Tag Archives: Books

Book Review: The Yearling

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YearlingThe Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings is the story of twelve year old Jody Baxter, who lives with his family in a backwoods area of Florida known as “the scrub” in the years after the Civil War. His parents, Ezra (nicknamed Penny because of his small stature) and Ory, have previously lost six children in infancy. This and the fact that he had a hard upbringing himself makes Penny want to let Jody be a child for as long as he can and makes him even more dear. But Ory, though not totally lacking in affection, is somewhat detached from Jody, and has hardened somewhat after all the losses and hardscrabble existence. She says, “Seems like bein’ hard is the only way I kin stand it.”

Though “friendliness and mutual help in time of trouble” was more available in towns, Penny wanted the peace of the scrub:

He had perhaps been bruised too often. The peace of the vast aloof scrub had drawn him with the beneficence of its silence. Something in him was raw and tender. The touch of men was hurtful upon it, but the touch of the pines was healing. Making a living came harder there, distances were troublesome in the buying of supplies and the marketing of crops. But the clearing was peculiarly his own. The wild animals seemed less predatory to him than people he had known. The forays of bear and wolf and wild-cat and panther on stock were understandable, which was more than he could say of human cruelties.

Jody begins as a good-hearted but immature boy, off rambling in the forest when he should be hoeing the corn. He wants a pet, but his Ma is against it: it’s hard enough to keep the family fed. Although Penny wants Jody to be carefree as long as possible, he takes Jody on various forays like hunting, trading, planting, etc., teaching him and imparting wisdom along the way. When Penny wants to take Jody trading with their nearest neighbors (four miles away), the rowdy Forresters, he and Ma argue:

“Jody has got to mix with men and learn the ways o’ men,” Penny said.

“The Forresters’ is a fine place to begin. Do he learn from them, he’ll learn to have a heart as black as midnight.”

“He might learn from them, not to.”

The Baxters face perils from bears, particularly a smart, sneaky one nicknamed Ol’ Slewfoot because he’s missing a toe, panthers, wolves, catastrophic weather, and snakes, but there are also visits with friends and Christmas parties and fun times as well.

At one point when a doe is killed during an emergency, Jody discovers she had a fawn. When he pleads with Penny to take it home since they were responsible for its mother’s death, Penny relents. Jody and the fawn, named Flag by a friend, become fast friends. But of course, as Flag gets older, he becomes harder to handle and a menace to the family’s crops.

The title would suggest the story is about the fawn, as it starts becoming a problem when it becomes a yearling. But several times in the book Jody is called a yearling, and the book is something of a coming of age story. Though the main storyline is about his transformation from a boy to a responsible youth, there are so many facets to the book: Penny’s understanding of and relationship with Jody, his wisdom and decency, how different people respond to the trials of life, how people existed in such a place and time. There is a wealth of knowledge about animal ways and how all their parts were used (who knew panther oil was good for rheumatism?)

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings won a Pulitzer prize in 1939 for this book, deservedly so, and it’s the work she is most known for. As I was reading I mused that she had to be from this area, because her knowledge flowed so naturally it couldn’t have come just from research into it, and I was was delighted to find I was right: I found this interesting article about the area where Rawlings lived  in central Florida and where the movie based on the book was filmed. According to Wikipedia, her editor rejected several things she sent him and told her to “write about what she knew from her own life”; that advice led to The Yearling.

It has to be masterful writing that can include accented dialogue along with beautiful prose, almost poetic in places. Here are a few favorite spots:

He edged closer to his father’s bones and sinews. Penny slipped an arm around him and he lay close against the lank thigh. His father was the core of safety. His father swam the swift creek to fetch back his wounded dog. The clearing was safe, and his father fought for it, and for his own. A sense of snugness came over him and he dropped asleep (Chapter 4).

She clasped two fingers over her nose in a gesture of malodorous disgust (Chapter 11).

[After Jody threw a potato at the girl above], “Well, son, you cain’t go thru life chunkin’ things at all the ugly women you meet” (Chapter 11).

Grandma Hutto’s flower garden was a bright patchwork quilt thrown down inside the pickets (Chapter 11).

She drew gallantry from men as the sun drew water. Her pertness enchanted them. Young men went away from her with a feeling of bravado. Old men were enslaved by her silver curls. Something about her was forever female and made all men virile (Chapter 11).

A tenderness filled Jody that was half pain, half sweetness. In his agony, his father was concerned for him (Chapter 14).

At the house, Ma Baxter received the news stolidly. She had shed her tears and wailed her laments when the crops were ruined. As the going of too many of her children had wrung her dry of feeling, now the passing of the game was only another unprotested incident (Chapter 21).

“You got to learn takin’ keer o’ rations comes first of all–first after gittin’ ’em” (Chapter 22).

Ma Baxter rocked complacently. They were all pleased whenever she made a joke. Her good nature made the same difference in the house as the hearth-fire had made in the chill of the evening (Chapter 23).

