Collected Miscellany

Athol Dickson’s River Rising is one of those books that I very likely wouldn’t have read a few years ago. Before my blogging focus turned to books this novel would not have been on my radar screen. I rarely read Christian fiction. I tend to avoid historical fiction. And I shy away from books that focus on the multicultural obsession of “race, class, and gender.”

River Rising can be described as all of the above, but not in the ways you might think. As I have mentioned a few times before, when I decided I should look into Christian fiction, or fiction from Christian publishing houses, I asked Dave of Faith In Fiction to recommend a few books. Among his recommendations was Madman by Tracy Groot and River Rising.

Having now read River Rising I understand the awards and compliments. It is a novel of grace and power. One that challenges your beliefs and changes your perspective. It is beautifully written and full of suspense. I would heartily recommend it to anyone.

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Athol Dickson’s River Rising is one of those books that I very likely wouldn’t have read a few years ago. Before my blogging focus turned to books this novel would not have been on my radar screen. I rarely read Christian fiction. I tend to avoid historical fiction. And I shy away from books that focus on the multicultural obsession of “race, class, and gender.”

River Rising can be described as all of the above, but not in the ways you might think. As I have mentioned a few times before, when I decided I should look into Christian fiction, or fiction from Christian publishing houses, I asked Dave of Faith In Fiction to recommend a few books. Among his recommendations was Madman by Tracy Groot and River Rising.

Having now read River Rising I understand the awards and compliments. It is a novel of grace and power. One that challenges your beliefs and changes your perspective. It is beautifully written and full of suspense. I would heartily recommend it to anyone.

Continue reading →

Sometime ago I saw this article and thought: hey, that sounds like fun! So I slowly went about getting the equipment and software necessary. Soon I had all the tools to attempt my own podcast. But I was a little nervous about entering the territory of Bat Segundo and other masters of the form. Much time passed.

Eventually I summoned up the courage to try it. Inspired by an Brock Clarke’s essay in the Virginia Quarterly, The Novel is Dead, Long Live the Novel, I decided to venture into this uncharted territory. So I sent Brock an email.

He graciously agreed to be my guinea pig and we went about setting a date. Murphy’s Law intervened and as the date approached for our conversation I started having problems with my broadband connection at home. Rather than risk my connection futzing out in the middle of the interview I decided to add another layer of complexity to the whole thing. I actually conducted the interview at a local coffee house. So here I was talking on the phone and recording my first ever podcast using a free Wi-Fi connection on my laptop.

As I mention in the introduction, I would ask for your patience and charity as I attempt to get the hang of this new format. I have no real expertize or experience in this kind of thing so there is bound to be technical and aesthetic issues. My hope is that these will not overshadow the conversation with Brock. As always, feel free to send suggestions and comments my way.

By way of introduction, let me say that the conversation largely centers on Brock’s essay noted above which is in itself partly a reaction to Rachel Donadio’s NYTBR essay from last year entitled Truth Is Stronger Than Fiction. We also discuss a book that plays a prominent role in the essay Heidi Julavits’s 2003 book, The Effect of Living Backwards.

So without further ado, here is the first ever Collected Miscellany Podcast: Click on the graphic below to listen to a conversation with Brock Clarke.

In an attempt to learn more about the history of the Templar knights, an order of fighting monks who pledged to protect the Holy Land and the pilgrims who traveled to it, I decided to read The Templars by Piers Paul Read. The Templars have been associated with everything from heretical teaching to the protectors of the relics of Jesus Christ.

Read chronicles the rise and fall of the Templars, officially called the Knights of the Temple of Solomon. The book is generally split into three unequal parts: the importance of the Holy Land to the Jews, Muslims, and Christians; the creation and role of the Templars; and the fall of the Templars, including their legacy.

Read clearly has done his research on the topic. I like his explanations of the different religions and how they came to value the same real estate. For instance, the Temple Mount, which includes the Dome of the Rock, is sacred – to Jews because it is the site of the Temple of Solomon, to Christians because it includes ground that Christ walked on, and to Muslims because this is where they believe Muhammad ascended into heaven. Read’s history helps you understand why there is so much fighting between the religions for control of the area.

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In an attempt to learn more about the history of the Templar knights, an order of fighting monks who pledged to protect the Holy Land and the pilgrims who traveled to it, I decided to read The Templars by Piers Paul Read. The Templars have been associated with everything from heretical teaching to the protectors of the relics of Jesus Christ.

Read chronicles the rise and fall of the Templars, officially called the Knights of the Temple of Solomon. The book is generally split into three unequal parts: the importance of the Holy Land to the Jews, Muslims, and Christians; the creation and role of the Templars; and the fall of the Templars, including their legacy.

Read clearly has done his research on the topic. I like his explanations of the different religions and how they came to value the same real estate. For instance, the Temple Mount, which includes the Dome of the Rock, is sacred – to Jews because it is the site of the Temple of Solomon, to Christians because it includes ground that Christ walked on, and to Muslims because this is where they believe Muhammad ascended into heaven. Read’s history helps you understand why there is so much fighting between the religions for control of the area.

Continue reading →

In the course of reviewing Olen Steinhauer’s last novel, 36 Yalta Boulevard, I had this to say about his Eastern European crime series:

What is so captivating and entertaining about Steinhauer is that each book tackles a new character and brings a new perspective. Steinhauer is not just cranking out sequels to make his publisher happy. He is using the history and culture of Eastern Europe as a setting and as a source for an imaginative tweak on a host of genres. Aspects of hard boiled detective story, police procedural, psychological mystery, espionage thriller, and historical fiction are all included as he tells the story of these unique characters.

And yet there is more. Steinhauer explores deeper issues than just who did what, where, and how. Thorny personal, political, and cultural issues are addressed while the mystery unfolds. Taken together they paint a thought provoking portrait of time and place; and yet each work stands satisfyingly on its own. “Literary crime series” may seem like an oxymoron to some, but it seems a perfect description of Steinhauer’s work.

I guess I should quit being surprised that Olen keeps meeting – and exceeding – my expectations because he has done it consistently. And his latest work, Liberation Movements, is no exception.

I mentioned previously that Liberation Movements is my must read book of the year so far. As is obvious from the above quote, I have enjoyed the previous books in this series (see Bridge of Sighs, The Confession, and 36 Yalta Boulevard) but I really believe this latest work takes it to another level. The well developed characters, the tight prose, the quick pacing and suspense all combine with a philosophical depth to create a near perfect reading experience.

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