5/10/2023 0 Comments South of broad author![]() ![]() Thomas' arrival in India, this story is about the ebbs and flows of lives across three generations from 1900 to the late-1970s. Rao's immortal opening line for his Kanthapura fits Verghese's Covenant too: "There is no village in India, however mean, that has not a rich sthalapurana, or legendary history, of its own." And, like Rao's story, Verghese's also opens with a storytelling grandmother.ĭrawing on ancient Malayali Christian communal histories that reach back to 52 A.D. Like the unforgettable rural South Indian worlds those authors bestowed upon us with places like Kanthapura, Kedaram, Khasak, and Malgudi, respectively, Verghese has given us Parambil, a water-filled, near-mythical dreamscape in Kerala. We would also do well to consider Covenant as part of the Indian novel in English lineage that includes literary greats like Raja Rao, K Nagarajan, O V Vijayan, and R K Narayan. Indeed, the literary feats in The Covenant of Water deserve to be lauded as much as those of such canonical authors. ![]() ![]() There will also be continued invocations of the likes of Charles Dickens and George Eliot to describe Verghese's ambitious literary scope and realism. Much will be written about Abraham Verghese's multigenerational South Indian novel in the coming months and years.Īs we've seen with Verghese's earlier fiction, there will be frequent references to that other celebrated doctor-writer, Anton Chekhov. ![]()
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5/10/2023 0 Comments The shack book author![]() ![]() We can’t build a trusting relationship with grim determinism. Jesus is the One elected in whom we all died and rose (II Cor 15). No, I don’t believe in limited atonement, that Jesus died for only a few who God had previously elected. I stated that clearly in Lies We Believe About God. ![]() ![]() Yes, I believe that what God accomplished in the power of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension effects and includes the entire cosmos and every human being ever conceived. Otherwise, the Incarnation and the Passion of Jesus would be meaningless. No, I don’t believe all roads lead to God, but I do believe that God goes down any road to find us – this I stated clearly in The Shack. I greatly appreciate it when someone actually takes the time to ask me personally and relationally what I am saying or writing, rather than assume what I mean. It usually means that we had further to go and have built up years of not asking questions for fear of being made to feel like a fool. Of course, I know to be gentle with those who get stuck in these ruts along the way I was one of them. It’s easier to categorize someone than get to know them, their children, their friends. We are in a time of intense transitions in the landscape of Western Theology.ĭuring such times it is no surprise that precious people will jump to conclusions rather than spend the relational labor to explore a dearly loved assumption. ![]() 5/10/2023 0 Comments The tao of pooh review![]() ![]() “From the state of the Uncarved Block comes the ability to enjoy the simple and the quiet, the natural and the plain. Hoff explains the principle of the Uncarved Block, meaning things in their natural state. “According to Lao-tse, the more man interfered with the natural balance produced and governed by the universal laws, the further away the harmony retreated into the distance. From the Taoist point of view, the natural result of this harmonious way of living is happiness.” Hoff frequently refers to Lao-tse, author of the oldest book on Taoism. “The basic Taoism that we are concerned with here is simply a particular way of appreciating, learning from, and working with whatever happens in everyday life. He also brilliantly integrates his own brief dialogue with the characters as segues into explanations of Taoist principles. ![]() The Tao of Pooh is about “how to stay happy and calm in all circumstances.” Benjamin Hoff uses the characters and stories from Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner to explain basic concepts of Taoism. ![]() ![]() ![]() Of the two books ( Blackout and All Clear), I far preferred Blackout. More than anything, Willis’ books frustrate me: there is so much there, so many ideas that could progress in so many interesting ways, and yet she never quite elevates her material to where it needs to go. ![]() The books are competently if unexcitingly written with characters who tend towards the obnoxious (being all-knowing historians who like to frequently – far too frequently – reference their detailed knowledge of wartime England) but inoffensive, with plots that seem promising but which never deliver. ![]() If they were simply bad I think I would have an easier time reviewing them but there’s nothing glaringly awful in them. After years of hearing how great her books were and of being intrigued by her time-travelling historians I finally started reading them, beginning earlier this year with To Say Nothing of the Dog and continuing on earlier this month with Blackout and All Clear, her two-volume World War II saga published last year. It is my sad duty to inform everyone that I am officially not a Connie Willis fan, a revelation that is quite a disappointment to me. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() She started drawing as a very young child, making up stories about the characters she created and her drawings have appeared in many different types of books, including fairy tales and nursery rhymes, animal stories and folk tales, published throughout the world. A native of London, Williams was educated at the Wimbledon School of Art and University of London. Jenny Williams is a hugely talented illustrator whose style is recognisable at a glance. ![]() 'It is in the nature of books, that they have the capacity to make you feel powerful about what you can alter and achieve in your life' - Margaret Mahy Appointed to the Order of New Zealand in 1993, Mahy also won many global prizes for children's writers, including the Carnegie Medal and the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award. She is the author of more than 150 titles, which have been translated into many different languages and sold around the world. Margaret Mahy (1936-2012) is one of New Zealand's most celebrated children's writers. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() This is definitely a must read for fans of MM romance and enemies to lovers stories.įirst Son Alex Claremont-Diaz isn’t one to hide his disdain for Prince Henry, but when photos of an altercation at a wedding are leaked to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations, he agrees to a fake friendship with the Prince as damage control. It made their connection oh so hot and their resulting love even sweeter. They were complete opposites with Keaton having the world spoon-fed to him while Luke was from the opposite side of the tracks, just scraping by.Įven though they didn’t seem to like each other, I loved Keaton’s openness to explore the feelings Luke ignited in him. Keaton and Luke definitely brought some good, heated animosity to this story since they were two frat brothers who did not get along. The fact that it was also an enemies to lovers book as well? Priceless. I totally fell for their Him series so I knew that this was going to be another fantastic MM romance. Gah! Is there anything better than an MM romance by Bowen and Kennedy?! Only he didn’t expect to get turned on by the back and forth messaging with the other guyĪnd he definitely didn’t expect the other guy to be his annoying frat brother who’s running against him for house President. To make this happen, he turns to a dating app to find a willing participant. Keaton’s about to fulfill his girlfriend’s fantasy for her birthday – by inviting another dude to join them for the night. ![]() ![]() ![]() In fact dozens of comparisons kept flashing in my mind – Jodrowsky, Rushdie, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Sashi Tharoor and even a bit of Arundhati Roy’s previous book, The God of Small Things popped up. Not only is this a novel of purposeful information overload but it is sprawling. ![]() It also ends up being a commentary on attitudes on sexuality, the notion of gender, the caste system and we readers get doses of Indian mythology, traditions, prayers and details about typical Indian dishes. ![]() I saw the main message as a snapshot of India’s history from partition and the after effects which still are present in the 21st century: the suffering, the political maneuvers, the campaigns but Roy also includes a human side and that’s with her character. Roy stuffs a lot in this novel and, although daunting, it makes perfect sense. The way personal destinies destinies cross and entwine themselves with history, which in turn becomes a personal history. But then I read the following quote at the end of the book:Īfter reflection between reading this book is not a mess but rather a reflection of life. Not to mention the endless pages about the politics in several regions in India (rather than focus on one). At first I was going to say what a mess this book is. ![]() 5/10/2023 0 Comments Slaap! by Annelies Verbeke![]() Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the category “Flemish” was largely considered provincial to use it was to obstruct the cultural emancipation Flanders needed. The habit of classing literature from Flanders as “Flemish” is, however, only very recent and still controversial. Towards autonomyįlanders has a tradition of vernacular prose-writing going back to the Middle Ages. At the same time, recent Flemish prose clearly shows that by opening up to worldly reality it has received new impetus. ![]() For reasons I would like to explain, this re-historicizing and re-politicizing turn at the globalized, post-national level corresponded closely with Flemish literature’s gradual development towards becoming more self-consciously Flemish. If a metaphorical approach to this moment of literal horror is permissible, then the world found itself once again caught up in struggle over the course of history. As a matter of fact, its renaissance seems to have coincided with the moment Fukuyama’s notion of the “end of history” (and hence a particularly neoliberal type of postmodernity) collapsed: 9/11. ![]() ![]() Flemish literature has entered the twenty-first century and the world shall know it. ![]() ![]() Time how long it takes the child to complete this task. (I would avoid anything like picking up dishes or other breakables!). ![]() ![]() For example, make the bed or pair together socks. For this, you pick a task for your child to do. Got little ones? Here are a couple of ways to keep them involved in cleaning and have fun at the same time. Everything is available instantly for checkout on Hoopla, including audio books, comics, e-books, movies, music, and TV. Is the item you want checked out? Try Hoopla, available with your Bridgewater Public Library card. With Libby, you checkout books with your library card and they return automatically on their due date. ![]() What better time to clean your room than on National Clean Your Room Day? This is a perfect opportunity to find out what’s under your bed (maybe a couple of library books?) or help a parent/sibling/friend clean their room!Īre you looking for a way to make cleaning fun? Besides rewards, how about listening to an audiobook as you clean? You might get so caught up in listening to it, that before you know it the whole house will be sparkling.Ĭheck out audiobooks on Libby, our free ebook and audiobook app. ![]() 5/10/2023 0 Comments Devil and the dark water review![]() ![]() The Devil and the Dark Water (Raven Books) by Stuart Turton is a fantastic historical adventure on the high seas with so many twists and turns and more than just interesting characters that makes Turton’s second novel one not to miss if you enjoyed his first. With Pipps imprisoned, only Arent and Sara can solve a mystery that stretches back into their past and now threatens to sink the ship, killing everybody on board. Could a demon be responsible for their misfortunes? And then the passengers hear a terrible voice whispering to them in the darkness, promising them three unholy miracles. Travelling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent, while also on board are Sara Wessel, a noble woman with a secret, and her husband, the governor general of Batavia.īut no sooner is their ship out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. It’s 1634 and Samuel Pipps, the world’s greatest detective, is being transported from the Dutch East Indies to Amsterdam, where he is facing trial and execution for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton ![]() |