Don't Bother

The Pact: A Love Story by Jodi Picoult

I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, but the book treats suicide as a reasonable response to depression and teenage sexual activity as a given. There's no hint that anyone in the world thinks suicide and assisted suicide are immoral or that many problems could have been avoided if only Emily and Chris had not had sex.

The Church in a Destructive Age

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.

This is not a new book; it was written in the late 1950s, but has been appearing in new editions ever since. It is one of the few science fiction books to treat the Church seriously and faithfully within the present and future depicted in the novel. St. Leibowitz (who is not a saint when the book begins but is already long dead) joins the church at a time when mobs are destroying all places of learning and all learned men and women in a misguided effort to find restitution for the devastation and destruction of a nuclear war. He forms an order charged with collecting, memorizing and saving what remnants they can of learning for future generations.

The most interesting part of the book in my opinion describes the Radiation Disaster Act in action. The Green Star Relief establishes mobile units to humanely and expediently kill those who have received a lethal dose of radiation. The Church disagrees with these centers and all they represent.

Here are a few quotes relevant to issues our society currently faces. When asked why he cannot allow the Green Star Relief doctor to counsel individuals to travel to the euthanasia center, the abbot says:

Because if a man is ignorant of the fact that something is wrong, and acts in ignorance, he incurs no guilt, provided natural reason was not enough to show him that it was wrong. But while ignorance may excuse the man, it does not excuse the act, which is wrong in itself. If I permitted the act simply because the man is ignorant that it is wrong, then I would incur guilt, because I do know it to be wrong.

Below is a quote of the priest's thoughts as the relief doctor leaves:

Seeing misery everywhere and detesting it, and sincere in wanting to do something about it. Sincere--that was the hell of it. From a distance, one's adversaries seemed fiends, but with a closer view, one saw the sincerity, and it was as great as one's own. Perhaps Satan was the sincerest of the lot.

Late in the novel, Father Zerchi pleads with a young women who has been convinced by the Green Star Relief doctor to take herself and her baby to the euthanasia center. Imagine the struggle of this poor young mother, broken and sick herself, watching her little one, barely recognizable and whimpering in pain, knowing there was no way to save either life. I can understand how she feels when she says "I cannot understand a God who is pleased by my baby's hurting!" The priest answers:

"No, no! It is not the pain that is pleasing to God, child. It is the soul's endurance in faith and hope and love in spite of bodily afflictions that pleases Heaven. Pain is like negative temptation. God is not pleased by temptations that afflict the flesh; He is pleased when the soul rises above the temptation and says 'Go, Satan.' It's the same with pain, which is often a temptation to despair, anger, loss of faith--"

Later, he changes tactics:

"No! I am not asking you. As a priest of God I am commanding you by the authority of Almighty God not to lay hands on your child, not to offer her life in sacrifice to a false god of expedient mercy. I do not advise you, I adjure and command you in the name of Christ the King."

Dom Zerchi had never spoken with such a voice before, and the ease with which the words came to his lips surprised even the priest. As he continued to look at her, her eyes fell. For an instant he had feared that the girl would laugh in his face. When Holy Church occasionally hinted that she still considered her authority to be supreme over all nations and superior to the authority of states, men in these times tended to snicker. And yet the authenticity of the command could still be sensed by a bitter girl with a dying child.

Even in the most difficult, horrific circumstances, we must protect and cherish the lives God creates.

As a side note, a little blurb I found here reminded me that the threat of annihilation remains, but now they can destroy an entire city without fear of environmental repercussions. That's right: Throw those weapons all you like, then move your citizens right in. No consequences. It's comforting to believe Christ will come again in glory before terrorists or governments could destroy the world with weapons such as these.

What Will She Do Next?

Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde

The fun never ends. I've posted about Mr. Fforde's excellent alter-reality here and here, so there's no excuse not to be ready for the newest Thursday Next novel. It should be no surprise that books are rewritten to become the books we've always known, characters are erased and time travel is never discovered. Even Mr. Fforde is at a loss for words in chapter 37.

I've already written too much. Read this book and watch out for the Danverclones!

What Dreams May Come

Lying Awake
by Mark Salzman

The mystical visions of a cloistered nun bring her close to God in a real way for the first time in her vocation. She's even published a book of poems and essays. But migraine headaches force her to see a doctor who suspects she has epilepsy, known as the "holy madness". In the novel, Sister John of the Cross struggles with the decision to cure her "disease", which will likely end her visions and her intimate connection to the God she loves and serves.

