at the hospital. After she is pronounced dead, Faith and her mother are allowed in to see the body. Faith climbs onto the table and breaths into her grandma's mouth. This brings the grandma back to life and restores her to perfect health. Then Faith has the appearance of stigmata to her hands. Then her mother realizes that she's not seeing her "Guard", she's talking to "God". The problem is that Faith has no idea who God is. Her parents have never taken her to church and have never discussed religion with her or in her presence. Faith begins speaking Hebrew and reciting passages from the bible. She also heals a baby who has AIDS. This wreaks havoc on the family when the press finds out about Faith. They stake out at her house and so do hundreds of people who want Faith to heal them and lay hands on them. Her father finds out about the scene and decides to take Faith away from her mother, thinking that her mother is causing the situation for attention. They ensue in a court battle and ends up leaving everyone a believer in God. This book is extremely well written. I would recommend it to anyone who likes religious fiction or just enjoys reading Jodi Picoult books. (KL) 2:45:54 PM

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

She's Such a Geek I was traveling recently and wanted something fun to read on the plane. I like reading science books, so I scanned the 500's looking for something interesting and found She's Such a Geek: women write about science, technology & other nerdy stuff / edited by Annalee Newitz & Charlie Anders.. This is a great book for any woman who likes science and technology but felt that society was not exactly jumping up and down in encouragement. The essays range from rememberances from liking science and computers in high school, to working in a science lab now. Some of the women had little encouragement, some had lots. They all finally found a place to be comfortable. It was a great book 3:55:10 PM

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Midnight's Children My daughter read Midnight's Children by Salmon Rushdie for a class in college and suggested I read it too. It was an interesting novel about India just before and after independence from Great Britain. The main premise of the novel was that children born near to midnight on the night of independence were granted various supernatural gifts. The main character was able to read minds and communicate with all the other children. Some of the children could travel through time, others were able to travel from place to place via smooth surfaces, such as mirrors. The main character finds out when he is 10 that another child was born at the same time and the two babies were switched. He, who was the natural child of a poor family was raised in luxury, while the child of the rich parents was raised in poverty. They became rivals. The story follows the upheavals with Pakistani independence and the war that split Pakistan and Bangledesh. The history of the countries mirrors the narrator's life. It was a very interesting book, with many illusions to both Hindu and Muslim religious practices. The book woon the Booker Prize in 1981. 4:37:21 PM

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Saving Fish from Drowning Amy Tan's novels are always interesting and Saving Fish From Drowning is no exception. It is the story of a trip to China arranged by the narrator, who dies before the trip takes place. The travelers go despite having their guide and run into all sorts of episodes because of their lack of awareness of the culture which they are visiting. The narrator tries to help them with their troubles, even though she is dead. During the book we get glimpses into her life and, finally, the cause of her death. It is a fascinating look at the collison of cultures. 9:10:02 AM

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

A Grief Observed C. S. Lewis is one of the more famous religious writers of the 20th century. When his wife died, he kept diaries of his thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Close to his own death his diary was published as A Grief Observed. It is an intimate description of the experience of losing a spouse...from the initial anguish and rage at God and the world, to, finally, a kind of acceptance or coming to terms. It is well written and deeply moving. A good book for anyone who has lost a spouse, or knows someone who has. 3:25:23 PM

© Copyright 2008 Jocelyn Shaw. Last update: 4/30/2008; 2:29:19 PM. Photo curtesy of Marjorie O'Brien