They like Jesus but not the Church (by Dan Kimball)

This is a book actually intended for church leaders, but I didn't know that when I ordered it. I thought the title was intriguing - and, our family having had some general dissatisfaction with individual church congregations in recent years, I thought it would be an interesting read.

Dan Kimball is the author of books about the 'Emerging Church' - a new movement that seeks to get beyond denominationalism and find God in new ways, although there seem to be dozens of different understandings of it, some better than others. But 'They like Jesus but not the Church' isn't so much about emerging churches as emerging generations - young people in their 20s and 30s who want to be taken seriously, and who very often have a huge respect for Jesus.

So Dan Kimball interviewed several of them, and has turned the results into this thought-provoking book. He first looks at who the emerging generations are - what they believe, what they look like what they think of Jesus. Then he has a longer section of the book looking at what these people think of the church.

It's pretty revealing. It seems that many people consider Christians to be right-wing fundamentalists, homophobic, judgemental, oppressive of women, and arrogant. And, of course, there's a grain of truth in what they say; indeed, rather more than a grain, given that these are intelligent, thinking young people who are really very interested in sitting and chatting about Jesus with a pastor.

The final section looks at what the church can do: the church worldwide, that is, and Christians as individuals, as well as local congregations.

I thought it fascinating, and am glad I read it, even though it wasn't intended for me. There are a lot of ordinary Christians who love Jesus but don't like what they see in the church, as well as the people described in this book, who would not call themselves Christians, at least at the time of their interviews. And many of their criticisms, while over-generalised at times, should be taken seriously by the church in general. If we want to reach people with the Gospel, we need to be friendly, to show that Christians are just ordinary people who make mistakes, and not give this impression of being negative and narrow-minded.

There's a brief critique of the book at the end, with questions from people who disagree with the premises, and they're answered thoroughly.

All in all, recommended to anyone within the church, and anyone else who has a sneaky admiration for Jesus, even if you can't stand the church.

Echoes (by Maeve Binchy)

'Echoes' is one of Maeve Binchy's earlier novels, one I had read before - about ten years ago - but I couldn't remember much about it.

It's the story of Clare O'Brien, one of six children of a grocer in a small Irish holiday resort. Clare isn't like her siblings - she's very intelligent, believes in working hard, and likes to ask questions. She wants more from her life than marriage to a local boy and work on the checkout of some shop. She's lucky enough to have a teacher who believes in her, and who encourages her to take exams and apply for university.

Gerry is the son of a photographer, a charming, friendly kind of guy who attracts girls from a young age. He's a bit of a risk-taker, too...

David is the only son of the doctor. His father is delightful, but his mother is a snob. So when David and Clare become friendly as children, she tries to ensure they see as little of each other as possible. She's not keen on David's being friendly with Gerry, either.

This book is about these children and others growing up, learning about life and love, discovering what - and who- really matters to them. It's also about the attitudes of people a few decades ago, and the conservative nature of a small Irish town where everyone knows everyone else.

It's very well-written, evocative in places, and there's a prologue hinting at tragedy to come, which keeps the reader wondering what's going to happen for quite some time. The climax to the book is somewhat shocking, but leads the way to a hopeful ending.

And yet... somehow I found it hard to get into the story. It wasn't so much that there were a large number of characters: the main ones were clearly defined, and the minor ones didn't matter so much. The subplots were well-woven into the main story, and all had significance later on. But the characters seemed a bit flat to me. I could recognise them, but couldn't empathise with them.

I'm glad Maeve Binchy kept writing, since her characterisation in later novels is excellent, and I'm glad I re-read this book as it passed the time in an enjoyable way. But it was nothing special.

Recommended for a light holiday read, since it's easy to put down in between reading sessions.

A Year at St Yorick's (by Adrian Plass)

I do enjoy Adrian Plass's books. They're mostly written with typically British humour: full of irony, one-liners, and bad puns. He pokes fun at himself and the church in a gentle way that offers wise, often profound insights into life and faith.

A Year at St Yorick's is written in the style of a monthly church magazine, over a complete year. Each edition features a letter from the rather wordy and old-fashioned vicar, an interview by a hopeful journalist who has little idea what should go in an article, and a question-and-answer section. Then there are notices, children''s corner items, letters to the editor, poems, drawings and more.