I loved reading this book. I loved the interjections in the story of praise, thanksgiving and petition to God. That's how I'd love to live my life. I also love reading of the orders. When they are present to me, I can more easily remember to pray for them. But I don't want to give anything away, so I'll leave it at that.

Silly Fairy Tales

The Fourth Bear: A Nursery Crime
by Jasper Fforde

Fforde is back! A psychotic killer is on the loose. Jack Spratt is forced on medical leave for supposed insanity. Goldilocks is missing. Bears are popping up as suspects, and victims. In this second nursery crime novel, Fforde keeps the action rolling, along with the puns. There's even a special appearance by a more sophisticated character, Dorian Gray.

I'd write more, but I don't want to give anything away. Plus, I'm tired. It's enough to say this is a vast improvement on The Big Over Easy. You should read it. And then be sure to catch up on the Thursday Next novels if you haven't already, because a new one is in the works, due to be released in 2007.

If you haven't already checked it out (or did, but then forgot how fun it was), spend some valuable time at Jasper Fforde's website.

Moral Family Decision-Making

My Sister's Keeper
by Jodi Picoult

I've been wanting to read this book for a long time and finally picked it up last week with some birthday money. I was thrilled to find myself really enjoying it. Mostly I'd been interested in the idea of the plot - a 13 year old girl, chosen as an embryo to match her sister's DNA enough to be a cord blood donor for her brings a lawsuit against her parents to avoid donating a kidney after 13 years of giving of herself (literally) to save her sister's life.

First of all, I think the Ms. Picoult brings to the fore a lot of issues around designer babies in this kind of situation and others. To her credit, I can't tell from the book her opinion of the matter. Personally, I think deep down there's something in every human psyche tied to the way we are brought to life that is twisted when unnatural methods are used, in this case to choose a baby that could serve a specific purpose for someone else in the family. No amount of love can perfectly repair the damage. Anna shows us that.

Ms. Picoult's characters battle daily with hard moral questions most of us (thankfully) will never face. She does a wonderful job of bringing those battles to life within the story itself. These are not parents who do not love the third child they never intended to have. They do not even love her less than her older sister, Kate. In situation after situation, though, we see how Anna suffers for Kate. (Kate is suffering more, at least physically, but her suffering is caused by a disease, not by actions that can be traced to her parents.) I love, though, how memories of the past are sprinkled in to show the reader the good times with Anna and her family.

Most importantly of all, the writing and characters of this book are excellent. I often find myself disappointed in contemporary fiction. It just doesn't seem to stand up to past literary works. This may not be a the Brothers Karamazov, but I found myself entranced.

For those who are wondering, this was perhaps not the best choice for me in my present condition. I cried many times, especially when reading the flashbacks to when Kate was first diagnosed at age 2 - the same age my son is now. I too easily place myself in the shoes of characters (one reason I had to stop watching shows like CSI). I still highly recommend it, though.

Avonlea Revisited

Anne of Green Gables
by L.M. Montgomery

I grabbed this off the bookshelf one day while Caleb was perusing Democracy in America and therefore not interested in me. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop and now I'm on the fourth book (out of 6 about Anne, 2 more about her children). It's refreshing to read a book with such a spritely air and flow. I can't believe it's been so long since I read them all. If you're heard of these books, you've probably read them and will know if you want to read them again, so I won't go into details. I just wanted to share how much fun I was having reading them all over again.

I also have to mention my absolute favorite L.M. Montgomery book which I have read about once a year (not counting all the times I just flip directly to the last few chapters). It's The Blue Castle, lesser known, but superior to all the Anne and Emily books. I recommend all women rush out and grab it now off library or store shelves! I'm still trying to convince Josh we should name our daughter (if we ever have one) Valancy after the heroine.

Just a bit of trivia for you, Josh and I were supposed to go to Prince Edward Island for our honeymoon, but an airline pilot strike thwarted us. (We ended up in northern California, booked the day before the wedding, and had a wonderful time.)

