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Sunday Salon: Miscellaneous Fascinations

Oct17

The Sunday Salon.com

Thanks to Travis at 100 Scope Notes I now have the first entry on my Christmas wishlist, the T-shirt with this picture on the front from Unshelved:

National Book Award Finalists in the Young People’s Literature category are:

Paolo Bacigalupi, Ship Breaker
Kathryn Erskine, Mockingbird
Laura McNeal, Dark Water
Walter Dean Myers, Lockdown
Rita Williams-Garcia, One Crazy Summer

I’ve not read any of these, but two of them, Mockingbird and One Crazy Summer, are nominated in the Middle Grade Fiction category for the Cybils, so I’ll be reading them soon. I’ll let you know what I think. All the nominees for the National Book Awards are here. I’ve read exactly one book on any of the finalist lists, So Much For That by Lionel Shriver, so I can’t say much about what I would choose as a winner in any of the categories. The winners will be announced on November 17th.

Amy needs prayer for the orphanage in Zambia that she and her husband run.

Betsy-Bee: “Pink spines and pink covers always attract me.” (They tend to repel me. I’m anti-pink.)

Drama Daughter is studying theater at the local junior college these days. I have reservations about her being able to reconcile her commitment to Christ with the demands of a career in theater, but if anyone can do it, she’s the one. Determined is that girl. Anyway, here’s an article about actress Patricia Heaton who faces the same tension.

Poem #34: She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron, 1814

Sep23

“No one should be a rhymer who could be anything better.”~George Gordon, Lord Byron

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

“On the evening of June 11, 1814, Byron attended a party with his friend, James Wedderburn Webster, at the London home of Lady Sarah Caroline Sitwell. Among the other guests was the beautiful Mrs. Anne Beatrix Wilmot, the wife of Byrons first cousin, Sir Robert Wilmot. Her exquisite good looks dazzled Byron and inspired him to write She Walks in Beauty. She was apparently in mourning and wearing black with silver accoutrements (like a starry night).”

Byron is not the right man to be writing of “a heart whose love is innocent” as far as I can tell. He once said, “Every day confirms my opinion on the superiority of a vicious life — and if Virtue is not its own reward I don’t know any other stipend annexed to it.” He rather reminds me of Oscar Wilde, fond of elegance and of shocking people both with his actions and his observations. He is said to have had sex with over 300 women, and probably several minors, both boys and girls, a fact which takes some of the beauty out of the poem for me. I know one is supposed to dissociate the writer from his work and enjoy the poetry for what it is, but I can’t do that with either Byron or Shelley. They were both good-for-nothing cads, and the flavor of their lives gets into their poetry somehow.

Anyway, it might be a lovely poem if no one had ever told me anything about the poet.

You can read more about Byron if you’re so inclined:
The Life and Work of Lord Byron at Englishhistory.net
George Gordon, Lord Byron: Byromania

The Passion of Mary-Margaret by Lisa Samson

Sep22

Someone recommended Lisa Samson when I asked about favorite authors of Christian fiction, and I took the bait and borrowed The Passion of Mary-Margaret from the library. The novel was published by Thomas Nelson Publishers in 2009, and I must say I was surprised. Not only was the story absorbing and eminently readable, it was very Catholic. That’s not what I expected from an evangelical writer and an evangelical publisher. The book reminded of something as I was reading, and it was only after I finished that I realized what it was: it has a “Touched by an Angel” feel to it, only with a lot more Jesus than Touched By an Angel ever saw fit to indulge.

Sister Mary-Margaret is seventy years old, and she’s already anticipating the day when she will see God face to face. Since that day could conceivably come at any time, even though Sister Mary-Margaret is in good health, our narrator decides to write down the events of her life and the things she’s learned in the past seventy years.

Because Sister MM is getting older, she move easily between past and present, a fact which makes the timeline in the book a bit confusing in places. The story concentrates on what is happening in the present and moves without warning, sometimes with very few transitional signals, into the past and the events of Sister MM’s youth and the beginning of her life as a religious (similar to a nun). Then, the story takes a detour into the mystical as Sister MM has conversations with Jesus, a Jesus who appears whenever he wishes in bodily form and tells Sister MM whatever he wants her to know.