It's a caricature, of course - that's almost a given with Adrian Plass - but close enough to reality to strike chords with many. Each edition has an increasing number of typing errors and misprints, some of which are extremely clever; many are easy to miss at a quick glance, so it's worth reading everything, even the list of weekly services which (one would expect) would be the same each month. ...

No doubt there are people who would take offence at this, just as some of the fictional parishioners of St Yorick's take offence at some of what is written about them and their church in the magazines. But it's not meant to upset anyone. It's light-hearted, clever, and helps people to see the amusing side of their Christian culture, and how it can look to those outside.

The author is not as well-known in the USA as he is in the UK, and his books are often out of print there, though usually available second-hand.

Recommended to anyone who enjoys Adrian Plass, or who would like a magazine-style book that can be read in short snippets. But it's not as brilliantly funny as 'The Sacred Diary...'.

Ultimate Prizes (by Susan Howatch)

Susan Howatch is undoubtedly one of my top ten favourite modern writers, and it's her 'Starbridge' series of six novels about clergymen in the Church of England during the 20th century that I like best of all. I first read them seven years ago, then re-read only a year later. Now I'm reading them again, more slowly, and enjoying every moment.

Ultimate Prizes is the third in the series, following on from 'Glittering Images' and 'Glamorous Powers'. It's perhaps the most powerful of them all, featuring Neville Aysgarth, the Archdeacon. Despite narrating the book, so that we see everything through his eyes, he comes across as a rather manipulative and selfish man, rushing after 'prizes', ignoring anything remotely painful or embarrassing, and enjoying his success as a top administrator. Indeed, the book opens with his admittance that he almost committed adultery - and then takes us to the time when he met a delightful young lady just about the time when his wife was feeling over-tired and unsocial. So immediately the scene is set for a man we probably can't trust.

Yet Neville, like all Howatch's characters, is immensely complicated. He wants to serve God - at least, he thinks so - and he is very fond of his wife and large family. His past has been rather painful - an idyllic childhood for seven years, followed by tragically altered circumstances and the rest of his youth being spent having to shape up to his rather harsh uncle's dictates, and push for success. Hints of this are given at the start of the novel, but it's only as life becomes unbearable for Neville after a series of very difficult circumstances that he finally admits to needing help and seeks counselling.

Jon Darrow, wise advisor in the first book and narrator of the second, returns in his wise counsellor role despite frequently clashing with Neville in the past. Sparks fly, but both men learn through the process of dealing with an emergency; the latter part of the book is gripping and fast-paced, and kept me reading for most of an afternoon until I could finish it, feeling surprisingly drained at the conclusion.

This book, alas, is currently out of print in both the USA and UK, but is widely available second-hand in both.

Highly recommended.

Rest upon the Wind (by Gill Twissell)

"Rest upon the Wind" by Gill Twissell is one of the increasingly popular styles of novel where present day characters have strong links with ancestors in the past, and their stories combine.

It opens in 2004. Sophie and her mother sorting out Sophie's recently deceased grandmother's house. Sophie takes on the attic, and finds a box with some old love letters. She knows very little of her family history, and wonders who Emily might have been...

Immediately we're taken back a hundred years, to meet Emily as a small child, the youngest of a large family. This part of the book is written in the first person from Emily's perspective; the main part of the novel focuses on Emily's life from childhood through to old age. She lives through both the World Wars, losing loved ones, and suffering other losses.

It's a pleasant enough read. The characterisation isn't particularly deep, but I felt I could empathise with Emily. I didn't feel anything for anyone else, however. There were a large number of people - her siblings, most of whom married and had children, in addition to family servants and friends - and I frequently found myself forgetting who was whom. It didn't matter terribly much, but it did make me feel rather removed from the storyline at times.

I also felt that the book was a bit rushed. It's only three hundred pages, and read, at times, more like an autobiography than a work of fiction. Perhaps that was the intent - the author is,
apparently, very interested in family history. But I'd have liked a slower pace, more human interest and conversations, and a chance to get to know some of the other characters a bit better.

In the last few chapters we're returned to 2004, when Sophie finds Emily's diary, and pieces together various clues to work out what happened in her life. There are rather too many coincidences for my liking - although some of them tied up some loose ends to the story - but overall it's an enjoyable light read. Recommended.

