Category: reviews

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Review: The Alchemist

I admit that this book has been sitting on my bookshelf, unopened, for more than a decade. It might have belonged to one of my children — an unread high school assignment no doubt.

One of my daughters and I are on a quest to read all these unread books lying around. I just finished one I found so annoying that I’m not even going to review it. It’s not so much that I don’t want to leave a negative review as it is just being over it altogether.

So. The Alchemist. I wanted to love everything about this book by Paulo Coelho.

  • The theme of pursuing dreams is lovely and inspiring
  • Taking risks — feeling courageous and persevering in pursuit of a dream is admirable
  • Fulfillment, and appreciating what you already have, as a way to happiness is a powerful and true lesson

These themes are beautifully developed by Coelho in the shepherd boy’s journey to find his treasure. The adventure moves at a good clip, leaving the reader not only engaged but invested in the boy’s journey. At the end, I am happy for him and the growth he experiences.

Throughout the story, the boy encounters signs, omens that he is moving in concert with a greater power, but to be honest, I was a little put off by the approach. Christianity, Islam, and New Age platitudes indiscriminately entered the narrative. I wished Coelho had just picked one approach to spirituality and stuck with it.

I enjoy reading all kinds of things — they don’t have to be Catholic (though I admit perhaps recent reviews belie my statement). I feel comfortable and confident in my own faith to read about other world views and religions and neither be offended nor threatened. On the contrary, I find it to be enriching.

This uplifting and delightful story of the shepherd boy’s search for his treasure was interrupted by distracting cliches. It didn’t ruin the story — i very much enjoyed it — but it was an unintended lesson for me in the practice of nuance.

I recommend the book and welcome a discussion if you’re so inclined.

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Review: The Dew Breaker

In the summer of 1996, I took a course through the Zelda Glazer Writing Institute at the University of Miami. I took away two powerful experiences that inform my writing and teaching to this day.

First, I experienced the powerful truth that we all have a unique story to tell. My writing, whether here on my blog or in my books, is mostly memoir-driven. I write as a way to make sense of my world.

Next, I learned that responding to others’ stories creates a powerful connection. We shared our writing with each other in this institute. One of those pieces remained in my heart. A young woman, younger than my mid-30s at the time, recounted the day she and other Haitian refugees who had paid thousands of dollars for passage to the Bahamas were thrown overboard into the shark-infested waters between Haiti and the Bahamas. She described the ordeal in few words — an effect that left us gasping as our imaginations filled-in the silence that followed.

Reading Edwidge Danticat’s The Dew Breaker brought back that memory. This collection of short stories is woven together with a common thread that runs through the characters whose lives have been touched by a dew breaker , a man responsible for heinous acts performed during Jean-Claude Duvalier’s (Baby Doc) rule of Haiti in the 70s and early 80s.

While each story can stand alone, the reader discovers the connections as the drama unfolds. The book explores the human capacity for cruelty, and how grace can change lives. Danticat creates snapshots of the horrors of the regime, and a glimpse into the heart of a man capable of carrying out these acts against humanity.

In the end I’m left wondering if redemption is possible for such a hardened heart. Yet, looking at him through the lens of faith, I see that everyone has the opportunity for salvation. I grieve, however, for those who suffered at his hands. Surprisingly, I am most sorry for the Dew Breaker who nevers finds peace.

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Review: Giving Thanks and Letting Go

I’ve loved Danielle Bean’s work for many years, heavy on the many. She is, in person, exactly as she appears in print: a little sassy, a little sweet, super cheerful and lively, and fiercely loving.

Fierce became a trendy adjective to describe women some years ago. In that context, rather than hostile or aggressive, we’ve come to understand fierce women as women who know who they are, and wield that knowledge to uplift those around them. Adding a Catholic spin to that, it means knowing whose you are, and how that knowledge not only helps you live a life of holiness, but helps you lead others to holiness.

By that definition, Danielle is a fierce mother!

Her latest book, Giving Thanks and Letting Go: Reflections on the Gift of Motherhood, reveals, in a series of reflections on the different seasons of motherhood, how a mother’s love changes and grows. Her vignettes, little peeks into her marriage and children, illustrate the sacrificial nature and immeasurable joys of mother. I found myself laughing out loud at her husband causing a scene in a delivery room (I know about this first-hand myself) and feeling the chest-crushing fear of illness as she recounts her son’s diagnosis with CF.

The anecdotes in this lovely collection celebrate motherhood in its depth and breadth. Danielle’s gift to us is her honesty — there’s no glossing over the hard parts like messy houses or feeling overwhelmed. But it also breaks open the beauty of motherhood. How we love unconditionally. How we’re sometimes insecure. How we love, and worry, and hope. It’s real, and it’s honest, but most of all it’s beautiful.

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