It took me a little while to get into the flow of Samson’s story and style. Sister Mary-Margaret’s voice is practical, somewhat humorous and irreverent, and at the same time spiritual in the best sense of the word. She’s in the world, but not of it. She’s fully aware of sin and suffering in this world, but also in tune with the heartbeat of Jesus and His love for His broken creation. I thoroughly enjoyed Samson’s story of the awakening and spiritual journey of this Catholic religious sister and her unorthodox journey with Jesus as guide. I’ll be looking for other books by Lisa Samson. Any suggestions?

More reviews of The Passion of Mary-Margaret:
Lisa at 5 Minutes for Books: “I have a little trouble with the mysticism contained in the story. Remember, I told you Lisa Samson likes to push the envelope a bit? Mary-Margaret sees Jesus, talks to Jesus (and He talks back), has tea with Jesus. I can’t decide whether this contributes or detracts from my personal endorsement of the novel.”

My Friend Amy: ” . . . this novel is so completely lovely, so full of reality and yet so bathed in the love of Jesus that it moved me deeply, and in short, makes me feel like a better person for having read it.”

Relz Reviews: “Brilliant characterisation by Lisa brings Mary-Margaret, Jude, Sister Angelica and every other character to grace the pages of this book, to tangible life with their failings and strengths authentically displayed.”

1776 and Forge: Serendipitous Reading

Sep21

1776 by David McCullough.

Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson. Sequel to Chains by the same author. Nominated for 2011 Cybil Awards, Young Adult Fiction category. Nominated by Amy at Hope Is the Word.

I really didn’t plan it this way, but what a fortuitous sequence of reading events.

1. I am teaching U.S. History at our homeschool co-op. We’ve been reading about Jamestown, the Pilgrims and colonial life in general. We’ll be studying the American Revolution in about a week, or maybe two.

2. I finally read David McCullough’s 1776 about the beginning of the Revolution and all of the characters and events of the year 1776. I really fell for Nathaniel Greene, General Washington’s young Quaker-born protege, and Henry Knox, the stout young former bookseller turned artillery expert. McCullough writes vivid, informative history, and he makes the people of history especially full of life and approachable. I wanted to meet General Green and Colonel Knox. I cheered for them when things went well and felt sorry for them when they made mistakes which ended in tragedy. I did copy a few passages into my notebook as I read:

Washington to the army defending New York, August 23 1776: “Remember officers and soldiers that you are free men, fighting for the blessings of liberty—that slavery will be your portion and that of your posterity, if you do not acquit yourselves like men.”

New York, August 1776, on the lack of uniforms in the Continental Army: “In the absence of uniforms, every man was to put a sprig of green in his hat as identification.” I thought this brief sentence was so evocative of the David and Goliath nature of the fight, backwoods, country Americans, in their worn, homespun work clothes going up against the best-trained, best-equipped army in the world in their scarlet uniforms. And only a spring of greenery to identify friend from foe.

British General Grant after a British victory in the same battle of New York: “If a good bleeding can bring those Bible-faced Yankees to their senses, the fever of independency should soon abate.” It didn’t bring them to their senses, and the fever did not abate.

McCullough on General George Washington: “He was not a brilliant strategist or tactician, not a gifted orator, not an intellectual. At several crucial moments, he had shown marked indecisiveness. He had made serious mistakes in judgment. But experience had been his great teacher, and in this his greatest test, he learned steadily from experience. Above all, Washington never forgot what was at stake, and he never gave up.”

3. Immediately after I finished 1776, I started Laurie Halse Anderson’s Forge, a sequel to the award-winning Chains. These books are set during the American Revolution, a fact I knew since I read Chains last year, but I had forgotten that Chains ends in 1776 with the British in control of New York and our two protagonists, Isabel and Curzon, escaping from slavery and from a British prison into the wilderness of upstate(?) New York. Forge covers the time period of the winter and subsequent spring at Valley Forge 1777-78 where General Washington and his ragtag army spent a miserable time trying to survive and recover from their defeats and victories at the hands of the British army.