A Catholic Tragedy

Brideshead Revisited
by Evelyn Waugh

I read this book over a year ago, started this post and then promptly got sucked into other life events. I didn't want to just delete the post, though, because it's a great book. Following the lives of a Catholic family through the eyes of a dear friend and lover (who is certainly not Catholic), we see how they live through their faith or in hopeless denial of it. I think it would be a particularly great book for a book club, especially one interested in matters of faith, but the compelling story is enough for any discussions.

I don't want to give (much) away, but I'll add my favorite quote from the book:

"'Living in sin'; not just doing wrong, as I did when I went to America; doing wrong, knowing it is wrong, stopping doing it, forgetting. That's not what they mean...Living in sin, with sin, by sin, for sin, every hour, every day, year in, year out. Waking up with sin in the morning, seeing the curtains drawn on sin, bathing it, dressing it, clipping diamonds to it, feeding it, showing it round, giving it a good time, putting it to sleep at night with a tablet of Dial if it's fretful."

She's speaking of actually living with a man who is not her husband, but I love this quote because it doesn't have to be about adultery. It's an amazing description of life for anyone who's committing what he or she knows is a sin and yet continues to do so - and hints at the self-inflicted suffering and weight that becomes overwhelming.

You can check out a biography of Evelyn Waugh at his alma mater. Here's a link to an article by the man who first interested me in the book, George Weigel for First Things (another plug for the magazine).

After reading the book, Josh and I rented the series from Netflix. It follows the book very closely and I recommend it as well.

One of My Favorite Authors

A Thread of Grace
by Mary Doria Russell

I've been planning to read this book since it was first published because Mary Doria Russell is one of my favorite authors, even though she'd only written two books. This one is very different from the first two, though just as well-written. Set in Italy during the Nazi occupation (after surrender to the Allies), the novel explores the lives of fictional characters during the turbulent times. In a life-like way, we have no way of knowing if the characters make the "right" decisions for themselves, their families, or the people they are trying to save. I have to admit, I found the book distressing, but that's because it was so real to me. Those were dark days, even for the ones who strove always to keep light alive.

Now, her previous two books are amazing and I highly recommend them: The Sparrow and Children of God. I won't say much about the second book because it's all such a surprise, but I will say that the story is truly incomplete without it. Do not neglect it after reading The Sparrow. In the first of these books, Ms. Russell describes a realistic account of a Jesuit expedition to a new planet, populated with intelligent alien life. Right from the beginning, the reader knows all did not go well, but perhaps some good does come of it...That's the question, of course. (And those of you paying attention earlier might guess that the answer we learn in the first book is only partially true.)

I'm a science fiction fan, and these two books bring science and God together in a lovely and challenging dance. So many science fiction books about intelligent alien life discount God, but what if God has guided intelligent life on more than just Earth? What might our meeting be like? Read these books even if you don't usually indulge yourself with science fiction.

Special thanks to Bill who first introduced me to The Sparrow, just in time for me to read Children of God during those first few weeks of Caleb's life when it was my turn for the midnight to 4 am stint on the couch.

The World of Fforde

The Big Over Easy
by Jasper Fforde

We were first introduced to the World of Fforde by our good friend, Bill, with The Eyre Affair, a highly amusing telling of how Thursday Next saved Jane Eyre, the book and the character. Mr. Fforde has created an alternate 1980s reality (in England, of course) where the written word is alive and well, literally. There are three other books in the Thursday Next series, but start with The Eyre Affair. I liked them so much I tried to convince Josh we should name a daughter after Thursday. He wasn't so sure about the idea, but there's still time.

The current book is in the same vein. Jack Spratt and Mary Mary are a detective team in the Nursery Crime Division out to solve the mystery of Humpty Dumpty's death. Josh heard this was actually Fforde's first novel that no one would publish until after the success of the others. After reading the book, I can believe it. Some spots are pure Fforde joy. Others are a little rough. I don't want to say too much since it'd be a shame to give away the ending - which is definitely the best part of the story line.

If you're well-read, especially in older books where it's easier to get permission from the copyright owners, you'll love Fforde's books. They're irreverent, pun-filled, and hilarious. It was a Thursday Next book that inspired me to read Anna Karenina, which I found to be one of the best books I'd ever read.

If you haven't seen the Fforde website, you're missing out. Trust me, it's the best way to waste time online. Of course, it's even better if you've read the books.

Special thanks to David and Becca who lent us The Big Over Easy so we wouldn't have to wait 6 months for the library copy (even though I ended up waiting almost that long anyway before actually reading the book).