(Longer review is now up at The Bookbag site)

Drumveyn (by Alexandra Raife)

I started reading the novels by Alexandra Raife about six years ago, including 'Drumveyn', her first novel. I found it very enjoyable at the time, though slightly to my surprise I had forgotten almost everything in it when I decided to re-read it a few days ago.

The novel features Madeleine, a forty-something upper-class widow in Scotland who has never really known any freedom or self-expression. She grew up with ambitious parents, went to an exclusive school, and married at nineteen to an older man who owned a mansion and - although basically fairly kind - didn't begin to understand his young wife. So when he died, she tries to continue the pattern of life she has always known, domineered by the unpleasant butler Platt and his wife.

Madeleine has two grown-up children who are not very close to her - both married, but neither of them entirely happy. And she has one really good friend Joss, who is totally different from her and who is the catalyst for some rather dramatic changes in Madeleine's life. She realises that she can control her own future - that she does not need to be tied to the past, and her tentative steps towards emancipation are sympathetically written.

There are rather a large number of other characters, and several subplots which intertwine well, although I found the sheer quantity somewhat confusing at times. There was rather a rapid viewpoint switch at times, too, sometimes even within one scene, which were puzzling and made me feel somewhat remote from the characters concerned. But the characterisation was good enough to keep me reading, and interested.

Recommended; it seems to be out of print currently, in both UK and USA, but can often be found second-hand.

The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus (by Brennan Manning)

I like Brennan Manning's books; they're thought-provoking, well-written, and have useful and interesting anecdotes spread throughout the text. They're also very honest, making no pretences about the author's past, and his descent (more than once) into alcoholism.

'The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus' is a book about the nature of God, particularly as seen in the person of Jesus. I didn't find it as powerful as 'The Ragamuffin Gospel' by the same author but it was still very readable, although at little heavy in places. I read it over three weeks, though it's only a little over 200 pages, but there's a lot in each chapter.

I didn't find it 'unforgettable', as the blurb on the back says, but then that means I'm all the more likely to re-read it in another year or two. It's certainly something to make people think, particularly if they've never got beyond basic or fundamentalist ideas of who God is. Paradoxes are confronted, and horizons expanded.

Recommended.

Second Honeymoon (by Joanna Trollope)

I like Joanna Trollope's books; more so in recent years when her focus has become on characterisation and gentle development of situations rather than being more plot-driven. It means that some readers on Amazon find her more recent novels a bit dull... but others, like me, find them thought-provoking and enjoyable to read.

'Second Honeymoon' is her most recent novel, featuring a delightfully disorganised couple (Russell and Edie) at the stage when their youngest child Ben has just left home. Predictably, Edie is distraught and feels empty in losing her role as mother, while Russell looks forward to spending more time with his wife.

I could certainly related to this; having one son leave home is difficult enough and I know life will change irrevocably when both my sons are gone. But for Russell and Edie, their problems are only just starting... no sooner has Ben moved out than their two older children want to move back in. Moreover, Edie lands a starring role in a locally produced play, and becomes quite close to Lazlo, a young man who is playing her son.

The book revolves around relationships: good ones and bad; making and breaking, and the importance of family ties. Edie discovers that she can't go back in time - that having her adult children back in the home isn't at all the same as it used to be, and that she does in fact want to move on. Russell discovers that he too has to move forward rather than trying to recreate the early years of marriage before the children arrived. The ending of the book is hopeful - perhaps a little too tidy, as problems get solved neatly, but I prefer it that way.

Probably not of interest to younger people, but for anyone who's contemplating the 'empty nest', or has gone through that stage, a thought-provoking and very readable book. Recommended.

The Colour of Magic (by Terry Pratchett)

I hadn't read this book for a long time. It's the first of the epic 'Discworld' series by Terry Pratchett, and I remembered it as being not as good as later novels. Still, it felt like time for a re-read after at least ten years.

It features Twoflower, an enthusiastic and rather naive tourist who has come to visit Ankh-Morpork. Rincewind, the young and somewhat incompetent wizard is good at languages, so he takes Twoflower under his wing.. which leads to a variety of adventures and a literal cliff-hanger at the end of the book - the only one in the Discworld series, leading directly on to the second novel (The Light Fantastic).