There are a few flashbacks that tell the reader what happened to Isabel and Curzon between their escape from New York and October, 1777 when the book actually picks up the story. Suffice it to say the two friends have not remained together, and Curzon is now on his own with no idea where Isabel is. This book evokes and enumerates all of the hardships experienced by the common soldiers at Valley Forge from the viewpoint of the lowest of the low, an escaped slave and enlisted man in the Continental Army. Curzon experiences prejudice, misunderstanding, persecution, deprivation, and near starvation, sometimes because of his skin color and also as a result of the deficiency of supplies and organization in the army as a whole.

My friend General Nathaniel Greene reappears in fictional form in this book. and the men are glad to see him! It seems, according to Halse Anderson’s telling of the story, that General Greene saved the day at Valley Forge and finally got the men there some food and clothing and arms. Greene’s wife, Caty doesn’t come off too well in the book, but I didn’t have a crush on her anyway.

So, friends, I would suggest that if you’re interested in the American Revolution and historical fiction set in that time period that you read the following books in the following order, by plan rather than by happenstance:

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes. This classic Newbery award-winning novel set in pre-revolutionary Boston gives a fantastic picture of the causes of the warand its effect on the people of Boston.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: Volume 1, The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson. Semicolon review here.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: Volume 2, Kingdom on the Waves by M.T. Anderson.

1776 by David McCullough.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. Semicolon review here.

Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Only one word of warning: Anderson’s story still isn’t complete. I read an ARC of Forge, and it won’t be out according to Amazon until mid-October. If you want the entire story you’ll have to wait and read all three volumes together when the third book comes out, whenever that is. By the way, I see that Laurie Halse Anderson will be at the Texas Book Festival in Austin in October. That would be fun to attend, but I don’t think I’ll be able to make it this year.

The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith

Sep20

I’ve decided that on Mondays I’m going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than fifty, but I am going to post to Semicolon the entries in the reading journal that I was required to keep for that class because I think that my entries on these works of literature may be of interest to readers here and because I’m afraid that the thirty year old spiral notebook in which I wrote these entries may fall apart ere long. I may offer my more mature perspective on the books, too, if I remember enough about them to do so.

Author: Oliver Goldsmith was born November 10, 1728, the son of a poor Irish clergyman. He was educated at various borading schools and one of his schoolmasters called him a “stupid, heavy blockhead.” You can read his most famous play, She Stoops to Conquer online. The Vicar of Wakefield, Goldsmith’s novel, is also available here. Said novel starts with this line:

“I was ever of opinion that the honest man who married and brought up a large family did more service than he who continued single and only talked of population.”

This line was written back when populating the world was still considered a service. The book goes on to tell the story of Dr. Primrose, the vicar of Wakefield, and his family and his many troubles.

Goldsmith himself was an unknown literary critic in poor financial straits until he became a protege of Samuel Johnson. Samuel Johnson said of his friend Goldsmith: “Goldsmith, however, was a man, who, whatever he wrote did it better than any other man could do.” High praise, indeed. Goldsmith, however, said of Samuel Johnson: “There is no arguing with Johnson; for when his pistol misses fire, he knocks you down with the butt end of it.“

His association with Samuel Johnson brought Goldsmith recognition but not financial success. When Goldsmith died in 1774, he was in debt for 2000 pounds, a great deal of money in that day.

Characters:
Dr. Primrose–the vicar of Wakefield
Mrs. Primrose–his wife
George, Sophia, Olivia, and Moses–the Primrose children
Mr. Thornhill–a gentleman
Sir William Thornhill–Mr. Thornhill’s uncle
Miss Wilmot–George’s fiancee

Summary:
Dr. Primrose and his family endure various trials and vicissitudes, including the seduction of one daughter, the loss of their fortune, a fire, and the imprisonment of the title character. It’s supposed to be funny, folks.

Quotations:
“Man little knows what calamities are beyond his patience to bear till he tries them . . . As we descend, the objects appear to brighten, unexpected prospects amuse, and the mental eye becomes adapted to its situation.”

“Her own misfortunes engrossed all the pity she once had for those of another, and nothing gave her ease. In company she dreaded contempt and in solitude she only found anxiety.”

