I’ve spent delightful hours this week inhaling Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese. A proper review (it is part of my 100 books series) is forthcoming in days to come.
I’m working on a review for Thomas Nelson Publishers on Hank Hanegraaff’s update on his famous book (out March 3, 2009), Christianity in Crisis: 21st Century.
From the book:
“Having lost the ability to think biblically, postmodern Christians are being transformed from cultural change agents and initiators into cultural conformists and imitators. Pop culture beckons, and postmodern Christians have taken the bait. As a result, the biblical model of faith has given way to an increasingly bizarre array of fads and formulas.”
Plus, I finished my review of Eve by Elissa Elliott a few weeks ago, but I don’t think I mentioned the book on the blog.
From Publishers Weekly,
Elliott reimagines the story of Adam and Eve in a debut novel that richly evokes earliest biblical times. The story is told from the points of view of Eve and her daughters: Naava, the beautiful weaver; Aya, the quick-witted, club-footed cook; and Dara, the compassionate observant twin. Eve recounts the fall and how she and Adam wander until settling down to grow crops, raise livestock and start a garden of their own. Elliott offers readers vivid details about the first childbirth, the first intercourse, the first recriminations, the first environmental calamity and the first hunt, but the novel really comes alive when it departs from lushly imagined retelling and thrusts the family into unfamiliar territory when the brood encounters a city and city people. Elliott is at her imaginative and linguistic best describing city life, customs and architecture, building tension as Naava falls for a prince, fueling Cain’s wrath. Elliott makes biblical fiction her own with a female perspective that emphasizes emotional turmoil, sensual experience and an impressive range of imagery that brings to life daily life in the beginning.
What did I think?
I was blown away. I will always love the Genesis story as one of the most beautiful, heart-wrenching stories of humankind. I have always wanted to know what it was like to walk out of the garden and into the world beyond. What did the angel with the flaming sword look like? What was the outside world like? How did they survive? Elliott’s imagery did not disappoint and I felt as if I knew the story better after reading this book. Not a book for the faint of heart, as there is plenty of heartache, strong scenes of licentiousness, but you do feel the longing of all humans to “go home” permeated throughout. It made me want to go work in my garden.
Happy Friday! I’m celebrating. My team on the day job finished a huge project a week early and we are all feeling good!
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