Woe to the wicked!
Disaster is upon them!
They will be paid back
for what their hands have done.
Isaiah 3:11 (NIV)
-
Five must reads (all reviewed on this blog):
and the bonus read:
Father, bless these great writers who honor you with their words and stories. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
-
"Finding . . . The Opposite of Art" from September, 2011.
One thing is for sure when you read an Athol Dickson novel: you won't be reading anything "ordinary". The Opposite of Art by Athol Dickson published by Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster, is no exception. A master at the newer genre classification of "magical realism", as you might expect by the term, the story wanders on a unique journey taking the reader to places and scenarios that challenge the imagination to keep up. Stuffed with symbolism and metaphor, it's an exposé in creative writing with a suggestion of purpose rather than a demand. Reminding me of David Athey's Danny Gospel, it does at times give one the sense of flashback to a drug-induced state . . . if you know what I mean.
We're introduced to Sheridan Ridler in his twenties, the cocky artist known just as Ridler to the world of art and Danny to the one he loves but pushes away with his demands, and we see a brash self-absorbed painter of nudes without faces. He doesn't "do faces". With successful siblings who gained his father's approval, Ridler's art seemed never to impress his dad, and he carries the defiance of rejection into his core being. The world embraces his work and even at his young age, he is quickly deemed a brilliant artist. According to Ridler himself, he "can paint anything". His explanation of why he doesn't paint faces epitomizes where his focus resides in his youthful state of mind.
When the one who truly inspires him walks out of his life, he realizes for the first time that she holds his heart and he chases after her but loses her in her Harlem neighborhood. Frustrated that he can't recall her address, he sees something in his artist's eye that draws him. As he pursues the image, he experiences a shocking event which sets the stage for and transforms the rest of the novel. Up to this experience, the story plays like a normal interpersonal conflict with an egotist and his girl falling apart without a deeper bond than their attraction to one another to cement them together.
Suffice it to say this event causes a cataclysmic change in the young artist and takes him on a journey to recapture the focus of what he experienced, but without his ability to suppress himself in his travels across the world's landscape, he never manages to advance in his core-persona, but he does manage to eliminate the requirements of religion without understanding why he must. Encountering a canvas filled with characters who are both kind and crazed, he continues to paint what he cannot fully grasp.
It's decidedly amazing to me that Athol can base an entire story on somewhat undesirable characters and pull it off. Honestly, I understood the 20-something Ridler a whole lot better than the Ridler-pilgrim who basically refused to see the obvious even when much later in his life it couldn't have been more plain. "Esperanza", the beautiful old woman – or was she? – made so much evident to him many times with her pointed questions and conversation if he would only listen and see. However, her prodding and hinting served to demonstrate the power of the human heart's resistance until it's truly ready to receive Truth.
Transporting the reader between reality and surreality, I was never quite sure if Ridler's often dreamlike state of existence gave us fact or fiction. Inside his perspective we explored the fantastical along with the deplorable, the mundane, the inexplicable, and the everyday. Both taxing and refreshing, this novel is an experience rather than a story. Exploring and examining the flawed hearts of man and his religions, we grow impatient with the obvious obstructions to the Truth. We're grateful for the conclusion in so many ways. "Magical realism" is not my favorite genre, reminding me of a form of contemporary fantasy of which I'm no fan. However, this novel is well worth the time it takes to invest in the experience of it.
There's some terrific and imaginative writing going on this novel mixed with incredible research and authenticity. I'm sure I missed some of the clever and intricate symbolism which extends to the title, but I gathered enough of it to be impressed. For those readers who enjoy something different, something that takes not only the protagonist but the reader on a strange journey through a maze of eery experiences and almost laughable jaunts with characters, The Opposite of Art is the novel for you. For those of you who want an exercise in literary writing: The Opposite of Art is it. For those of you who want not just artsy prose but earthy language when exposing what drives a man's soul: The Opposite of Art gives you both profound and almost profane.
As a final sidenote, I'd love to see Johnny Depp play Ridler. He could give the role of Ridler the depth this character deserves.