More reviews:
Hope at Worthwhile Books on The Vicar of Wakefield: “The language was not singularly beautiful nor were the characters richly developed. In fact, the calamities and coincidences in the book were so unbelievable that I had to force myself to finish it. “

Sunday Salon: Still More Forgotten Treasures And Saturday Suggestions

Sep19

It’s taken me several days to get through all of the posts linked at the Book Blogger Appreciation Week linky for Thursday on Forgotten Treasure, books that were one blogger’s treasure but were ignored, under-appreciated or forgotten by most of the rest of us. I already listed nineteen books that I want to read, gleaned from these Forgotten Treasure posts. Here are the rest of the books that I found that I want to read:

Hands of My Father by Myron Uhlberg is a memoir about a hearing child growing up during the Depression era with deaf parents. It’s recommended by Valerie, hearing-impaired blogger at Life Is a Patchwork Quilt.

I Had Seen Castles by Cynthia Rylant is about an old mans memories of his youth during World War II. I love Rylant’s picture books and easy readers, so I’m intrigued by the thought of reading an adult/young adult book by her. Recommended at DeRaps Reads.

Room by Emma Donaghue. I actually gleaned this one form the Saturday Review. Recommended at Take Me Away.

The Darkest Child by Delores Phillips. Recommended by Janelle at Lit Snit.

The Old Wive’s Tale by Arnold Bennett. A forgotten Victorian classic? I’m in. Recommended by KarenLibrarian.

Lying Awake by Mark Salzman. Someone else recommended this book about a nun who has visions to me, but I didn’t make a note. And I forgot all about it. Recommended at Word Lily.

Confessions of the Sullivan Girls by Natalie Standiford. Reviewed at YA Book Shelf.

Enough. I must stop. I already have enough books on my TBR list to keep me busy from now until my untimely death in about 2050. I’ll be 93 then and still reading, I hope.

To change the subject a bit, Mental Floss has an article you may want to check out if you’re a Tolkien fan like me: 10 Things You Should Know about JRR Tolkien. I guess I knew most of the things already, but it was fun anyway.

Poetry Friday: Poem #33, Young Lochinvar by Sir Walter Scott

Sep2

“Reduced to its simplest and most essential form, the poem is a song. Song is neither discourse nor explanation.”~Octavio Paz

O young Lochinvar is come out of the west,
Through all the wide Border his steed was the best;
And save his good broadsword he weapons had none,
He rode all unarm’d, and he rode all alone.
So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war,
There never was knight like the young Lochinvar.
He staid not for brake, and he stopp’d not for stone,
He swam the Eske river where ford there was none;
But ere he alighted at Netherby gate,
The bride had consented, the gallant came late:
For a laggard in love, and a dastard in war,
Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Lochinvar.

So boldly he enter’d the Netherby Hall,
Among bride’s-men, and kinsmen, and brothers and all:
Then spoke the bride’s father, his hand on his sword,
(For the poor craven bridegroom said never a word,)
“O come ye in peace here, or come ye in war,
Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord Lochinvar?”

“I long woo’d your daughter, my suit you denied; —
Love swells like the Solway, but ebbs like its tide —
And now I am come, with this lost love of mine,
To lead but one measure, drink one cup of wine.
There are maidens in Scotland more lovely by far,
That would gladly be bride to the young Lochinvar.”

The bride kiss’d the goblet: the knight took it up,
He quaff’d off the wine, and he threw down the cup.
She look’d down to blush, and she look’d up to sigh,
With a smile on her lips and a tear in her eye.
He took her soft hand, ere her mother could bar, —
“Now tread we a measure!” said young Lochinvar.

So stately his form, and so lovely her face,
That never a hall such a gailiard did grace;
While her mother did fret, and her father did fume
And the bridegroom stood dangling his bonnet and plume;
And the bride-maidens whisper’d, “’twere better by far
To have match’d our fair cousin with young Lochinvar.”

One touch to her hand, and one word in her ear,
When they reach’d the hall-door, and the charger stood near;
So light to the croupe the fair lady he swung,
So light to the saddle before her he sprung!
“She is won! we are gone, over bank, bush, and scaur;
They’ll have fleet steeds that follow,” quoth young Lochinvar.