Jody chewed on his licorice stick. The rich black juice filled his mouth and the talk filled another hunger, back of his palate, that was seldom satisfied (Chapter 25).

“You’ve seed how things goes in the world o’ men. You’ve knowed men to be low-down and mean. You’ve seed ol’ Death at his tricks. You’ve messed around with ol’ Starvation. Ever’ man wants life to be a fine thing, and a easy. ‘Tis fine, boy, powerful fine, but ’tain’t easy. Life knocks a man down and he gits up and it knocks him down agin. I’ve been uneasy all my life….I’ve wanted life to be easy for you. Easier’n ’twas for me. A man’s heart aches, seein’ his young uns face the world. Knowin’ they got to git their guts tore out, the way his was tore. I wanted to spare you, long as I could. I wanted you to frolic with your yearlin’. I knowed the lonesomeness he eased for you. But ever’ man’s lonesome. What’s he to do then? What’s he to do when he gits knocked down? Why, take it for his share and go on” (Chapter 33).

I think that last quote is one that resonated with me the most. We want to shield our children from hard things: even just telling them “No” when they’re toddlers can break our hearts. But we can’t. Hard times will come, and we hope that they’ll be resilient and keep hope and faith alive and let the hard times mature them without hardening them.

I had seen the film with Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman years ago and loved it and wanted to read the book someday, but just didn’t think of it when making reading plans for the year. When I finally thought about it a few weeks ago, I almost waited to include as a classics read for next year, but then decided I didn’t want to wait. And I am so glad I went ahead. I love this book. I’d like to see the movie again now as well.

For those who would want to know about objectionable elements, there is a smattering of “hells” and “damns” (usually from the Forresters), mentions of whiskey (also usually by the Forresters and sometimes the doctor, who took to drink after his wife died). There is an odd scene when Jody is spending the night with the Forresters, and they wake up in the night due to a commotion outside. He’s shocked to find that they are all naked, and then instead of going back to bed, they start playing music – still naked. I guess that’s to show just how untamed and unconventional they are. Because of these things I don’t think it is exactly a children’s book (at least not without some editing and/or discussions): young adults, maybe. But I enjoyed it as an adult while not condoning those aspects.

The book is not from a Christian standpoint, but as a Christian I like to see what aspects of faith and perceptions of God are in a story. There was an odd exchange about something the doctor said:

Buck said, “That Doc, he’d crack him a joke right in the Lord’s face.”

Penny said, “That’s why he’s a good doctor.”

“How come?”

“Well, he gits to fool the Lord now and agin.”

The one character depicted as a Christian, Penny’s father, was characterized unfortunately as “stern as the Old Testament God.” (It’s a common misconception that God in the Old Testament is aloof and stern but Jesus is kind and compassionate. But they are one, and there are many references to God’s love, mercy and compassion in the OT and His sternness in the NT.) There is a general respect for God’s providence and an occasional lament at what is seen as His hardness, but not really a closeness to Him. Penny’s prayer at a crippled boy’s burying are particularly sweet. I wish the characters could have known that “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27) and “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1).

As I was poking around looking at reviews and articles about The Yearling after I finished it, I discovered this song by Andrew Peterson called “The Ballad of Jody Baxter” based on the book (which made me teary). You can find the text online at Project Gutenberg Australia which includes some beautiful illustrations by N. C. Wyeth. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook very ably narrated by Tom Stechschulte and reread some passages online.

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

What’s On Your Nightstand: November 2015

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What's On Your NightstandThe folks at 5 Minutes For Books host What’s On Your Nightstand? the last Tuesday of each month in which we can share about the books we have been reading and/or plan to read.

I don’t know where this month has gone! But I’m glad for being able to squeeze in time to read even when the days fly by.

Since last time I have completed:

Knowing God by J. I. Packer, reviewed here. It well-deserves being called a Christian classic.

The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins, the last of my classics challenge books, reviewed here. Enjoyed it quite a lot.

Come Rain or Come Shine, Jan Karon’s latest, reviewed here. Loved it!

Child of Mine by David and Beverly Lewis, reviewed here. Very good – different from her usual setting.

I’m currently reading:

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. I’m afraid I’m having trouble getting into this one, but I have heard nothing but good about it, so I will persevere.

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings audiobook. Just finished this and hope to review it tomorrow

The Butterfly and the Violin by Kristy Cambron. This one is a real page-turner so far!

Caregiver Devotions To Go by Gigi Murfitt

Next Up:

A few of Grimm’s Fairy Tales for Carrie‘s Reading to Know Classics Book Club for November. I was planning on starting them after The Yearling but didn’t realize that one would take so long. But it’s good and the fairy tales are short, so we’ll see how many I can work in before the end of the month.

Unlimited by David Bunn

Something Christmasy: either Forever Christmas by Robert Tate Miller or Christmas Lessons by Patty Smith Hall – or both if time allows.

Happy reading!

