the screwtape letters

by CS Lewis















I read this classic about 25 years ago, long enough to forget everything about it except that it deserves its reputation.

Here's an excerpt on the gift of free will:

"Merely to override a human will (as His felt presence in any but the faintest and most mitigated degree would certainly do) would be for Him useless. He cannot ravish. He can only woo. For His ignoble idea is to eat the cake and have it; the creatures are to be one with Him, but yet themselves; merely to cancel them, or assimilate them, will not serve." (from chapter 8)

joan of arc

by Mark Twain

Mark Twain wrote, "I like Joan of Arc best of all my books; and it is the best; I know it perfectly well. And besides, it furnished me seven times the pleasure afforded me by any of the others; twelve years of preparation, and two years of writing. The others needed no preparation, and got none."

with fire and sword

Book one of a trilogy of epic novels by Henryk Sienkiewicz. I haven't read this, but our daughter is a fan.

The Trilogy (Trylogia), comprising:

• With Fire and Sword (Ogniem i mieczem, 1884), which took place during the 17th century Cossack revolt known as the Chmielnicki Uprising; made into a movie with the same title;
• The Deluge (Potop, 1886), describing the Swedish invasion of Poland known as The Deluge; made into a movie with the same title;
• Fire in the Steppe (Pan Wołodyjowski, 1888), which took place during wars with the Ottoman Empire in the late 17th century; made into a film titled Colonel Wolodyjowski.

Book one is 1000 pages. Book two comes in 2 volumes, 900 and 800 pages. Book three is a mere 700 pages.

Sienkiewicz also wrote the well-known Quo Vadis (haven't read that either):

Historical novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz, published in Polish under its Latin title in 1896. The title means "where are you going?" and alludes to a New Testament verse (John 13:36). The popular novel was widely translated. Set in ancient Rome during the reign of the emperor Nero, Quo Vadis tells the story of the love that develops between a young Christian woman and a Roman officer who, after meeting her fellow Christians, converts to her religion. Underlying their relationship is the contrast between the worldly opulence of the Roman aristocracy and the poverty, simplicity, and spiritual power of the Christians. The novel has as a subtext the persecution and political subjugation of Poland by Russia.
The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

till we have faces

by CS Lewis

Set in primitive pagan times, the book is a retelling of the myth of Psyche.

About love, how love of self and love of others can be confused for one another. A compelling and unsettling book.

books I've read in the past month

The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
Rupert of Henzau (sequel to above)

Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall

Raising Your Child, Not by Force but by Love by Sidney Craig

A Very Private Enterprise by Elizabeth Ironside

Ramage books, 10-14, by Dudley Pope

St. Monica by F. A. Forbes

Winning Souls for Christ by Raoul Plus, S. J.

middlemarch revisited

I did in fact finish this, if you don't count the chunks I skipped over. The novel was a different animal in those days, more inclusive, you might say. I'm opposed to abridgments on principle, but I might reconsider for Middlemarch.

Somewhere around page 200 or 250 I began to care more about these people. Dorothea seems like a flake when she's introduced, but she, along with the other main characters, has depth, complexity, and even likeability. The author provides insight into long-term relationships and what makes them work, or not work. Eliot delves into the nuts and bolts of romantic love, marriage, and family relationships. I especially like the way she treats even her less admirable characters with a little empathy.

middlemarch

by George Eliot

This is very slow going. I've slogged my way to p. 118. Only 500+ to go. Jane Austen it ain't.