I am supposed to be reading The Old Curiosity Shop
for HPB Humble’s December Book Club meeting. I love and adore Dickens so I’m actually very excited about this. Plus, the weather is perfect for it. But every time I sit down I find something else has made it into my hands and reading time. Yesterday I breezed through Unrecounted by W.G. Sebald and Jan Peter Tripp before starting and completing Sarah N. Harvey’s The Lit Report. Both were short, breezy books, but neither were on my immediate TBR pile.
Unrecounted is a coffee table book shrunk down to the size of a trade paper back, in my opinion. Housed in poetry, yet I find myself more captivated by the art. The book is a series of Tripp’s art and Sebald’s verse married together very simply in a manner you might see at an art gallery rather than in a poetry book. I enjoyed it immensely, but I would have preferred to walk through a perfectly lit hall with the images taking up half the wall, the verse on a plaque nearby, rather than flip through the pages of a book. Although it would be far less accessible that way, the emotional impact would be far greater.
The Lit Report is a fabulous young adult piece for older teens. In the style of So Many Books, So Little Time, the story follows a year in the life of Julia questioning the beliefs of those around her and defining her own world view while reading and walking her best friend through a secret teen pregnancy. Christians are not shown in the greatest light. In fact I doubt that the ‘Christians’ presented in this book actually are Christians as they tend to be people more focused on beating religion into others or attempting to save themselves from the wrath of God by burying themselves into activities of a highly questionable church, instead of simply believing in the Truth and love of Jesus Christ. The book is also pretty consistent with how most modern teens live and has its fair share of swearing , misbehavior, and (obviously) sexual activity (after all, one girl is pregnant). But the novel rings true as a supposed memoir of a girl’s life… while reading it you feel as though this could be someone’s experience somewhere – this could happen.
The Lit Report is something I wouldn’t mind re-reading with the kiddo when she is older and we can discuss the thoughts and opinions of the girls, their actions, and the actions of their parents. It has valid and necessary topics to discuss: the cruel dogmatic ways of some people who call themselves ‘Christians’ and how they influence the public’s view on what being a Christian means, sexual activity as a teenager, and of course how literature can be a part of your daily life. It is important to see what someone who ‘walks the walk’ looks like in comparison to somewhat who has hardened their heart and spouts biblical references at people out of context. It is important to know where you stand as a sexual being and what your expectations and standards are, and finally, how your decisions affect those around you. The novel really makes you stop to think what the author’s own life experiences with so-called Christians have been.
As for The Old Curiosity Shop, I am a few chapters in and it waits patiently for me on my night stand. Maybe tonight will be the night… or, maybe I’ll find myself wasting more time.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
Anakalian Whims 
Leave a Reply