Back to the Classics 2015 Wrap-Up Post

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The Back to the Classics Challenge 2015 requires a wrap-up post (at least to be eligible for prizes, but it’s nice, too, to look back over the fruit of one’s labors.) So these are the classics I’ve read for this challenge this year. Each links back to my review of the book.

1.  A 19th Century Classic — any book published between 1800 and 1899: Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens (Finished 7/22/15)

2.  A 20th Century Classic — any book published between 1900 and 1965: The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer, 1928 (Finished 1/19/15)

3.  A Classic by a Woman Author: Emily Climbs by L. M. Montgomery, second in the Emily of New Moon series. (Finished 2/4/15)

4.  A Classic in Translation. a book written originally in a language not your own: Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero by Henryk Sienkiewicz (Finished 9/19/15)

5.  A Very Long Classic Novel — a single work of 500 pages or longer: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (Finished 4/20/15)

6.  A Classic Novella — any work shorter than 250 pages: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Finished 6/22/15)

7.  A Classic with a Person’s Name in the Title: The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Finished 5/20/15).

8.  A Humorous or Satirical Classic. The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. Serious subject, but written in a satirical form. (Finished 9/26/15).

9.  A Forgotten Classic or lesser-known classic: The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins.  (Finished 11/7/15).

10.  A Nonfiction Classic: The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis. (Finished 9/19/15)

11.  A Classic Children’s Book: By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder, 5th in her Little House series. (Finished 2/18/15)

12.  A Classic Play: Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. (Finished 7/30/15)

I am happy to have completed all the categories! That makes me eligible for three entries into Karen’s drawing.

I tried a few new authors and enjoyed meeting up again with some who were already known and loved, to try some of their other works.

As I said at the start of this challenge, I didn’t grow up reading a lot of classics, and I’ve been making a deliberate effort to include them in the past several years. Thanks to Karen at Books and Chocolate for encouraging that endeavor in such a clever and interesting way!

Book Review: Child of Mine

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Child of MineIn Child of Mine by David and Beverly Lewis, Jack Livingston is a flight instructor raising his niece. His brother and sister-in-law had adopted Natalie, called Nattie, but they died in an accident when she was young. Nattie has had an Amish nanny, Laura Mast, all her eight years of life. Jack’s sister, San (short for Sandra) helps as well.

Kelly Maines has spent eight years looking for her baby, who had been kidnapped and then sold. Sympathetic interest and funding has begun to drop off. She’s not sleeping well, she’s lost weight, and her life has been consumed with following one lead after another.

Readers will guess that these lives will intersect at some point, and they do, but the plot doesn’t end up anything like I expected it would due to some twists and turns.

I can’t say too much more about it because I don’t want to give anything away, but I very much enjoyed the book. It’s different from Beverly’s usual style in that it’s not set among the Amish though an Amish woman is a main character. It’s not the first book collaboration for husband and wife, David and Beverly, but it is the first I’ve read of their work together, though I have read many of Beverly’s before. Now I need to go look up their first one.

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

Book Review: The Dead Secret

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Dead SecretThe Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins opens with the lady of the Treverton house facing the last hours of her life. She has a secret known only to herself and her maid which she has tried to share with her husband, but couldn’t. So she calls her maid, Sarah Leeson, in to help her write a note to be given to her husband after her death, despite Sarah’s protests. After the task is done, Mrs. Treverton makes Sarah swear that she will not destroy the note nor take it with her if she leaves the house, but she passes away before she can make her swear to give it to Captain Treverton. Sarah feels she can keep her word without actually giving the note to him by hiding it in an unused part of the house. Then, inexplicably, she writes Captain Treverton a note herself explaining that there was a secret but it won’t hurt anyone if it is not revealed, apologizing for leaving, and asking him not to search for her. Then she disappears.

The Captain does search for her, but to no avail.

The story then jumps 15 years ahead. The Treverton’s daughter, Rosamond, marries her love, Leonard Frankland, who became blind during their engagement. Leonard’s father now owns Rosamond’s old home, Porthgenna Tower. The Franklands plan to live in Porthgenna Tower and restore even the old unused rooms.

The rest of the book tells of learning about the hidden note in an unusual way, the search for it, what the secret was, and how it affects everyone involved. By the way, don’t look at the Wikipedia article for this book unless you want the plot totally spoiled in the opening paragraphs.

I had read and very much enjoyed Collins’ The Woman in White last year and wanted to read more of him. For this year’s Back to the Classics Challenge, I decided to read to try one of his earlier works for the forgotten or lesser-known classic category. Though Wilkie was a friend of Dickens, and this book contains that era’s descriptiveness and rambling indirectness that modern readers aren’t fond of, I felt Collins’ writing was a bit tighter than Dickens’ and not so rambly. Critics don’t seem to think this is one of his best, but I really enjoyed it. I had some idea what the secret would relate to, but the route to it and the details worked out differently from what I expected. I thought his characterizations of Rosamond, Leonard, Sarah, and Sarah’s Uncle Joseph (with whom she stays after leaving Porthgenna Tower) were quite well done. I am eager to read even more of Wilkie Collins.