Father, you've given multiple giftings to Athol, and he has chosen to honor you with all of them. Please help him to continue to share his discoveries in the stories he writes. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
-
My friend Sheila in high school was crazy about Felix Cavaliere of The Young Rascals. I think this was their best song.
Father, you're in the heart business. Only you know ours. Please change those hearts of stone to flesh. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
-
It's no secret: Sibella Giorello is on the short list of my favorite authors. Love her. So much. Literary. Street-savvy. Hilarious. Emotional. Tear-worthy. It's all there in the pages of her novels. From laugh out loud malapropisms to gut-wrenching emotional heart pain, Sibella captures the unique characters that surround the one and only Raleigh Harmon. With new additions to the mysteries in each book of the series, black souls appear as malevolent crosses to bear in Raleigh's insatiable searches for truth.
So, in The Moon Stands Still, the seventh book in the Raleigh Harmon Mystery Series, what does the death of a 14 year old during an eclipse on a southwestern beach in Washington have to do with stolen money from the infamous stash of the still undiscovered D. B. Cooper? Money turns up at two distinct and very different locations. One of those stashes, buried in a popular rock hunting locale outside Seattle, is discovered by Raleigh during a geological search with her friend and fellow scientist Lani. This starts a chain of events where Raleigh cuts short a romantic dinner with FBI Agent Jack Stephanson, who's stolen every ounce of her resistance, to inject her findings about the suspicious money.
She's recruited to ascertain the geological implications of the money that's been discovered in the two locations much to the irritation of the FBI Agent coined "The Finder" just a few months before he's set to retire after having worked the D. B. Cooper case until it went frozen. With the "new" money coming into play, her old boss – and Jack's present FBI boss – the man who has a laugh out loud malapropism for every subject and phrase – enlists Raleigh's assistance. She tries to excuse herself because of the case she's been assigned by her boss, the murder of a 14 year old girl in Longbeach, Wa.,threatening to imprison an innocent man, but there'll be none of that. When her former boss stresses there can only be a "plutonic" (platonic) association between her and Jack, she realizes Jack has agreed with apparently no qualms, and her heart fractures with those familiar feelings of abandonment and loss.
This story is filled with the sorrows heaped on Raleigh's soul which sometimes seem to multiply without any apparent end. Her elderly friend Eleanor with whom she lives and who lets her drive the fancy Ghibli, her mother's faithful dog Madame, Jack, and her mentally ill mom all combine to individually bring Raleigh to crisis mode and the kind of sadness that leaves dents in the heart. She's angry, confused, and broken when danger strikes. It's the danger that pushes her back to Jack.
The story twists, turns, weaves in and out of Raleigh's daily emotional pain, striving to discover the secrets to both cases, while Raleigh races to the coast, back to Seattle, back and forth. Attending a D. B. Cooper festival in an old tavern with Eleanor and Jack, she's able to sneak into a hidden room and capture critical revealing photographs. As awkward pieces to a crazy puzzle begin to slowly slip into place, the danger amps up for Raleigh and Jack.
But here's the deal: without the superb writing, the intentional self-examination Raleigh displays throughout these stories, her innate pain, her ultimate faith even when her first choice might be to rely on herself, her disgust at her sold-out attraction to and the constant attempt to deny her love for Jack, these stories would be just more mysteries. But they're not. They're incredibly detailed and intricate, well-imagined and unique, and compelling books with vivid supporting characters, sensory descriptions of people, places, and things, and a heroine with a man's man for a hero who knows how to handle this independent, truth-seeking dynamo with a girly heart who just so desperately wants to be loved for who she is and how she is.
A five-star review for Sibella's latest The Moon Stands Still. Heartbreaking, thrilling, and a life-changing happy ending.
Father, you know Sibella's heart and soul. You work in her life. You've gifted her with incredible talent. You protect her. I pray you would continue to meet her needs and pour out your Spirit upon her. Help her to guard her heart and bless her as she honors you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
-
Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine
and champions at mixing drinks,
who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
but deny justice for the innocent.
