Hard Times - Charles Dickens

Dickens uses art to confront ideology that would have certainly discarded artists had it been able to thrive. 18th and 19th century England is on display as the Industrial Revolution is in full swing. Man is degraded to his economic value, education is attempting to produce rational drones and the city is a metaphorical cancer on nature. Such is the life portrayed in this novel. Dickens makes no apology for his rejection of industry and modernism and he conjures sympathy in the reader.

The characters are less developed than in Dickens' other writing but are memorable for their absurdity, failure and/or innocence. It is an enjoyable story.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn (1850)

Dana says: I have wanted to read this book for a very long time.  This the first Hawthorne book I have ever read I think. The first few chapters were a bit slow and I was thinking, "oh boy, what have I gotten myself in to?" but by the end of chapter 3 I was hooked. I won't comment on the story as most people are familiar with it but I will say reading it along with a few different guides from Leland Ryken (Christian Guides to the Classics on Scarlet Letter and Realms of Gold, chapter 6 on Scarlet Letter) was extremely helpful in understanding the authors intent and worldviews expressed in the book. I will also comment on the fact that this is one of the few books I have read so far that very obviously stands apart in a class of its own and really evidences why it is such a famous, classic, and timeless work. Masterfully written and certainly warrants rereading in the future!  Also, it should be noted that this book produced the best discussion at Ladies Book Club to date.

The Inerno - Dante Alighieri

This is my first go at epic poetry. Dante (the poet) leads the reader (and Dante the pilgrim) through the circles of hell without apology. He lays bare the utter sickliness of sin and the righteousness of punishment. His mind has no want of creativity in his inventions of torchure. Virgil corrects the pity that may be conjured up when we meet some of the residents of Hell, reminding us of the hell they inflicted on others while living.

Dante is fearless in condemning some who were still living, either as future residents in Hell, or in what is perhaps his greatest invention in the story, the soul of a living shell who is then inhabited by a demon. Such was Dante's view of unrepentant sin. He is not politically correct and certainly has a better view of the sin/man relationship than our modern society.

This Barnes and Noble edition was extremely helpful with the detailed notes and explanations that would have left my appreciation of the story far short of what it is.

The Chosen by Chaim Potok (1967)

Dana says: This was my first time reading a book having to do with modern Jewish culture. This books deals with Hasidic Jewish culture which I find to be so extremely different from Old Testament Jewish culture that I don't think I would have recognized it as Jewish if I wasn't told it was. Though some of the culture I find to be very odd there are other parts of it that are very admirable, such as the intense studying of the Torah, Talmud, and religious traditions done by individuals and family members together (fathers and sons). The book also paints an interesting and positive picture of young men who are very serious about and engaged in their academic studies overall which seems so different than the sentiment of today. But this not what the book is about. It mostly deals with family relationships, expectations of parents on children, friendship, and differing views on Zionism in the Jewish community during the 1940s to name a few things. The book is an easy and quick read. I did enjoy it but I am not sure I think is has the marks of a Classic.

Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift

Gulliver's Travels is one of those books that stands clearly as one of the great classics of English Literature. Gulliver's progression from one fantastic world to the next slowly instills a change in the narrator and brings him to the point of despising his own country and even the human race. Though it is really well done, there were a few times that I found the allegory very hard to interpret. Some of the most obvious satire took aim at the corruption of the judicial process, the madness of legislators and the avarice of humanity. At times I found myself laughing out loud especially with some of the descriptions of lawyers and state-funded science programs (the cure for colic was worth the price of the book). The final adventure was in some ways the most ridiculous but was also the most revealing. The satire takes a very serious and sad turn and I was left feeling a little melancholy about my own race.

Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz (1895)

Dana says: I think this is the first book I ever read that upon finishing the last page I immediately wanted to start over again on page one. A captivating story, well written, with a lot to think about. A fascinating look into Rome and the early Christians. My favorite aspect of the book was the conversion of the main character and the way he changes over the course of the book. I also found myself really loving the character of Petronius and wanting to stop and pray for his salvation!  I enjoyed all aspects of this book minus the ridiculous Roman Catholic agenda that is artifically stuck into the story.  This is a small part of the story and the author was a Roman Catholic so I don't blame him but I also don't buy it.   Anyway, this is definitely in my top ten fiction books of all time list.  Highly recommended.

