Four Recent Reads

Green Mansions: I finished reading Green Mansions this summer. It was a good read and gave an interesting look into the South American jungle, but ended depressingly.  Not to expose the plot, but the "ill-fated" love story is truly ill-fated.  Although Green Mansions is compelling and worth reading, readers should be forewarned that all does not end happily ever after.  Also, the philosophy of the novel is incorrect.  Set against a Catholic background, the book realizes that Catholicism is inaccurate but in its place turns to a self-atoning religion.  At the end of the novel Abel comes to the belief that self-forgiveness and self-ablution are the keys to salvation, a concept that Scripture denies as hopeless and dangerously deceptive.


Doctor Zhivago: I ended up throwing this book away after reading not too far into it.  I asked myself whether I would want to be acquainted with the characters and decided that their acqaintance would be deleterious to my spiritual health.  The story deals with a young girl and her affair with her mother's lawyer, and a married man who has romantic feelings for this girl (who has grown up and become a nurse in the war) instead of his wife.  Maybe the story would have ended by showing the consequences of these sins, but I was not interested in reading any farther.  If you read it, please use discernment.


The Old Man and the Sea: An intriguing look at the life of an old fisherman in Cuba.  At points, there are a few bits of language and the characters drink, but nothing hair-raising that I remember.  The reason this book is a classic is the concise yet colorful way in which the author portrays a few days in the life of a little-known, old fisherman who is not very successful in the eyes of everyone else.  The story tells of a young man who has learned fishing from him and often takes care of him, bringing him food, etc.  The great struggle of the story occurs when the fisherman hooks the biggest fish he has ever seen.  For three days, the fisherman battles with the fish and finally, ... well, you have to read the story.  I liked how the story showed the tenacity of the fisherman in his struggle with the elements.


The Aeneid: The only people who would truly enjoy and appreciate this work are gory Romans who hold the glory of their empire as the greatest good.  Parts of it were interesting: the fights never lacked color, and the people were strong.  On the other hand, Virgil depicted the women as either weak (Lavinia), or obsessed and self-destructive (Dido), or strong but ill-fated (Camilla).  However, the men do not fare much better.  Most of the names recorded in the epic are of those who die valiently in battle.  The only characters who truly have a "happy" ending are Aeneas and his sons.  Most of the philosophy governing the book reflects a worldview that has had very liitle contact with the principles of Scripture.  If you are still desirous of reading this bloody book, good luck: catch up on your Roman mythology!

Book Lover

A bibliophile is a person who loves books. I must confess that I am one of these, ardently obsessed with reading anything and everything.

    "Five years from now you'll be the same person you are today except for the books you read and the people you meet." (Charles E. Jones) After hearing this quote, I began to question if I would like myself in five years based on what I was reading now. Frankly, the answer was less than satisfying. Much of what I read I read for pure pleasure, not to benefit me or make me a better person.  

    I began to think of what I could do to enrich myself through reading. I decided to make a list of improving books (most of them classics) and read them. As I finished a book, I would blog about it, what I liked or did not like, the style and plot line and morality, the color and feel and texture. Not only would reporting on my books make me accountable, but I hope it will allow others to get a complete and concise review on many classic works.