A couple of my favorite sentences:

He was one of those tall, grave, benevolent-looking men, with a conical head, a deep voice, a slow step, and a heavy manner, who passively contrive to get a great reputation for wisdom without the trouble of saying or doing any thing to deserve it (Chapter 3)

She spoke on the principle of drowning the smallest possible infusion of ideas in the largest possible dilution of words (Chapter 4).

You can find The Dead Secret online at Project Gutenberg here or free for the Kindle here, or, of course, in paperback at various locations.

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

Book Review: Knowing God

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Knowing GodEven though I’ve been posting weekly summaries of my reading from Knowing God by J. I. Packer, I still wanted to do a general review, partly for those who did not want to keep up with the weekly readings, and partly for me to have a general review to link back to.

Even though this book has been considered a classic and has been in print for over 40 years, somehow I had never gotten around to reading it before, though I had heard of it and wanted to.

Packer says the most basic definition of a Christian is that he or she is a person who has God as Father. We are not all God’s children: we become His when we believe on Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

Packer begins with the virtues of studying about God as well as the warning not to stop with just the academics, but to use what we learn to get to know God personally.

To be preoccupied with getting theological knowledge as an end in itself, to approach Bible study with no higher a motive than a desire to know all the answers, is the direct route to a state of self-satisfied self-deception. We need to guard our hearts against such an attitude, and pray to be kept from it (p. 22).

The psalmist [of Psalm 119] was interested in truth and orthodoxy, in biblical teaching and theology, not as ends in themselves, but as means to the further ends of life and godliness. His ultimate concern was with the knowledge and service of the great God whose truth he sought to understand (pp. 22-23).

He talks about what it means to know God, how knowing Him differs from knowing others, the different analogies the Scriptures use to illustrate our relationship to Him.

John 17:3: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

Knowing God is more than knowing about him; it is a matter of dealing with him as he opens up to you, and being dealt with by him as he takes knowledge of you. Knowing about him is a necessary precondition of trusting in him (‘how could they have faith in one they had never heard of?’ [Romans 10:4 NEB]), but the width of our knowledge about him is no gauge of the depth of our knowledge of him (pp. 39-40).

He discusses the need to know God as He truly is, not as our mental picture of Him is nor as He has been falsely portrayed by others.

All speculative theology, which rests on philosophical reasoning rather than biblical revelation, is at fault here [emphasis mine here]. Paul tells us where this sort of theology ends: “The world by wisdom knew not God” (1 Cor 1:21 KJV). To follow the imagination of one’s heart in the realm of theology is the way to remain ignorant of God, and to become an idol-worshipper, the idol in this case being a false mental image of God, made by one’s own speculation and imagination (p. 48).

He discusses what it means to believe that Jesus is God Incarnate and yet also fully man, the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit, the truth of the Bible, the need for and nature of propitiation, what the Bible means by adoption, how God guides us, why we still have trials if we know Him and He loves us, and His full adequacy to handle whatever He allows in our lives. He covers in great detail several of God’s attributes: His immutability (His unchanging nature), His majesty, wisdom, love, grace, judgment, wrath, goodness, severity, and jealousy. Each of those topics is the subject of a whole chapter, and it’s impossible to give an overview of them here, but they were quite beneficial and helpful.

As I said in one week’s summaries, sometimes in the middle of a given chapter, it was easy to get occupied with the individual topics or chapters and forget that they are there in connection with how we know God, so it helped me to stop periodically and remember to tie the individual chapters back to the main point of the book. They do all have that connection even though it might not seem like it from the titles.

Though I didn’t agree with every single little point, especially those emphasizing a Calvinistic viewpoint, I did benefit from and can highly recommend the book. I appreciate that it is not full of theologicalese – terminology that only an academic could understand. I wouldn’t call it simple reading: there were a few places that were a little hard to follow. But for the most part I think an average reader could handle it fairly easily.

I am glad I finally made time for this book and thoroughly understand why it is considered a Christian classic. There were multitudes of places I marked and many memorable and helpful quotes in the book, many more than I can possibly recount here. But I’ll close with this one:

In the New Testament, grace means God’s love in action toward people who merited the opposite of love. Grace means God moving heaven and earth to save sinners who could not lift a finger to save themselves. Grace means God sending his only Son to the cross to descend into hell so that we guilty ones might be reconciled to God and received into heaven (p. 249).