Matt says: I think this certainly qualified as an epic. It is vast, historic and personal. The historical aspect of the book, getting a dramatized vision of life under Nero was my favorite part. The way the Roman's lived, their dying "spirituality," the degradation of humanity all made the world ripe for Christianity. I've often wandered why Christ came when he did, not earlier or later in history, which seems to be so obvious once Roman society is so vividly described. I enjoyed all of the characters. I think the story was artful. The emotional outpourings of love were a little too much for my taste. I would 100% recommend this book for anyone interested in Rome in the 1st century and the spread of Christianity under it.

By This Standard: The authority of God's law today - Greg Bahnsen

First the housekeeping complaints: this is one of the most poorly edited books I've read. I'm fairly sure it was self-published or just not read by the editor. I would recommend reading this book but not this version, or just be prepared for random periods and hyphens to break up the flow of your reading.

Now, am I converted to Theonomy? No. I am more aware of the difficulties associated with both sides of the argument. Most of the book is leveled at those who outright reject the Law which I think is an unfair characterization of "non-theonomic" reformed folk. The Holy Spirit teaches us to love the law and it guides us in obedience and righteousness. The rub comes with the application of the political use of the law and its penal sanctions. To make a compelling argument for Theonomy one needs to define the applicable laws (moral vs. religious vs. ceremonial) without grey zones. Is blaspheme a moral offense? Yes a thousand times! Do we put to death blasphemers as was prescribed in the OT? No, nor should we. Do we put to death adulterers? No, and if adultery is lust in the heart then we would all be guilty. It turns a bit Pharisaical because it deals with the letter of the law (some laws) and neglects the bigger purpose of the law (to drive us to Christ).

I see the problem that civil laws then become arbitrarily legislated. I do believe that civil law is founded only on the immutable Word of God. How I can reconcile all this I haven't quite worked out.

A Christian Guide to the Classics by Leland Ryken

Dana says: This is a great little intro to reading the classics as a Christian. I am extremely grateful for Leland Ryken who has authored a number of books on the topic of literature from a professional (he was a Professor of English for more than 45 years) and Christian perspective. This book addresses a number of fundamental questions and ideas such as misconceptions about classics, what is a classic, why should we read the classics, how not read a classic, how to read a classic, what is a Christian classic, what is a secular classic, and speaks about the greatest classic of them all: the Bible. Ryken's passion for the classics and the importance of reading them is contagious. My only complaint is I wish the book would have been longer!

The Well Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer

Dana says: This is the first book I have ever read from Susan Wise Bauer who seems to be a very accomplished super woman of sorts. This book is about applying the methods of classical education to reading, in particular ways in particular genres. This book had me at page one and held me throughout. Wise Bauer is an excellent writer and teacher and I devoured and enjoyed all that she teaches about reading in this book. In part one she talks about classical education, the art of reading, and keeping a reading journal. Part two is dedicated specifically to the reading of novels, autobiography, history, drama, and poetry with an appropriate annotated reading list in each chapter. I learned so much in this book and especially enjoyed the short histories she gave on each genre. I also came away feeling confident to try some works I have previously assumed too hard for me to read. If you love to read, love to read about reading, and want to become a better reader overall this book is a must!

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (1937)

Dana says: First book of the year for Ladies Book Club in 2016! This particular Steinbeck book was thrown in the suggestion box which is how I came to choose it. 

I find myself with similar feelings as I had about about East of Eden (which we started the book club last year with- maybe starting each year with Steinbeck will be a tradition?). I didn't hate Of Mice and Men as much I hated East of Eden but it is not an enjoyable story either. That being said I do have to admit that though I had a hunch last year I have now become convinced that Steinbeck is a must read author for me. Even though I do not enjoy most of his content, I am blown away by his form. Steinbeck is a masterful writer. His characters are some of the most realistic characters I have ever read in fiction and his descriptions of the settings where the stories take place are also very well done, placing the reader right in the setting- I swear I can feel the air of the Salinas Valley on my skin when I read him! But his content is hard because it is dark and without hope. There is no redemption. This is his weakness or at least it is in my eyes. One last thing to say is that I was surprised to find that the strengths of Steinbeck's writing are just as evident in a little novella such as Mice and Men as they are in the sprawling epic of East of Eden. Impressive.

