I ordered this book after reading about it in a list of favorite historical fiction novels created by a book club in the U.S. and it stayed on the shelf for probably five years before picking it up to read two weeks ago. It wasn't that I didn't want to read it , but how I choose a book already on my shelf varies considerably. Since I've been reading non-fiction almost exclusively, I felt that historical fiction wasn't too far off the track, and this just caught my eye one day - and I knew it would be the next one I read.
The name Dietrich Bonhoeffer first became known to me when I was organist at a German Lutheran Church in London, Ontario during my years in university. The Pastor, Godfrey Oelsner, mentioned him often in his sermons, so I knew that he was a German theologian who had been imprisoned by the Nazis during WW II, and finally executed. I can't remember whether I read any of his Letters and Papers From Prison, but I was aware that he was a man of great faith and compassion, and was considered a martyr by the Lutheran Church.
This was an incredible book to read, and for me it was the first book I have ever read detailing the rise of Hitler, the overthrow of the German government, the resistance movement led many Germans, and the unfolding of the war from a German vantage point. It also depicts the confusion within the Church - those who sympathized with Hitler, and those who knew the only way to defeat him from within was to kill him. Bonhoeffer had to leave Germany at least twice because he so inflamed the hierarchy in the Church.
The most illuminating part was Bonhoeffer's time in prison leading up to his execution - the terrible conditions under which he was held in the beginning, then a relaxing of rules as time goes on, and it is at this point that he becomes truly a pastor as he ministers to other prisoners and becomes a friend to one of his guards.
A quote from Bonhoeffer: " God makes a convenient scapegoat. Or people always think God is absent when things are going bad for them. Things go better and God is back. Well, I want to live in a world as if there were no God. That is the only way God can truly be with any of us."
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Lives Like Loaded Guns - Emily Dickinson and her Family's Feuds by Lyndall Gordon ✔✔✔✔
The author of this remarkable biography was interviewed on CBC the day before the book was released, and I was so intrigued by the title, plus the story of these feuds, that I wasted no time in purchasing the book. I only started reading it this past summer, in between several others I was enjoying, and I finally came back to it this week to finish it.
I'm not even certain the book can be described as a biography - I guess it's a literary biography of the Dickinson family and the other families who were involved - and in many ways it seems to operate more as a literary thriller. The title of the book, taken from one of Emily's 1789 poems, more than aptly describes the families and their feuds, and I often felt I was reading a novel. These were flesh and blood creatures for sure, including Emily - the typical view of her as a recluse in a white dress, shy and retiring, is not accurate. The recluse part is, to be sure, but not the rest of it.
I've chosen one of Lyndall Gordon's paragraphs to sum up the book:
"Emily Dickinson is now recognised as one of the greatest poets who ever lived, yet her life remains a mystery. She continues to be encased in claims put out by opposed camps fighting for possession of her greatness. These camps originated in the clash between Austin Dickinson ( Emily's brother) and his wife, who had been the poet's intimate and her keenest reader. Out of this feud, a lasting feud developed, and it was the opponents in this feud, their allies and warring descendants, who devised the image of the poet as her fame grew and endured. What began as a split over adultery turned into a feud over who was to own the poet: in the first instance, who was to have the right to publish her works; in the second, whose legend would imprint itself on the public mind."
Gordon has written other bios: Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot and Charlotte Bronte.
I'm not even certain the book can be described as a biography - I guess it's a literary biography of the Dickinson family and the other families who were involved - and in many ways it seems to operate more as a literary thriller. The title of the book, taken from one of Emily's 1789 poems, more than aptly describes the families and their feuds, and I often felt I was reading a novel. These were flesh and blood creatures for sure, including Emily - the typical view of her as a recluse in a white dress, shy and retiring, is not accurate. The recluse part is, to be sure, but not the rest of it.