For more information, my thoughts on a couple of chapters a week are as follows:

Chapters 1 and 2, “The Study of God” and “The People Who Know Their God”
Chapters 3 and 4, “Knowing and Being Known” and “The Only True God”
Chapters 5 and 6: “God Incarnate” and “He Shall Testify”
Chapters 7 and 8: “God Unchanging” and “The Majesty of God”
Chapters 9 and 10: “God Only Wise” and “God’s Wisdom and Ours”
Chapters 11 and 12: “Thy Word Is Truth” and “The Love of God”
Chapters 13 and 14: “The Grace of God” and “God the Judge”
Chapters 15 and 16: “The Wrath of God” and “Goodness and Severity”
Chapters 17 and 18: “The Jealous God” and “The Heart of the Gospel” (Propitiation)
Chapters 19 and 20: “Sons of God” and “Thou Our Guide”
Chapters 21 and 22: “These Inward Trials” and “The Adequacy of God”

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

Book Review: Come Rain or Come Shine

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Come Rain or Come ShineIn the very first Mitford book, At Home in Mitford, a young boy who has been deserted by his alcoholic mother and left to the care of his aging grandfather ends up on Father Tim’s doorstep. Father Tim later becomes the guardian of Dooley Barlow, and over the several Mitford books we’ve seen Dooley transformed from a surly, standoffish, hurt boy to a kind, thoughtful, responsible young man, due to the grace of God shown largely through Father Tim’s care, instruction, and example and Miss Sadie’s investment and belief in him. Now in Come Rain or Come Shine by Jan Karon, Dooley is about to graduate from vet school, take over his mentor Hal Owens’ vet practice and farm, add some heifers and a bull to the mix…and get married, all within the space of a few weeks’ time.

Dooley and his fiance, Lace Harper, have planned on a simple country wedding. But no wedding is simple, and there are various snafus one might expect and a few no one expected.

I don’t want to spoil any of the details of the story, but, as often happens at weddings, there is a bit of a reunion with several characters, and sweet and tender moments arise in the midst of the details and hecticness.

I don’t think it is too much of a spoiler to say that at the end of the last Mitford book, Somewhere Safe With Somebody Good, it seemed like there was a definite passing of the torch from Father Tim to Dooley as a main character, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I’ve been interested in Dooley’s welfare and liked him well enough, but I read the Mitford books for Father Tim. But Father Tim is still a large presence in the book and still a main character, though of course the emphasis is on Dooley at this point.

The book is written from multiple points of view, which I enjoy: I like knowing what the various characters are thinking and what an incident looks like through various eyes. The only problem in this case is that, in listening to the audiobook, there were not any pauses or spacing between sections, so often I didn’t realize the “he” or “she” or “they” had changed to different characters until a few sentences into a new paragraph.

I particularly liked getting to know Lace a little better. She first appeared in These High Green Hills as an abused child, and we saw her adopted by town doctor Hoppy Harper and his wife Olivia. As she got older, she and Dooley went to different schools and had a rather stormy beginning, but we haven’t really seen much of her character and particularly what she has been thinking. I liked that she noted that people often said she and Dooley were so much alike, but it was actually their situations that were alike, though their personalities were quite different. I enjoyed getting to know Lace as a person and seeing some of those differences fleshed out more in this book.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to listen to the audiobook of this one: I enjoyed going through the audiobook series of most of the other books, wonderfully narrated by John McDonough, but I had read them all previously, so listening was a nice way to revisit them. I wanted the reading experience first with this one. But as I already had several books on my reading plate and knew I wouldn’t get to it for a while that way, and I had credits with Audible, I decided to go ahead, and I am glad I did.

The only aspect of the book that was jarring and out of place was one character’s taking God’s name in vain a couple of times. I don’t remember Karon ever including that in one of her books, though perhaps my memory is just faulty.

I’ll leave you with a couple of my favorite quotes from the book:

“You could tell a lot about people who would stop what they were doing to watch the Almighty go about His business” (said as several stopped to watch a beautiful sunset, Chapter 14).

“There is no such thing as too many deviled eggs” (Chapter 10) (Agreed!)

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

31 Days With Elisabeth Elliot: Book List and Memorial Video

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Someone commented early on in this series that I should list some of Elisabeth’s books, particularly those that are autobiographical. I think all of her books are autobiographical to a degree, though there is not any one that tells her whole life story. I hope that someone will put all the pieces together in a biography of her someday soon. I’ve also had a few comments from people who had never heard of her or didn’t know much about her, so I thought a book list would be a good idea. I am using the original publication dates where I can find them: many of them have been reprinted multiple times, some with an update from Elisabeth in them, so on Amazon or other places the more recent date they show is that of the reprint.

Books by Elisabeth Elliot

Through Gates of Splendor (1957) was her first, in which she told the story of her husband and the four other missionaries who were killed by the Auca (now known as Waorani) Indians in the 1950s. I reviewed it here. This book started me on the path of reading missionary biographies and reading Elisabeth Elliot.

The Journals of Jim Elliot (1978) are, as the title says, the journals of her first husband, Jim, with some notes by Elisabeth here and there. I wrote about them here.

The Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot (1958) is her biography of Jim. This and his journals were prime reading material among many students when I was in college.

The Savage My Kinsman (1961) tells of Elisabeth’s years working with the Aucas/Waorani after Jim’s death.

