Another Score

So I made a quick stop at one of my local used bookstores the other day. I was looking for a cheap copy of a writing book that I have long packed away … to be opened when I have my own place again. And I couldn’t help but glance through the clearance shelves. I’m so glad I did … I found 3 Pulitzer Prize winners for a total of $2. (One of which was on my list of “hard to find.”) I also found a hardback copy of a Wallace Stegner book (see post about Angle of Repose) a new favorite author.

Still Reading …

OK … I promise, I’m still reading! But this last one was a doozy to get through! (And I took a couple breaks for other things!) But my sluggish reading pace had nothing to do with the quality of novel. In fact, Angle of Repose (1972 PP winner) by Wallace Stegner has introduced me to a new favorite American novel and author.

The novel uses one of my favorite writing techniques, the story within a story, to tell the tale of the Ward family — back several generations. It mainly focuses on Lyman Ward, a disabled history professor and writer, as he chronicles the life of his grandmother, Susan Burling Ward.

Susan grows up in a life of priviledge in the New England area, but as she sets her sights on adulthood, she takes a twist no one in her life could see coming. Susan chooses to marry Oliver Ward, an engineer determined to be a part of cultivating the new Western frontier. At first, Susan casts a romantic glance toward her life in the West. She utilizes her talent for art and writing and makes her own career depicting this “new” world that readers back in New England have no opportunity to see firsthand.

Susan’s romance with her frontier life and with her husband take their hits as Oliver’s endeavors take his family to parts unknown and uncivilized. As children are added to the mix, Susan begins to resent her husband and his choice of careers. She longs for the familiarity of New England and the class and clout her family held there.

While delving into the past, Lyman Ward is dealing with his own disappointments and difficult marriage. His wife left him soon after his leg was amputated, for his surgeon no less, and his son has set his sights on putting dad in a home. Lyman’s quarky neighbors add humor and realism to the mix … especially when Lyman takes on a young female typist to help him with his research and writing.

I don’t want to say too much more because this novel other than it is well worth the 500+ pages. Wallace Stegner’s vivid descriptions of land, emotions, and people are enough for a Pulitzer Prize itself. But put those together with an intriguing tale of family heritage and dynamics and you come away with a true masterpiece.

Book Rating: * * * *

The Chosen One

I’ve always had an interest in young adult fiction and the coming of age story. Maybe it’s the emotional angst that all teens go through, especially girls, that seems to resonate with me. As a writer, I’m always intrigued by how a novelist describes those movements and jolts of adolescences. What words does she use? Does she capture the true feelings? Does she take you back to your own adolescent murk?

In The Chosen Oneby Carol Lynch Williams, the main character is Kyra — a teen-aged girl living with her family in a polygamist cult. Even though her life is dramatically different than most mainstream teenagers, her emotions and cares are the same. Well … maybe there are a few differences — like marriage and having babies. Yes, she’s faced with these adult experiences at the tender age of 15. Her comfortable childhood takes a significant turn with the cruel reality that she is to marry her uncle — who is 20 years older than her father; and she comes face-to-face with the harsh punishments of the cult’s leaders if orders aren’t followed. It’s a quick read and definitely worth it for a reader of any age.

A Chance to Die

Like many books on my shelves, I’ve had this one for a long time but hadn’t gotten a chance to read it yet. What brought me to it? I guess you could say a spiritual restlessness of sorts. I’ve had some ups and downs — spiritually speaking — during this crazy time of unemployment and I needed a good biography of someone who put her life and her dreams in the hands of her God. (Yes, it also helped that the biography was about a woman and a single woman at that.)

A Chance to Die — The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot met my needs and more. The book tells the story of Amy Carmichael’s journey from a young child, then woman, in Ireland to the matriarch of an adopted “family” in India. From a young age, Amy felt called to tell others about Christ and the saving grace He offers through faith in Him. She moved among the poor of her town and surrounding areas — all while seeking a “higher” calling to a far away land. How she ends up in India is worth the read in and of itself; but the spiritual journey that God takes her on is what really resonated with me.

Amy struggled to discern where God wanted her to go. She felt strongly that He wanted her to be a missionary in another country, but disappointment and misread signals seemed to derail her from finding that right location. Through it all, though, she doesn’t give up. It’s that determination to follow her God anywhere that moved me where I needed movement the most. Although she felt every dashed hope deeply, each time Amy had to turn back from what she thought was “the” place God was pulling her into an evermore dependant existence. He needed her to be totally “on-board” with Him and reliant on Him to be ready for what He had planned for her.

And His plan was an amazing adventure that, once Amy was there, she never left until her death. The majority of Amy’s life was spent building and securing a safe haven for the lost children of Dohnavur, India. Children who were once abandoned or sold into prostitution were brought to her, many by the grace and hands of God’s servants in India, and became part of her family.

Though Amy reaches Dohnavur in the early stages of the 380pg biography, her spiritual growth doesn’t end there … and obviously neither does her story. The rest of the biography follows the growth of the Dohnavur Fellowship that still exists in India today — long after its founder has gone to her Lord. What overwhelmed me during the growth of this ministry, which was attacked in many physical and spiritual ways, was Amy’s constant and staunch reliance on prayer for the things needed to make the ministry productive. Whatever was needed, be it money, people, or protection, Amy first went to prayer … and then had the faith to know that God would answer.

My favorite quote from the entire book is when Elliot, the author, quotes Amy herself, saying “Faith never wonders why.” Amy had that dependence on God and confidence in His power and provisions that she did not question that He would answer her prayers. And even when faced with a long, drawn-out, pain-filled descent to death, Amy relied on God to provide for her family and for herself. She did not ask why but followed God on whatever road He called her to go on. That’s amazing faith.