I've chosen one of Lyndall Gordon's paragraphs to sum up the book:
"Emily Dickinson is now recognised as one of the greatest poets who ever lived, yet her life remains a mystery. She continues to be encased in claims put out by opposed camps fighting for possession of her greatness. These camps originated in the clash between Austin Dickinson ( Emily's brother) and his wife, who had been the poet's intimate and her keenest reader. Out of this feud, a lasting feud developed, and it was the opponents in this feud, their allies and warring descendants, who devised the image of the poet as her fame grew and endured. What began as a split over adultery turned into a feud over who was to own the poet: in the first instance, who was to have the right to publish her works; in the second, whose legend would imprint itself on the public mind."
Gordon has written other bios: Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot and Charlotte Bronte.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Shania Twain: From This Moment On
I've long been a fan of Shania Tawin. She's a Northern gal, she always seems very down-to-earth, she sings well, and I loved how she appeared at the Juno Awards some years ago wearing different hockey sweaters of Canadian teams. I knew that she had had a difficult childhood, and that her parents had both died in a car accident, and more recently, the news of her marriage breakdown because of the affair her husband and producer was having with her best friend and confidante made me sympathize with her even more.
I really enjoyed reading this book - her childhood was even more difficult than I knew- a lot of physical violence between her parents, much of which she witnessed, extreme poverty ( she tells of taking a sandwich made with mustard as the only filling to school), and finding escape in her music - writing and singing songs. Her mother was very much involved in getting her career in music started, and it's also interesting how, as an adult, Shania still has a lot of respect for her father, despite the fact that he beat his wife so often, seemingly more over financial difficulties than any troubles with alcohol or drugs.
Her rise through the music business is interestingly told - I never knew that emerging artists basically "shop" for songs in Music Row in Nashville ( our hotel was next to the Row when we visited there three years ago) and how Mutt Lange, her husband and partner, was such a master in producing her albums, and helped her go in musical directions much different from other country artists.
She's quite candid about the marriage breakdown, and the developing relationship with Fred, her husband now, who was the husband of her best friend, Marie-Anne, who is now with Shania's ex....( will there be a test on this after??)
She is also quite inspirational, and I especially appreciated the fact that she got through a lot of these situations in her life on her own two feet and using good common sense - not giving all the credit to God as so many of the country artists do. And I will always admire someone who could lead a tree-planting crew of men at age 17, set a bear trap and wash clothes in a river. Way to go, Shania!!
I really enjoyed reading this book - her childhood was even more difficult than I knew- a lot of physical violence between her parents, much of which she witnessed, extreme poverty ( she tells of taking a sandwich made with mustard as the only filling to school), and finding escape in her music - writing and singing songs. Her mother was very much involved in getting her career in music started, and it's also interesting how, as an adult, Shania still has a lot of respect for her father, despite the fact that he beat his wife so often, seemingly more over financial difficulties than any troubles with alcohol or drugs.
Her rise through the music business is interestingly told - I never knew that emerging artists basically "shop" for songs in Music Row in Nashville ( our hotel was next to the Row when we visited there three years ago) and how Mutt Lange, her husband and partner, was such a master in producing her albums, and helped her go in musical directions much different from other country artists.
She's quite candid about the marriage breakdown, and the developing relationship with Fred, her husband now, who was the husband of her best friend, Marie-Anne, who is now with Shania's ex....( will there be a test on this after??)
She is also quite inspirational, and I especially appreciated the fact that she got through a lot of these situations in her life on her own two feet and using good common sense - not giving all the credit to God as so many of the country artists do. And I will always admire someone who could lead a tree-planting crew of men at age 17, set a bear trap and wash clothes in a river. Way to go, Shania!!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
The Cello Suites by Eric Siblin ✔✔✔
Subtitled "J.S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the search for a Baroque Masterpiece.