The Gambler - Fyodor Dostoevsky

A friend of mine said that as Dickens has mastery over describing a scene, so Dostoevsky can describe the human soul. It seems that is no more self-evident than in The Gambler. It is a tale of addiction told through the lens of an addict.

Alexey is an intelligent man with good employment and a passionate love for Polina, yet a trip to the local casino overwhelms it all. He identifies 2 types of gamblers, those who gamble as a form of entertainment and those driven by unabashed covetousness. He of course misses the 3rd type, the "gambler" who is addicted to the dizzying effect of adrenaline, the rush of winning. Though the stacks of gold on the table add all the more to the excitement of the event he could just as well walk out the door and cast it all to the wind. The real drive is a sort of hypnotism created by the spinning roulette wheel in which all other passion fades away.

In true Russian fashion, Dostoevsky leaves the story and the character with a choice, but it seems if there isn't really a choice at all, that the outcome is "something fated, inevitable, predestined - as something bound to be, and bound to happen." Alexey isn't someone we want him to be, he is someone we identify with and that's what devastates the reader.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

In preparation for next month's meeting for The Gambler I read one of Dostoevsky's other less commonly read novels The House of the Dead. One of the reasons for reading (and loving) Dostoevsky is that he can open up the soul of man and shine light into every crevasse. The House of the Dead is a semi-autobiographical story about being in a Siberian prison (see my review here). I'll leave you with a quote regarding the prison officers that were in charge of corporal punishment (a brutal process consisting sometimes of 1000's of lashes with sticks), one of the great passages dealing with psychology and behavior in anything I've read...

Anyone who has once experienced this power, this unlimited mastery of the body, blood and soul of a fellow man made of the same clay as himself, a brother in the law of Christ - anyone who has experienced the power and full license to inflict the greatest humiliation upon another creature made in the image of God will unconsciously lose the mastery of his own sensations. Tyranny is a habit; it may develop, and it does develop at last, into a disease. I maintain that the very best of men may be coarsened and hardened into a brute by habit. Blood and power intoxicate; coarseness and depravity are developed; the mind and the heart are tolerant of the most abnormal things, till at last they come to relish them. The man and the citizen is lost forever in the tyrant, and the return to human dignity, to repentance and regeneration becomes almost impossible. Moreover, the example, the possibility of such despotism, has a perverting influence on the whole of society: such power is a temptation. Society, which looks indifferently on such a phenomenon, is already contaminated to its very foundations. In short, the right of corporal punishment given to one man over another is one of the sores of  social life, one of the strongest forces destructive of every germ, every effort in society towards civic feeling, and a sufficient cause for its inevitable dissolution.

Spiritual Autobigraphies

Augustine is the first writer to answer that annoying question: Who wants to hear about my life, anyway?  For Augustine, as for Margery Kempe, Teresa of Avila, John Bunyan, Thomas Merton,  and an unbroken line of spiritual autobiographers who stretch  right up to Charles Colson, the answer is: all those, who like me, are sinners (by any measure, a wide intended readership).  If the purpose of autobiography is to point sinners to grace, the autobiographer can be humble and self-centered.  Minute, individual self-examination (a most satisfying activity) has enormous importance to thousands of readers.  After all, the same divine image sleeps in them; they must perform the same self-scrutiny and encounter the same God.  

                                                   
                                                   -Susan Wise Bauer, The Well Educated Mind

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Dana says: Within the first few pages of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens I had to stop and wonder why on earth I had waited 36 years to read him! I don't want to get ahead of myself but I think its pretty safe to say that after reading just one of his books, I already love him. Had I no other reading responsibilities I would spend all of 2016 soaking up all the Dickens I could.