Isaiah 5:22-23 (NIV)
-
Yes, sometimes it's the little dreams that come true and provide enormous blessings that mean the most. This picture could very easily typify me and my two best friends at this age. We went through grade school together even though two of us never had a class together. We spent abundant time together growing up in grade school and being innocent little girls having so much fun. Those days cemented our love and even though we "lost" each other for many years approaching and during adulthood, we reunited and restored that unique and lasting bond that only best friends share.
After regrouping and reestablishing our relationships, we reminisced about those early days and decided it would be a great idea to experience an elementary school reunion. Can you believe we approached our old school - in fact now established as an historical landmark and functioning grade school – to learn if our little dream could become a reality? We were greeted with an enthusiastic "Yes!" from the administrator who informed us that two weeks after our decided upon date, the school would be celebrating its 125th year gala affair.
Over the course of the winter and early spring, we launched into planning our reunion. My friend Verna had worked on their high school reunion and, let me tell you, she's a pro. In fact, the administrator asked to use some of her materials for the big event because it was so incredibly well done. Indescribable!
My friend Debbie decorated the school table with snacks that looked like fine dining, another professional effort which could've easily outdone most caterers. Between the two of them, it rocked. Professionals could not have done a better job!
I handled the light work – the practical, non-creative "stuff". Our husbands who had no connection to our school were great assistants, helped with their muscle and encouragement, and we all had a fabulous time.
The "kids" who responded and were able to attend were in awe of being back at our grade school, impressed by what we offered them, and spent over three hours talking and laughing and remembering a simpler time. It felt good. And, honestly, it was meaningful to be remembered and to have the opportunity to once again see those who'd meant so much to us in those early years.
Yeah, it might seem like a small thing, but for me it was a little dream come true. I loved it!
God, we have only you to thank for it. You're an amazing God, and every good and perfect gift comes from you. Thank you is never enough. Thank you from my heart. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
-
It's no . . . Illusion (from April, 2012)
There's just something divine about reading another novel by a favorite author. Recently here I reviewed The Thirteenth Tribe by Robert Liparulo and what a pleasure it was to once again partake of his imagination, voice, story, and words. And so it was with great anticipation – okay, and just a touch of fear – that I opened the cover and began the first page of Illusion by Frank Peretti. The fear nagged in the background of my expectancy only because Frank's last effort Monster was the least favored in my collective reading of Peretti novels. No need. I loved this novel.
Possibly if anyone else had written the story I might not have liked the book. It's an odd thing to say and, as it stands, a moot point. The reason I say this is because Illusion tells a complex tale of magic and illusion and quantum physics/interdimensional displacement/secondary timelines using Stanford brainiacs and a weird machine planted in the bowels of a Nevada hospital where only certain personnel are allowed to go. Guess what? These factors put the story right smack dab in the genre of speculative fiction, a place I rarely visit. But at its core, Illusion is a love story (and I don't need to tell you how much I favor a good love story). This very important layer transforms all other elements of the story, taking the reader on an impossible journey with a scant thread of hope dashing between illusions.
When the famous illusionist couple, Dane and Mandy Collins, decide to leave their act behind after 40 years of performing together, they set their sights on retirement in Mandy's hometown in the Idaho panhandle. Beginning their exodus from Las Vegas, a fiery car crash claims the life of Dane's beloved wife and partner, Mandy Eloise Collins.
However, we're soon transported to a place where a young Mandy in 1970 at the local fair with her friends waits under a tree while her friends choose where to eat. Her dad will show his llamas, and Mandy anticipates watching Marvellini the Magician. Something suddenly changes everything familiar into something strange and scary. Instead of enjoying the fair at 19 years of age, she's now in a hospital nightgown and it's 2010. This begins a disconcerting series of events which cause Mandy to adjust her name, accept a form of being "crazy", become a target for unknown assailants, and meet the great Dane Collins who is as achingly familiar to her as she seems to be to him.
To reveal more of this story would only confuse you, spoil the unique perspectives of both protagonists, ruin the imaginative twists underlying each new adventure, and expose the aims of the diabolical peripheral antagonists. Suffice it to say Illusion is not a simple story in any sense of the word. The faith thread is woven through the story like a discreet ribbon, necessary to hold it together but as illusory as the "magic" that Mandy performs.