I am presently leading some worship services at Trinity, and I'm using Music as my theme, so I read this book - which I purchased in Peterborough two years ago - to give me a refresher on the life of J.S. Bach, which was timely, and certainly about 80% more information about Pablo Casals, whom I had known merely as one of the world's greatest cellists, and that he had played in Washington for JFK back in the early 60s, than I previously had had.
It was an interesting read, both for reading about these two great musicians, but also for their creative life, and how these Cello Suites came to life only in the 20th century by Casals. The connections between the 18th century and the 20th were very interesting, and the author, who describes his own attempts to sing in a Bach cantata with no previous choral experience, and absolutely no music-reading experience, made this a very readable book.
Eric Siblin was a pop music critic for the Montreal Gazette, and had had his fill, as he says, of music is his head that he didn't want to have there, so the Cello Suites offered " a way out of a jam". He travelled extensively throughout Spain and Germany, attended a Bach festival, interviewed other cellists, and, as I mentioned before, immersed himself as completely as he could in the music of Bach.
I am presently leading some worship services at Trinity, and I'm using Music as my theme, so I read this book - which I purchased in Peterborough two years ago - to give me a refresher on the life of J.S. Bach, which was timely, and certainly about 80% more information about Pablo Casals, whom I had known merely as one of the world's greatest cellists, and that he had played in Washington for JFK back in the early 60s, than I previously had had.
It was an interesting read, both for reading about these two great musicians, but also for their creative life, and how these Cello Suites came to life only in the 20th century by Casals. The connections between the 18th century and the 20th were very interesting, and the author, who describes his own attempts to sing in a Bach cantata with no previous choral experience, and absolutely no music-reading experience, made this a very readable book.
Eric Siblin was a pop music critic for the Montreal Gazette, and had had his fill, as he says, of music is his head that he didn't want to have there, so the Cello Suites offered " a way out of a jam". He travelled extensively throughout Spain and Germany, attended a Bach festival, interviewed other cellists, and, as I mentioned before, immersed himself as completely as he could in the music of Bach.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Queen Elizabeth by William Shawcross
It's taken me a long time to finish this 943-page bio. I read the first 300 pages or so in June, amidst other books, then decided to read it exclusively through to the end. I had started reading Follett's "Fall of Giants", and after a hundred pages or so, thought Shawcross had done a better, more-informed job of the First World War, so I turned to QE full-time.
This is sub-titled "The Official Biography", and Shawcross evidently took that very seriously, because it is so detailed in every aspect of QE's public life, and it does paint an extremely flattering picture of her.
I have great admiration for Royals - their job is not an easy one, and George VI and Elizabeth were the ultimate, I'd say, in meeting and visiting people, keeping in touch, becoming patrons and so on. The rigours of royal tours became very evident in this book - there would be complaints from people around them, but rarely from the main attractions themselves. Right up to the year she died, QE was out visiting, trooping the colours, travelling, entertaining. I'd have been gasping for some time to myself!
King George V's biographer called her " one of the most amazing Queens since Cleopatra". Her smile was infectious, and she never lost the warmth and grace of her childhood years, living in Glamis, Scotland.
Her smile, her unwavering faith and her love of surprises were, for me, the most notable things about QE. She took a lot of delight when things went awry at events. For example, on one visit to Canada, poor weather forced her plane down in Cold Lake, Alberta. She sat in the officer's mess and talked happily with the officers and their wives until her plane could continue its journey.
After her 90th birthday, her daughter Margaret mentioned how much they were now looking forward to her 100th birthday. She replied:" Oh, you mustn't say that. It's unlucky. I mean, I might be run over by a big red bus". When someone mentioned that this was highly unlikely, she replied:"No, it's the principle of the thing. Wouldn't it be terrible if you'd spent all your life doing everything you were supposed to do, didn't drink, didn't smoke, took lots of exercise, all the things you didn't want to do, and suddenly one day you were run over by a big red bus, and as the wheels were crunching into you, you'd say "Oh, my God, I could have got so drunk last night" That's the way you should live your life, as if tomorrow you'll be run over by a big red bus"
And that's exactly how she did live!