These Strange Ashes: Is God Still in Charge? is an account of her first year as a missionary, before her marriage to Jim, and if I remember correctly, contains the account of the murder of the man who was helping her translate the Colorado language and her wrestlings with why God allowed it to happen.

Passion and Purity: Learning to Bring Your Love Life Under Christ’s Control (1984) shares her love story with Jim, which was not a smooth one, as they both originally thought God wanted them to be single missionaries. They were willing for that, if that was what God wanted, though they did love each other. This book mainly talks about the need to put God first in one’s love life and to trust Him for the outcome.

Quest For Love: True Stories of Passion and Purity contains Elisabeth’s answers to questions people sent her after reading Passion and Purity.

Furnace of the Lord: Reflections on the Redemption of the Holy City (1969) contains some of her thoughts as she visited Israel (out of print).

Let Me Be a Woman (1977) was written not long before her daughter was married and discusses what the Bible has to say about Biblical womanhood.

Discipline: The Glad Surrender.

The Mark of a Man:Following Christ’s Example of Masculinity, originally written for a nephew.

Path Through Suffering: Discovering the Relationship Between God’s Mercy and Our Pain. Excellent – one of my top three favorite books on suffering.

The Path of Loneliness: Finding Your Way Through the Wilderness to God.

The Music of His Promises: Listening to God with Love, Trust, and Obedience.

The Shaping of a Christian Family. “Drawing from 40 years of observation and her own family experience, Elliot illustrates how we can create a fulfilling Christian home based on Scriptural principles and values.” (Out of print).

God’s Guidance: A Slow and Certain Light (Out of print)

Taking Flight: Wisdom for Your Journey, for graduates (out of print).

 A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael (1987), her only full biography other than Jim’s (out of print).

No Graven Image, 1966, is her only foray into fiction, but it is based somewhat on her first years as a missionary, also out of print.

All of the following are collections of her thoughts on a wide variety of topics, arising from her study of God’s Word: marriage, motherhood, singleness, abortion, as well as a gamut of aspects on the Christian life:

Twelve Baskets of Crumbs (1977) (out of print).

All That Was Ever Ours (1988)(out of print).

A Lamp Unto My Feet: The Bible’s Light For Your Daily Walk (1985).

Love Has a Price Tag

On Asking God Why: Reflections On Trusting God (1997)

Keep a Quiet Heart 

Be Still My Soul

Secure in the Everlasting Arms

I’ve read the majority of these, though it was some years ago for most of them. Most her books can be ordered on Amazon and other sites as well as her website, along with some CDs and DVDs. There are also a few videos of her speaking on YouTube. Many of her out of print books can still be found used on Amazon and other places.

In addition to her books, her newsletters, which were published every other month from 1982 to 2003, can be found here. Some of the material made its way into her books and vice versa. She also had a radio program called Gateway to Joy for almost 13 years, ending in 2001. Back to the Bible used to have transcripts of it on their site, but, sadly, they don’t any more. However, the Bible Broadcasting Network has started replaying them at 11:15 a.m. on BBN stations, or they can be listened to at that time through live streaming here or on their mobile app, or they can be listened to on demand here.

After Elisabeth Elliot passed away, I was glad to learn that her memorial service would be available online. It was rather long (2+ hours), so it took me a while to have the time to watch it, but I am glad I did. You can find the whole service here.

It looked like they cut out all but one of the grandchildren’s testimonies. I was sorry to see that. I am not sure whether it was because of the time factor or whether theirs would have been a bit too personal. But there were testimonies from a number of personal friends and family members.

It was wonderful both to be reminded of aspects of her life I was familiar with and to learn a few new things. Her daughter, Valerie Shephard, reads some excerpts from her mother’s journal. Elisabeth never tried to portray herself as perfect and was always honest about her shortcomings, but readings from her journal were raw, recounting grief over her impatience with the Indians (which touched me, having battled my own impatience lately – again), times she felt like a failure, her missing her husband in the days after his death, her frustration in dealing with some issues that he usually dealt with. Part of me hopes that some day they might publish her journals, but I would understand if they didn’t: she shared much of her life publicly already, and I would not be surprised if they might want to keep some things private. But that short glimpse helped me see her anew as a woman “of like passions as we are,” who had to deal with grief and frustrations and wrong attitudes and then adjust them in light of Scriptural teaching and what she knew about her Father’s character and workings.

Valerie’s segment as well as that of Joni Eareckson Tada were my favorite parts, though I enjoyed all the testimonies.

A few other observations: I enjoyed the majestic old hymns, something I knew Elisabeth appreciated and used in her devotional times. Evidently she taught them to her children and grandchildren as well. I love many new hymns, but some of these old ones I had not heard in a long time. At first I was going to try to skip through some of the singing to get to the speeches, but I am glad I didn’t.

I loved hearing about her humor. She doesn’t strike you as a funny person at first, but she enjoyed a good laugh.

I also enjoyed seeing photos I had not seen before, including some of places and people and even pets.

