In February I finished off the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny. Well, almost. I haven't reread the most recent two novels, but I read them first, earlier last year; they were my introduction to Penny. I will go back to them, perhaps this spring, perhaps during the summer, as I do want to read them again and finish off the sequence, this time in order. I am certain to understand things I did not understand before, although the novels wee completely enjoyable, even out of sequence.
In fact, I think the novels are all readable more than once as I found them enjoyable on many levels, both for the writing, for the story, the character development, and for their insights into human nature and the struggles we all carry with us. In that sense the books were also good companion pieces to both Anne Lamott's Hallelujah Anyway, which was a gift, a gift that has now been passed on to another reader, and Mark McIntosh's Mysteries of Faith.
The Lamott book is a quick read. I like Lamott and she has a way of getting at the essence of things in a friendly way, as if you are having a conversation with your neighbor down the street, except that instead of complaining about the neighbor's dog who barks all the time you are comparing notes on faith and life's journeys. That said, although it is timely, it was not my favorite of Lamott's books; like that coffee conversation, although the points will probably resonate over time, the conversation itself is enjoyed in the moment and then quickly retreats into the babble of life, yes to bubble up occasionally, but otherwise happily subsumed in the stream.
Mysteries of Faith is another kind of book altogether. It is dense and thought-provoking. This was the second time I read the book, and I enjoyed it more than during my first reading, early in 2017. I liked the book then as well, but I also struggled. The book is part of the year 4 curriculum for EFM and last year, in my year 4 group, I often felt like I was the only person in my group who enjoyed the book, who found it enlightening and thought-provoking. I hate to admit that I felt embattled by other opinions, but I did. This year I am a mentor, and I have read the book again, and this time, not needing to discuss it or defend it, I have been more free to delve into what the author is saying, and to explore my own beliefs and principles in the process, while also stepping back, listening to and hoping to mentor a new fourth-year group. It is a book that rewards rereading, and I will look forward to future explorations.
I wrote about Oliver Loving here. I loved the book, I still love the book. I probably will never read it again, unlike the books by Louise Penny. That probably says more about me than about the book. Both Oliver Loving, and the novels by Louise Penny say a lot about the times in which we live, in completely different ways, and for all that I think Oliver Loving is beautifully written, its focus is far too narrowly inward for me to want to delve into it again.
Being Disciples is a set of six meditations or short essays. It was interesting and yes, somewhat thought provoking. The book was recommended reading for delegates to the diocesan convention for the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee. I have no other comments, I neither loved it nor disliked it, but I didn't mind reading it either; I did not find it to be one of William's most thought-provoking books.
The New Jim Crow was thought provoking however. The book is several years old, and I mostly read it because several people have asked me if I had read it. I'm not sure I'm happy about it. In some sense, there was nothing new in the book, but that could be as much because the book is no longer new, and much of the information in the book has been available through other sources. That said, the author does pull everything together in a coherent, and yes, enlightening way, and it has helped me in my own understanding of our blindnesses and the way culture slowly warps our minds to accept circumstances that we would otherwise reject. It ties in with books I have mentioned previously, where it seems to me that we need to radically change our way of thinking about ourselves and others.
And yet, I am not convinced I am the target audience for this book. There are people whose passion is for social justice, and I support them wholeheartedly, and yet the older I get the more my focus seems drawn to a smaller. and smaller circle, not about me, but about individual relationships, small actions, the circle of the immediate. Do I need to know about the greater world? Of course. Do I need to become an activist on a large scale? No. But I need to acknowledge, and accept the work of others, to help support an all-inclusive world. The world needs all of us, the philosophers, the dreamers, the doers, the marchers, the changers and the changed. It is only in our conversation, our relationships, through listening to all the voices and learning to hear and move forward that change will actually occur, big and small alike.