This is sub-titled "The Official Biography", and Shawcross evidently took that very seriously, because it is so detailed in every aspect of QE's public life, and it does paint an extremely flattering picture of her.
I have great admiration for Royals - their job is not an easy one, and George VI and Elizabeth were the ultimate, I'd say, in meeting and visiting people, keeping in touch, becoming patrons and so on. The rigours of royal tours became very evident in this book - there would be complaints from people around them, but rarely from the main attractions themselves. Right up to the year she died, QE was out visiting, trooping the colours, travelling, entertaining. I'd have been gasping for some time to myself!
King George V's biographer called her " one of the most amazing Queens since Cleopatra". Her smile was infectious, and she never lost the warmth and grace of her childhood years, living in Glamis, Scotland.
Her smile, her unwavering faith and her love of surprises were, for me, the most notable things about QE. She took a lot of delight when things went awry at events. For example, on one visit to Canada, poor weather forced her plane down in Cold Lake, Alberta. She sat in the officer's mess and talked happily with the officers and their wives until her plane could continue its journey.
After her 90th birthday, her daughter Margaret mentioned how much they were now looking forward to her 100th birthday. She replied:" Oh, you mustn't say that. It's unlucky. I mean, I might be run over by a big red bus". When someone mentioned that this was highly unlikely, she replied:"No, it's the principle of the thing. Wouldn't it be terrible if you'd spent all your life doing everything you were supposed to do, didn't drink, didn't smoke, took lots of exercise, all the things you didn't want to do, and suddenly one day you were run over by a big red bus, and as the wheels were crunching into you, you'd say "Oh, my God, I could have got so drunk last night" That's the way you should live your life, as if tomorrow you'll be run over by a big red bus"
And that's exactly how she did live!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
In The Land of Believers by Gina Welch ✔✔✔✔
I don't even remember how I found out about this, but when I read about it, I downloaded it immediately. Gina is a young woman who decides she wants to write about evangelical Christians by "embedding" herself in one of their churches, and chooses Dr. Jerry Falwell's church. She is an athiest, and remains so throughout the book, but nonetheless is changed by her experiences there - she even gets baptized by immersion! She also attends something called a Scaremare, which I had never heard of - a sort of haunted house experience designed to scare you enough into becoming a Christian - yes, I kid you not!
I was wondering how she would get herself out of all this, so it was very interesting to read, and find out the members' reactions to her book.
I was wondering how she would get herself out of all this, so it was very interesting to read, and find out the members' reactions to her book.
The Art of Racing In The Rain - Garth Stein✔✔✔✔
This story was so close to David's situation right now, plus his relationship with his golden retriever, Charlie. It tells the story of a family with the dog, Enzo, as the narrator. Here's the beginning:
"Gestures are all I have; sometimes they must be grand in nature. And while I occasionally step over the line and into the world of the melodramatic, it is what I must do to communicate clearly and effectively....I have no words I can rely on because, much to my dismay, my tongue was designed long and flat and loose, and...an even less effective tool for making...sounds that can be linked together to form sentences"
But Enzo is also a very important character in this novel, as he nurtures and helps heal Denny, his owner, Eve, Denny's wife, who is dying of cancer, and their daughter,Zoë.
This would be a wonderful book for a Book Club to read and discuss.
"Gestures are all I have; sometimes they must be grand in nature. And while I occasionally step over the line and into the world of the melodramatic, it is what I must do to communicate clearly and effectively....I have no words I can rely on because, much to my dismay, my tongue was designed long and flat and loose, and...an even less effective tool for making...sounds that can be linked together to form sentences"
But Enzo is also a very important character in this novel, as he nurtures and helps heal Denny, his owner, Eve, Denny's wife, who is dying of cancer, and their daughter,Zoë.
This would be a wonderful book for a Book Club to read and discuss.
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