But the thing that struck me most was Elisabeth’s interest in and ministry to people. She wasn’t just off at a desk writing all the time. Honestly, that would be my own preference. I often don’t know what to say “in the moment.” That’s one reason I like writing and blogging – I can turn things over in my mind, write a bit, let it sit for a while and come back to it, and finally after days or months give you a fairly thorough answer or opinion on something. But that can’t substitute for an interest in and ministry to people in everyday moments, and one thing those testimonies did was to awaken and encourage that in me.

Though Elisabeth would never want to be out on a pedestal, as she once said of others in the faith whom we admire, so I think we can say this of her:

Pedestals are for statues. Usually statues commemorate people who have done something admirable. Is the deed worth imitating? Does it draw me out of myself, set my sights higher? Let me remember the Source of all strength (“The Lord is the strength of my life,” says Ps 27:1 AV) and, cheered by the image of a human being in whom that strength was shown, follow his example.

I have enjoyed this time over the past month reminding myself of things Elisabeth said. I hope you have as well. Thank you for your kind comments!

To see all the posts in this series, see the bottom of this post.

(Update: Since the time I wrote this, The Elisabeth Elliot Foundation was formed, and many of her articles and broadcasts are available here. In addition, transcripts from her talks from a conference were transcribed and published in Suffering Is Never for Nothing (linked to my review). Her daughter, Valerie Shephard, wrote of her parents’ love story and shared excerpts from some of their letters and journals in Devotedly. Ellen Vaughn published a biography of Elisabeth in Becoming Elisabeth Elliot, drawing largely on EE’s journals and letters. And recently Christianity Today reported that a lost manuscript of Elisabeth’s was found and will be published under the title Heart of God: 31 Days to Discover God’s Love for You.

What’s On Your Nightstand: October 2015

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What's On Your NightstandThe folks at 5 Minutes For Books host What’s On Your Nightstand? the fourth Tuesday of each month in which we can share about the books we have been reading and/or plan to read.

I have been a little afraid that my book-related posts may have gotten lost in the shuffle of the 31 Days With Elisabeth Elliot posts, but I’ve enjoyed some good reading this month.

Since last time I have completed:

The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis, reviewed here. I was disappointed to find several areas where I disagreed with Lewis in this one, but aside from those, he had some very helpful things to say.

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis for Carrie‘s Reading to Know Classics Book Club for September, reviewed here. Glad I finally read this!

Things We Once Held Dear by Ann Tatlock, reviewed here. Took me a bit to get into it, bit I enjoyed it.

To Whisper Her Name by Tamera Alexander, reviewed here, reminded me that “romance” is not my favorite genre, but I really enjoyed the historical places and people and the setting of TN just after the Civil War ended.

I Dared to Call Him Father: The Miraculous Story of a Muslim Woman’s Encounter with God by Bilquis Sheikh, reviewed here. Fascinating.

The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan, reviewed here, about a “secret city” that sprang up during WWII. Fascinating not only because of the subject but also because that city is not far from where I now live.

I’m currently reading:

Knowing God by J. I. Packer along with Tim Challies’ Reading Classics Together Series. I’ve been sharing impressions of a couple of chapters at a time here. Only one week to go! I will probably write a regular shorter review of it when I am done.

The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins, the last of my classics challenge books.

Come Rain or Come Shine, Jan Karon’s latest. Love.

Next Up:

Child of Mine by Beverly Lewis

Unlimited by David Bunn

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson Have heard great things about this and am looking forward to it.

What are you reading these days?

Book Review: The Girls of Atomic City

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In the 1940s in eastern Tennessee, a complex and a community sprang up, unbeknownst to the rest of the world. At its zenith the town housed more than 75,00 people and “used more electricity than New York City,” but it wasn’t on maps at the time. Locals knew it was there: some had even had their land confiscated for it. They knew it was a governmental entity. But they didn’t know what went on in it.

Many of the people working there didn’t know much more about it themselves. Some worked in offices. Some watched dials and gauges and reported the numbers, not knowing what the numbers meant. Some sealed leaks in huge pipes. Some who worked in the labs knew a little more. Only the higher-ups knew they were enriching “Product” for use in a “Gadget” for a “Project.”The Product was uranium, also know as tubealloy; the Gadget was the atomic bomb; the place was one part of the Manhattan Project. The project director called it the “battle of the laboratories,” trying to put the pieces together before the enemies did.

Atomic CityIn The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II, Denise Kiernan traces the development of the discovery and implementation of atomic energy as well as the development of the plants and town that were unknown at the time and supposed to be temporary. Much of the latter is done through the viewpoints of several women who worked in various capacities. Kiernan notes that most historical events are told from the vantage point of those in charge, but she wanted to tell this one “from the perspective of those who were not a part of the decision, those who were not privy to all the facts, people who were just trying to do the best for themselves, their families, and their countries” (p. 384).