I found it a bit slow to get going, and not as obviously humorous as some of the later ones. Pratchett seems to have been experimenting with style in this novel, using literary references to good effect, but clearly thinking in terms of fantasy rather than the satire on ordinary people that comes across later on. This book features gods (in a kind of pagan Greek style), dragons (very like Anne McCaffrey's), heroes, monsters, water-trolls... and more. I'm not really a fan of fantasy as such; if the non-human races behave in ways I understand (or at least can recognise), then that's fine. This is what happens in later books, but 'The Colour of Magic' had (in my view) too many strange creatures, and not enough human interest.

Still, I kept reading and found the end more interesting than the beginning. Recommended for any Pratchett fan who's managed to avoid it so far, but not to anyone unfamiliar with the Discworld.

Walking with Bilbo (by Sarah Arthur)

This is a devotional book with a difference - it's based around sections of 'The Hobbit' by JRR Tolkien, a book which I re-read recently. Sarah Arthur writes primarily for teenagers, and 'Walking with Bilbo' would be ideal for people of youth group age who enjoy light fantasy, but as an adult I found it quite thought-provoking and very readable.

The author looks at aspects of Bilbo's journey, from his safe, comfortable hobbit-hole to the dangers of Smaug the dragon, and the lure of gold. She relates those to the Christian life, and the need, sometimes, to leave our pleasant lifestyle and go where God is leading, no matter what problems or dangers lie ahead.

There are quotes from 'The Hobbit', references to the sequel trilogy 'Lord of the Rings', and several Scripture references too. At the end of each short chapter are some pointed questions about our lives, and what we're going to do about certain aspects, followed by several more Bible references to read.

Recommended.

If you could see me now (by Cecelia Ahern)

Cecelia Ahern's first book, 'PS I love you', was a best-seller that I didn't particularly like. Great concept, excellent start... but it became progressively more unrealistic (in my view, anyway) and I found the narrative rather confusing.

But when I saw ' If you could see me now' second-hand, I thought it worth trying. I haven't heard much about this, and had little idea what to expect. I was captivated!

It's about imaginary friends. Yes, those imaginary friends that so many small children acquire for a few months. But the imaginary friends in this book are real. Part of the story is related by one called Ivan. It's not an easy job being an imaginary friend. Most people can't see them, and even those that do stop needing them after a while. And then they stop seeing them too.

Ivan is just moving on to a new 'best friend' when the book opens. He is seen by Luke, a likeable six-year-old boy who's surprisingly well-balanced despite a very unusual background. He has no father; his mother is an alcoholic ' free spirit' and he lives with his aunt Elizabeth, who appears to be an uptight obsessive-compulsive who only gave a home to Luke because she felt it her moral duty.

But Elizabeth sees Ivan too. This is almost unheard of. Ivan appears to be about her age, and there's a mutual attraction. Elizabeth doesn't - or won't - understand that he is imaginary, although Luke seems to understand quite easily.

It's partly a book about love, although not a romance in any traditional sense. It's also about coming to terms with the past, and unlocking creative freedom - yet it's not at all heavy. I didn't quite believe in any of the people - except perhaps Ivan, ironically! - but they weren't unpleasant caricatures. The writing was very fluid and the story flowed well.

Recommended.

Regency Buck (by Georgette Heyer)

I love Georgette Heyer's novels, particularly those set in Regency times, and re-read them all periodically. This week was the turn of 'Regency Buck', a book I last read in 2001.

I found I had entirely forgotten the beginning, which features a strong-minded young woman - Judith - and her talkative brother Perry, setting out to visit London. Since the death of their father they have been wards of the Earl of Worth, although they don't know him at all.

I found the book a bit slow to get going, and there is really too much talk about fighting - particularly boxing - for my tastes, although I suppose the detailed descriptions of matches help to consolidate Perry's character as a typical young man of the time. However I skimmed most of them.

Eventually the pace picks up, with Perry finding himself in several dangerous situations, and nobody quite sure who to trust. Judith, who is quite an heiress, finds herself courted by several unsuitable gentlemen, as well as her cousin Bernard and her guardian's brother Charles. There's a bit of ironic humour as ever with these novels, and the characterisation is excellent, although I didn't particularly empathise with Judith.

The plotting, too, is particularly good in this novel, with the reader kept guessing until the end about who really is on Judith and Perry's side, and who is not. I did remember the outcome, but it didn't spoil the book at all - indeed, it helped me see 'clues' along the way, and admire the writing.

A good read, but not one of my favourite of Heyer's novels.