August Book Bracket
Chosen and Cherished: Biblical Wisdom for Your Marriage, by Kimberly Hahn
Wife of well-known Catholic author/professor shares her own insights into marriage using a Biblical base.
Why I picked it up: This book was a lovely and thoughtful birthday gift from a sister-in-law and I wanted to read it before I got married.
My impressions: This is a great book for engaged (or single) women to read. I ended up with about half a dozen sticky notes poking from the pages, marking the different sections I knew I'd want to revisit. Hahn interwove solid theological reflections with practical suggestions. The reflection questions that pop up every few chapters or so provide great food for prayer time in the adoration chapel. The author came across as an experienced older sister or relative who has seen a lot and therefore knows a lot - and I appreciated learning from her wisdom. I will say that I think Hahn made some assertions that don't have a strong base. She hearkens to Proverbs 31, for example, to make what seemed to me an argument for the woman being mother at home and not working in the world - several later segments took on the assumed position that the wife would be ministering to children at home. Now that I'm removed from the experience of the first time reading it, I don't think that she pushed it super hard - but I did find it hard to swallow that we are assuming it's better for women to be at home than to be working. Okay, yes, it does seem ideal to have a mother at home caring for young children rather than having other people raise them for so much of their early lives. Yes. However. As a woman who thinks she might possibly go crazy if she didn't work outside the home, that's hard for me to get on board with. I think there's something to be said for individual family dynamics and jobs through which women still minister in very real ways to others (like my own, in which I serve children in a school setting). Long objection - I think the influence of modern culture on myself is showing. In any case, I think this is a great book overall, especially for Catholic women getting ready for marriage who could use some adoration-time reflection material. I highly recommend this book to such women; I hope to reread at least parts of this book; and I think I might gift a copy of this to friends who become engaged in the future.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Bronte**
This classic work of literature describes the life of a woman who entered into an emotionally abusive marriage and escaped with her son, all while doing her best to maintain her integrity.
Why I picked it up: A dear friend recommended this book years ago - probably while I was an undergraduate college student. I needed another book to carry me into prepping for the schoolyear again, so I found a free Librivox audiobook version. I finally "read" it, friend!
My impressions: This book blows away Wuthering Heights and kept me wondering how things were going to turn out. I thought that the narrator (Gilbert) came across as a pretty emotional and sappy fellow sometimes, and immature to boot - so he was not the strongest character. However, I thought the tale was very well constructed, starting with a happening-now-in-real-time (or more at least, more recently) epistolary story, progressing to an epistolary/diary tale for the middle part, and ending with a conclusion to the happened-more-recently story (still in epistolary form, I think). It was kind of story-inception, then, but the epistolary form for the happening-more-recently story worked because the narrator was able to drop foreshadowing to his fictional reader, while the diary absolutely made sense for that part of the story. Anne Bronte's genius for describing an emotionally abusive love interest blew me away. I've been blessed to never have had that experience myself, but I took an interpersonal communication class that covered this sort of thing in detail. I will say that Arthur presented with pretty much every red flag ever - all this before psychology and profiles for narcissists really came into their own - this was all Bronte's own observations or knowledge of humanity. She hit it spot-on. But, even better of her uncanny ability to portray such a relationship inevitably going off the rails, I loved how the main character, Helen, strove to maintain her fidelity and integrity throughout her trials. She never settled for the immoral route, or at least tried her best not to. She withstood incredibly difficult temptations to actions which many other characters told her would have been completely justifiable given her circumstances. But no: she held strong. And (spoiler alert!) she ended up with her happy ending. This is the Bronte book that I wish was better known - certainly much more than Wuthering Heights. This might be a difficult book for some people to read - I'm imagining those who have had experience with abusive relationships - but it is so very good. It would probably be appropriate for the right high school readers and adults. Even though it's a book I think women are more likely to like, I think men could benefit greatly from reading this book as well - it's got something for all of us in it, I think.
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, by Judith Kerr
This semi-autobiographical work covers two years of life in different countries for a family of Jews who flee Germany just before the Nazis come to power.
Why I picked it up: This book came into my possession sometime when another teacher was getting rid of books and I wanted to find out what such a strangely-named book was about.
My impressions: Spoiler - no, Hitler did not literally steal a pink rabbit toy. The author did a great job of describing the mind of a child. Childish understandings and lifelike descriptions of things such as dreams and arguments really helped me get into the mind of the main character, even though it was in third-person narration (which I do very much enjoy). There were several parts that I thought were very dark - including a tale related by a character about how someone went mad in a concentration camp (not the fact that it happened so much as the description of how it happened) and the story of the suicide of a dear family friend related by the friend's neighbor. Those parts were very sad and would have the potential to make this book a no-go for some sensitive children. There was not much plot to the story, but watching the family's fortunes change in different countries helped keep my interest. Characters were well unique and well-developed. This could be a good book for upper elementary-aged readers, so long as they and/or parents are aware that there are a few troubling parts included (mentioned above).
The Consolation of Philosophy, by Boethius**
This classic allegory walks through a dialogue between the imprisoned Boethius and Lady Philosophy as they discuss the ups and downs of fortune.
Why I picked it up: This is one of those works that I figured I just had to read sometime - lots of podcasters, etc., reference it and I wanted to read it (listen to it) for myself.
My impressions: Warning: I'm writing this review the first day of November, so it's been a hot minute since I finished listening to this work. Yes, I listened to as a Librivox audiobook, and I don't think that's the way to get the most out of this work. I was able to zone out sometimes because it's not a gripping work like "The 39 Steps". So, I've established it's not the most exciting work. However, it had some good things going for it, including the personal side of the work - it's a philosophical work, but the author places himself as the main character in this dialogue. It was interesting to get a flavor of the political machinations and the personal successes and sufferings of the author as he discussed his turn in fortune with Lady Philosophy. In some ways, I feel it maybe has a mixture of philosophy and theology, because it very clearly operates from a Christian worldview. I'd recommend this work, but not necessarily to everyone. I'd say it was important for scholars and students in a liberal arts education to be familiar with (and other students, but I'm sure it would be a harder sell). It might also benefit people who are going through a really rough time as it could help them to view their life situations through the lens of some ancient wisdom.
Bracket Play
The first round went quickly, with the less captivating works falling easily to the true contenders. Both finalists could have taken the win, but the fictional work wins because the story stuck with me more than the helpful and most excellent reflections of Kimberly Hahn. It is unfortunate, but I'm just going to have to reread "Chosen and Cherished" to really soak it in. That's not a bad thing, and it's probably going to be recommended to my friends more often than "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall". Both are great books and I highly recommend both.