It’s hard to imagine pulling up stakes and moving to another state with no knowledge of what the job would entail or even where it would be, but many did just that. Some just needed work. Some saw it as a ticket out of their small hometowns. They were told their work would help end the war, and everyone was all for that.

Once they got to what would come to be known as Oak Ridge, they were shocked by the surroundings: there were no sidewalks and many shoes were lost to the mud until they learned to take their shoes off and walk barefoot. All the homes were prefab units (made of cemesto – cement and asbestos) hastily put together or trailers or “hutments,” all meant to be temporary. A pioneering spirit was definitely needed to thrive here.

The secrecy with which they began their jobs continued. They were all required not to talk about anything to do with their jobs to anyone, even to each other, even to spouses who also worked there. Too many questions or theorizing would cost a person their job, immediately. A staff psychologist was brought in to help people deal with the effects of not having the support system many of them had left behind plus the strain that the secrecy put on marriages and life in general.

Although the main focus was the work, no one could work 24 hours, and people needed recreation, so different groups and sites were organized. Many of the employees were young and single, so there was a lot of dating and eventually marriages.

Alongside the personal stories, the author tells how the first fragments of ideas that led to the study of atomic energy came together from different scientists and different countries and then the various attempts to find the best way to process the needed materials, all the way through the New Mexico testing, political processing (especially with the death of one president, FDR, and the need to bring Truman up to speed quickly with what was going on), then the dropping of the bomb and the aftermath.

Even though the secret was out about the bomb, the various sites in TN and other places working on it, and the “secret city” of Oak Ridge, not everything could be revealed. The powers that were did not want the science getting into the wrong hands, plus they wanted to explore its uses for other purposes as well.

After the war was over, many considered the area home, and the author tells about the process of going from a guarded military complex to an independent city.

There are some blots on the record, however. Besides the land confiscation previously mentioned, black workers were segregated and “were primarily laborers, janitors, and domestics” (p. 47) and black married couples had to live separately. In an unbelievably unconscionable act, one black man was injected with plutonium, without his knowledge or consent, so that the effects of it could be tested.

Kiernan notes in an interview at the end of the book that some readers of the book might not have ever read anything else about the Manhattan Project, so she felt she needed explain it as a whole to set the stories of these people in the times and unique situation they found themselves in. I am glad she did, because, although I knew vaguely what it was about, I really had no idea about many of the details.  Denise Kiernan has done a massive amount of research and and skillfully woven together historic, scientific, political, and personal elements to tell the story.

Some reviewers I glanced at on Goodreads felt the characters weren’t fleshed out enough, but I don’t think Kiernan’s goal was to relate full biographies of the women. I think rather she was trying to give a glimpse of different aspects of the experience from many women in different positions. True, she acknowledges that the information in the book is “compartmentalized as was much of life and work during the Manhattan Project” (p. xxi), and I lost track of which woman was which in some of the narrative (there’s a list of the main ones at the beginning, but I didn’t always feel like flipping back there), but overall I think for the purpose of the book, the way it is written is fine. I think if she had written it with each lady’s full story in a different chapter, we might have gotten to know them better, but there would have been a lot of overlap.

I have a personal interest in the story because we live not far from Oak Ridge and go to church there. In fact, several of our church members are employed at the Y-12 plant, which is still operational, and the Oak Ridge National Labs, which is what the X-10 plant became, and many still cannot talk about theirs jobs. In our early days here, I was following my GPS through Oak Ridge and accidentally came to the Y-12 gate (though I didn’t know that’s what it was then), and even though I had my GPS on and my destination address on the car seat beside me, and my GPS showed that where I needed to go seemed just beyond the gate, the guard said the GPS was wrong and they’d have to detain me a couple of minutes while they took a photo of me, my license plate, and my driver’s license. He was very cordial about it, but it was still nerve-wracking; even still, I am sure that’s very mild compared to the security the area used to have. When we first visited the area and were interviewing schools and looking at houses, we visited the American Museum of Science and Energy there, which is the first I heard about Oak Ridge’s previous status as a “Secret City.” I don’t know if they did not have bus tours then or if I just missed it, but I learned about them, ironically, from a blog friend named Susan (from Indiana, if I am remembering correctly?), who told about going on the tour here. That’s also where she mentioned this book, which I had not seen or heard of before (it was published after my visit to the museum), and I immediately put it on my TBR list, and we are planning to go on one of the tours they next time they coincide with my oldest son’s visit home. Susan’s review of the book is here.

Though this discussion is long already, I feel like I am just scratching the surface of the fascinating elements to this book. There is a web site with more details and photos here and additional photos here. I’ll close with Kiernan’s closing remarks in a highly interesting interview at the end of the book:

Whether or not you agree with the outcome, the tremendous amount that the Manhattan Project accomplished in such a short amount of time–just under three years–is astonishing. It makes you wonder what other kinds of things could be accomplished with that kind of determination, effort, and financial and political support. What if the kind of money, manpower, and resources that went into the Manhattan Project went into the fight against hunger? Cancer? Homelessness?

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)