There was mounting ‘mong Graemes of the Netherby clan;
Forsters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they rode and they ran:
There was racing and chasing on Cannobie Lee,
But the lost bride of Netherby ne’er did they see.
So daring in love, and so dauntless in war,
Have ye e’er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar?

This poem is actually an excerpt from Scott’s longer poem Marmion. Lochinvar is a real place, a reservoir in southern Scotland. There was a silent movie made in 1923 in the UK (starring no one I ever heard of) based on Young Lochinvar. I rather think the story might require a lot of padding to make a full length movie, but maybe silent movie era films were shorter than those of today.

What I Learned from Psalms 23 and 24

Aug31

These are the chestnut psalms. Everyone knows at least a little of Psalm 23, and most people have heard or memorized phrases from Psalm 24.

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Many of you have probably heard this musical version of the psalm, too, but I hadn’t. Karate Kid shared it with me. It’s by John Foreman of the group Switchfoot.

1The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
2For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
3Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
4He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
7Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
8Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
9Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
10Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

And here’s a Messianic Jewish version of Psalm 24:

What I Learned: God’s Word is forever the same, and yet it can be interpreted and re-interpreted for a new generation and in many cultural genres. And still in any place and in any time, from everlasting to everlasting, He is the Shepherd, and He is the King of Glory.

Sunday Salon: Books Read in August 2010

Aug29

Adult and Young Adult Fiction:
Shanghai GIrls by Lisa See. Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted (Chinese) sisters. Semicolon review here.

The Secret Keeper by Paul Harris. Love and loss in war-torn Sierra Leone. Semicolon review here.

Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card. Columbus gets a second chance to do right by the native Americans he meets on his historic voyage. Semicolon review here.

Hush by Eishes Chayil. ARC of a YA book that’s due out in September. I’ll have the review posted when the book actually comes out, but suffice it to say that the novel takes a powerful and thought-provoking look at abusive relationships within a closed and secretive religious community. Very well done.

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson. Scarlett’s family not only name their children for actors and movie characters, but they also own a dilapidated hotel in NYC. However, the hotel’s about to go bust, and Scarlett’s brother, Spencer, can’t get a handle on his acting career. Fluffy, sometimes witty, slightly unbelievable.

Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson. More hotel hijinks with Scarlett and family.

Children’s Fiction:
Blood on the RIver: Jamestown 1607 by Elisa Carbone. Karate Kid read this one for school, and then he said he wanted to re-read it. I suppose that’s a recommendation on his part. I thought it was adequate, a good portrayal of the Jamestown experiment and of Captain John Smith.

Nonfiction:
Sparky: The Life and Art of Charles Schulz by Beverly Gherman. Semicolon review here.

Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder. Having survived civil war and genocide, Deo Gratias arrives in the U.S., psychologically traumatized and physically destitute. The book tells Deo’s story: how he made a life for himself in the U.S. and how he returned to Burundi to help his people begin to rebuild.

The Mayflower and the Pilgrims’ New World by Nathaniel Philbrick. Fair and compelling, the book will probably offend both Pilgrim fans and Native American advocates. What more could one ask from a retelling of a highly controversial story?

What I Learned from Psalm 19

Aug26

As we read this psalm together this morning, I thought, “Ah, I know this one. I’ve sung it and read it and written notes in my Bible about it. How comfortingly familiar!”

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

And yet, there is always more to be gleaned from God’s Word. First of all, we are without excuse before the glory and righteousness of the Lord. The fool says in his heart: “There is no God.” “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

Second, I should love God’s commandments, His standards, because they revive me, make me wise, give joy and light, give warning of danger, bring rewards to those who keep them. I need to remember and remind my children that keeping God’s law is meant to give us joy and to bring Him glory. His burden is light because His commands are altogether righteous.

Finally, I can try to please God, but always realizing that I can’t even see most of the ways in which I fail to meet His standard. I am poor and blind and full of self. God is my Rock and my Redeemer, and the only way I can begin to live a life of joy and obedience is for the Holy Spirit to be my Teacher and my Revealer of Truth.

What I learned: God is Creator, Law-Giver, and Heart-Changer.