What I’ve Read: Dissident Men and Top 10 Fiction
December 13th, 2006 | by Scott |I only read two books this week and they lie on opposite ends of the spectrum as far as value goes.
Dissident Discipleship by David Augsburger–I consider those saints who hail from the Anabaptist tradition to be heroes of the faith. Their unswerving commitment to following Christ is a tremendous example for us all. In this instant classic, which I view as a companion piece to Lee Camp’s seminal Mere Discipleship, Augsburger recounts 7 characteristics of their spirituality for us to consider: Radical Attachment, Stubborn Loyalty, Tenacious Serenity, Habitual Humility, Resolute Nonviolence, Concrete Service and Authentic Witness.
Woven through these seven traits is a “tripolar” spirituality in which “love of God transcends and transforms love of self, love of God and love of neighbor become one, love of neighbor and love of self become one, and submission to God and solidarity with neighbor are indivisible.”
This book is not one to be missed. Five Stars (OSFSOA)
The Children of Men by P.D. James–I had high hopes for this book for it had high marks going in: a well reviewed dystopian thriller written by a respected author. The movie will be released in the States on Christmas day and has received some buzz as well. Yet the book was a total disappointment. The premise was intriguing enough: In 1995 the sperm count of all men in the world went to zero. It is now 2021 and the youngest living people are 25 years old. The world has changed greatly as those living anticipate the death of mankind.
But James fails to do anything great with this premise. The story-line drags and too much is invested in scene setting and not enough on providing any level of impetus to keep turning the page. I began to skim the last 30 pages just to get to the, underwhelming, conclusion.
As far as the movie version, I hear they abandoned most of the storyline of the book and just used it as a skeleton. That’s promising. Two Stars.
My Top 10 Fiction Reads of the Year
10. The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
9. The Chosen by Chaim Potok
8. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
7. Cell by Stephen King
6. The Innocent by Harlan Coben
5. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
4. All Quiet On the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
3. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
2. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
1. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
9 Responses to “What I’ve Read: Dissident Men and Top 10 Fiction”
By Steve Allison on Dec 13, 2006 | Reply
I’ve only read “The Chosen” and that was some years ago. Though it is about two young Jewish men in post war New York City and how they accomodate modern life and their particular Jewish heritage and traditions, I perceived some parallels with the situations also faced by different generations of C of C people. “The Promise”, the sequel, is also good.
By Jim MacKenzie on Dec 13, 2006 | Reply
I’m impressed with myself: I’ve read 2,3,4,5,8,9,10 on your list (not in the last year mind you…)
By Scott on Dec 13, 2006 | Reply
Steve, the parallels are amazing. I reviewed “The Chosen” when I finished and talked some about that.
Jim, just three to go.
By Steve Duer on Dec 13, 2006 | Reply
I have read 1, 3, and 10. I loved the Time Travelers Wife. Life of Pi I liked till the ending.
By krister on Dec 13, 2006 | Reply
I think you might enjoy reading the book “God in Public: Four Ways American Christianity and Public Life Relate” by Mark Toulouse. He’s a professor American Religious History at my school. I read an advance of one chapter called “Iconic Faith” that was outstanding. He’s definitely got his finger on the pulse of the conflation of Church and State.
By Scott on Dec 14, 2006 | Reply
Krister, thanks for the recommendation. I will definitely look into it.
Steve, the ending was what I liked most about Pi.
By Jeff on Dec 18, 2006 | Reply
Read 2, 3, 7, 8 and 10. Would probably rank them similarly to your ranking, too!
Have a great Christmas! We’ll be blitzing through LR and R’ville on the way to F’ville for Xmas Eve/Day. Maybe we’ll pass on I-40!