Here's the foremost takeaway value for me, the one that surpasses the incredible spectacle of Frank Peretti's imagination and gift for storytelling. Within only a few pages I realized once again how captivating Frank's writing is, how much I love to read his words. I say that with complete surrender and abandon and with few tangibles to explain it other than his use of vivid imagery, the incorporation of all the senses, clever and real dialogue, both internal and external, and his powerful ability to "write a movie". I've always "watched" and pictured Frank's prose on the screen of my mind.
Illusion by Frank Peretti, published by Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., is an experience you won't soon forget. Unique. Emotional. Inventive. Consuming. Lingering. Frank is back with a flourish. And it's no illusion.
Father, you've guided and directed Frank's life from the moment you created him. He's honored you in many ways with all of the gifts you've given him. I pray your continued blessing and anointing on Frank's and Barb's lives together. May they experience your joy in all they do as well as your divine protection. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
-
Nora Bradford is the middle sister of three, each with different mothers but only one they all call Mom. Nora's chosen to be plain, pragmatic, and pervasive. A librarian, an astute genealogical researcher, a business woman, with a quirky crush on a secondary character in a British historical TV series of which she's become the head of his cyber fan base and actually communicates with him regularly. She's a jilted former fiancée who claims contentment while nursing a broken heart.
Her older sister is a beautiful model, her younger sister a chocolatier. The older one wants to do her makeover, and her younger sister takes her on an adventure to Lawson Training, Inc., which leads to her meeting its owner John Lawson, famous former Navy SEAL who is searching for his birth mother. Nothing short of a magnificent looking man, John contacts Nora, after her embarrassing first exposure to him during the training exercise, to set up an appointment.
Nora wants nothing more than to assist John in his endeavor, something she's done for other individuals so is familiar with all the areas to research. He's impressed with her efforts and his initial impression of her begins to morph into something more than just respect in spite of her unusual - but fun – personality. However, he's attached to a gorgeous girlfriend who gives him all the space he needs, but something about their relationship starts to unravel for him no matter how hard he fights to maintain it.
Nora's sister implements the makeover which is designed to enhance – not change – who Nora is and it's a splendid success. Nora discovers who she is, who she wants, and who she can't have. There's an emotional transformation to accompany the physical newness. And she learns exactly how she's been lying to herself about her contentment.
True to You tackles difficult personal trials, reactions to those trials, facing and not facing truths in all their ugliness or glorious splendor. Delving into unreal self-impressions and deciding to make decisions based on self-reliance instead of their confessed faith brings each of them to the place where only God can correct their paths and choices.
I don't have sisters, but this story rings true to these unique sisters who share so much but are complete individuals.Their love for one another is the basis for actions designed to comfort and encourage each other. The texts they share, their dialogue, and how they respond to different situations bring this trio to life.
The twists in this novel are both unexpected and horrendous. Amazing craftsmanship working them into the story. Becky was able to keep with her theme from the novella (Then Came You) that preceded this group of characters by using texts, emails, and letters to communicate realistically.
This story began slowly for me but steadily and completely got my attention. John was larger than life as most Navy SEALs can be because of what they do. Honoring and admiring them is the natural reaction. Nora was definitely sweet but boring before meeting John, and then her instincts made her far more interesting. There are multiple laugh out loud moments and those that will bring tears. The sexual tension is amped up to maximum, and Becky Wade handles it perfectly. She truly got the romantic gene and is a master at writing it. For lovers of good and authentic romance with a deeply touching story surrounding it, True to You is the novel for you.
Father, please keep Becky safe from all harm and help her write all the stories you have for her to tell. Please give her all she needs to do as you ask and bless her efforts to honor you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
-
Congratulations to Shelli Littleton! Your email has been forwarded to Becky Wade, and she'll be in touch to get your prizes to you. My review of True to You will be up possibly Wednesday, but I can tell you this: there's some serious romance in this first novel of the Bradford Sisters Romance, Book One.
Father, I pray that Becky would continue to be inspired with the beauty of romance submitted to you. Continue to touch her heart and soul as only you can do. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
And, Lord, I pray Shelli would be blessed by this story and enjoy it in a special way. May it touch her heart. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