A Christmas Carol is a familiar enough story, as it has been represented in so many different film adaptations over the years but it seems to me nothing was quite like reading it. Dickens greatest strength lies the in power of his description and I only wish my own vocabulary greater so that I could do him justice when trying to praise his writing. From the ghost of Marley (shake those chains!) to the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future Dickens does a superb job of telling a fantastic story that delights and disturbs the reader, all the while making the reader search his or her own heart in regards to the many issues Dickens brings up in A Christmas Carol. I really loved this book and now understand why my good friend Betsy reads it every year at Christmas time. Count me in and bring on more Dickens! 

Delightful Instruction

"When it comes to imaginative literature, our time is best spent with works that both "delight and instruct," a phrase primarily associated with the Roman writer Horace (65-8 B.C.E.), used in one version or another by many other critics.  Aristotle explained that literature doesn't get in the way of understanding real life, it actually helps us understand real life.  Appreciating imitation- and any form of representation- is an intellectual virtue.  Reading and studying literature, therefore, does not detract from understanding reality, but actively contributes to your knowledge of truth.  You learn something about reality by looking at imitations of it."

               - Steven J. Venturino, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Literary Theory and Literary Criticism

Through Western Eyes, Eastern Orthodoxy: A Reformed Perspective - Robert Letham

This is a wonderful book for someone looking for insight into the Eastern Orthodox history, theology and church practice. Letham's strength is the historical summation which gives not only an understanding of where and how doctrine developed but deeper appreciation for the depth of thought and often controversy involved in what we now often take for granted in our systematic theology.

The Eastern Church has many problems (lack of exegesis, iconography, incomplete view of justification, etc.) but they also have things that the Reformed Church can learn from especially the focus on Trinitarianism and the Unions (Trinity, Incarnation and Theosis). Letham presents the East in a way that makes them less threatening and allows a Reformed thinker to avoid throwing the baby out with the bath water. In fact, I now believe that the Reformed have more in common with E.O. than with much of the broader Western Evangelicalism.

This is an important book.

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

"Whether viewed as a subtle, self-conscious exploration of the haunted house of Victorian culture, filled with echoes of sexual and social unease, or simply as "the most hopelessly evil story we have ever read," The Turn of the Screw is probably the most famous of ghostly tales and certainly the most eerily equivocal."

Dana says: I hate scary movies but love scary books. My idea of scary is probably pretty tame compared to most peoples but I do enjoy the thrill of feeling a bit scared in my bed at night when I am reading. I will still never forget reading Steven King's "The Shining" while in high school and being terrified while reading it in the middle of the day in my bedroom, needing to turn the light on! I still consider that to be the scariest book I have ever read. Other books I have found scary, though in different ways would be Dracula and The Picture of Dorian Gray. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James hit a different note- it wasn't scary as much as it was creepy and eerie. Anything with children and possible possession is at least these things. Though a short book page-wise (120 pages) it was surprisingly not a quick read. This was due to the writing style of James which was extremely dense and detailed as he slowly and subtly built up the suspense and tension of the story. In fact, I found his writing style to be unlike anyone else I have ever read and I am inspired to read more from him. The story itself was just okay but the way it was written and the ambiguity of certain things in it are what I really enjoyed about the book.

  

And now a word from Jane Austen...

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

I think I enjoy the dystopic stories more than any other fiction. I think it gives more true insight into humanity and I find that appealing. This is one of the classics. Huxley wrote a foreword to the book addressing some of its short comings. It does say that he wishes he had given another option to the Savage than the 2 that were left open. I would agree with that. The ending was so abrupt I found it a bit disappointing. The book leads to interesting discussion on freedom, struggle, pain and grief and how those relate to social stability. It is a fantastic story of what seems to be a not so distant future.

The Book Club Companion by Diana Loevy

Dana says: I am always looking for ideas to improve and enrich book my Ladies' Book Club! This was a quick and easy read as most of it is short overviews of books the author recommends for book clubs. I really appreciated that she gave the overviews without spoilers as this is often not the case. The author also had other fun things in the book to help make book club meetings themed and memorable according to the books you're reading (cocktail recipes from the books, menu ideas, meeting place ideas, etc.). The book was divided up into different chapters by genres of books with a list at the end of each chapter of books your book club might be reading according to what was published each decade over the past ten decades. I did find a few books that interested me but her book recommendations were heavy on contemporary writers which I am not much interested in. She did give some advice on hosting and leading discussions which I found helpful.