Include Me Out! (by Colin Morris)

(Amazon UK link)

'Include Me Out!' is a forty-year-old short book by a Methodist minister, Colin Morris. He starts by describing the shock he receives when an impoverished man dies of starvation not far from his front door. He is stopped in his tracks, realising that his previous preoccupation with theology and church dogma is really irrelevant in the scheme of things. 

Jesus told us to do as he did: to heal the sick, to feed the starving, to reach out to the world. Not to debate, ad nauseam, fine details of Scriptural interpretation.

Moreover, as his denomination was currently discussing, at great length, possible unity with the Anglican church, Morris sees the irony clearly: does it really matter what happens to leftover consecrated bread, when a human being dies in the street for lack of any kind of bread?

Much of the book might be considered 'unsound' by many modern evangelicals, yet it would be hard to argue with the author's principles and logic. He focuses very much on 'works' - not as a means of salvation, necessarily, but of evidence of God using men and women, whether or not they acknowledge him.

Is an atheistic Communist handing out bread to the starving actually following Jesus more than a Christian debating fine points of theology, while ignoring the starving? Not an easy question. But the parable of sheep and goats kept coming to mind, as well as the parable of the men who built their houses, respectively, on the rock and the sands.

Probably not a popular book in today's world, but I found it refreshingly radical and thought-provoking. Well worth reading for anyone interested in real Christianity, or for Christians wondering why so much time is spent on debate and teaching, and so little on practical ministry in the world.

Recommended.

Rebel heiress (by Jane Aiken Hodge)

(Amazon UK link)

I always enjoy Jane Aiken Hodge's historical novels. As well-researched and readable as Georgette Heyer's, they usually include a bit of intrigue and more serious historical context. On the other hand, they don't have quite the brilliant characterisation or humour that makes Heyer my favourite historical author.

Still, 'Rebel heiress' is an enjoyable book. I had read it only four years previously but had forgotten the plot and outcome. In outline: Henrietta, an American girl, brought up by her strict aunt, learns something unexpected about her British father. She sets sail to visit him when her aunt dies. Her trip coincides with threats of war between the USA and UK, in the time of Napoleon.

Once in the UK, she makes friends, and also meets those who would take advantage of her. She falls in love - naturally - and receives several proposals of marriage. Her frank open manner offends some and charms others. Conversation is believable, situations perhaps a little fraught with coincidence, but still the story reads well.

I felt there were a few subplots that never really came to fruition, but they didn't spoil the book, just slightly surprised me. The ending was also perhaps a bit sudden with events coming to a head (mainly after explanations, rather than action). But, even so, I liked reading the book and hope to enjoy it again in another four or five years.

Recommended for anyone who enjoys light historical novels.

Skipping Christmas (by John Grisham)

(Amazon UK link)

This is hardly a seasonal book, in August. Nor is John Grisham an author I have previously read. I understand that his novels are primarily legal or political thrillers, and that's not a genre that appeals to me.

However 'Skipping Christmas' was on our shelves, and reviews suggested it was quite different from the author's usual style. The consensus seemed to be that it is, instead, a mildly humorous family book. That turned out to be the case.

The novel focuses on a caricatured American middle-class couple, Luther and Nora, whose only daughter has just gone abroad to work in the Peace Corps. Luther, an accountant, has calculated what vast sum they spent on the previous year's Christmas festivities. Nora is feeling that Christmas will be depressing without their daughter.

So they decide to skip Christmas entirely, and spend some of their money on a cruise. The majority of the book is taken up with the bewilderment and anger this causes amongst their neighbours and colleagues. I found it both humorous and rather sad... do people really put enormous floodlit snowmen on their roofs, and then expect the entire street to follow suit? Do they insist on new dresses for business dinners? Can anybody really spend as much as $6000 simply on Christmas?

I assume not - and that it is, indeed, an exaggerated caricature. But it felt as if there was a grain of truth in much of the book: that consumerism really has destroyed the meaning of Christmas in some places. As such it felt almost like an Anne Tyler book at times, looking through the eyes of two people who felt more like her creations than any thriller heroes.

Enjoyable on the whole, a light and quick read, and a satisfying conclusion, albeit a little annoying.

Revolution of love and balance (by George Verwer)

(Amazon UK link)

'Revolution of love and balance' is a short book (less than 100 pages). It was written nearly 40 years ago by George Verwer as a transcript of some of his teaching sessions to young people interested in Christian mission work. Nonetheless, the messages are relevant today, to Christians of all ages.

The book covers the vital need for love, more important than any doctrine or theology. It also looks at the need for balance, with examples of people who are unbalanced in various ways. And there's a hard-hitting chapter about what the author calls 'pseudo disciples' - those who are motivated by the wrong reasons, such as status or fear.

Despite starting as talks, this book reads well and the message is clear. Verwer does not want half-hearted or lukewarm Christians on his teams. However despite this, he does not come across as judgemental - simply aware that if people start out with wrong motivations, then no matter how enthusiastic they are, they will come to grief. Moreover he gives examples in his own life of times when has not displayed love or balance.

Recommended to anyone wanting to take discipleship seriously.

That certain age (by Elizabeth Buchan)

(Amazon UK link)

'That certain age' is a pleasant enough light read by Elizabeth Buchan, though not particularly gripping. The book is actually two stories, each told in the first person, switching ever two or three chapters.

Barbara, one of the voices, is a forty-something housewife in the late 1950s. She's reasonably happily married to an airline pilot and has grown-up children whose view of life is somewhat different to hers. Every so often she wonders whether there's more to life than being a traditional housewife, and her worldview begins to change when she meets a young psychologist who introduces her to Freud.

The other voice is that of Siena, a wealthy career-woman in her mid-thirties, in about 2004. She too is happily married, and very busy with a successful fashion-orientated writing column, and potential TV show. However her husband is increasingly eager to slow down and start a family. Siena sees how disruptive children can be, and how depressed some mothers become, and keeps putting it off...

So the novel follows each of these women in their very different lifestyles, as they are challenged by the thought of breaking out of the life they have always known.

The people are believable, the writing fast-paced and clear, the plots reasonably satisfying. I found it a bit confusing at first having two entirely separate plots alternating without any clear link, and if I put the book down for a couple of days it was a bit difficult to remember who was who, and which story I was in the middle of.

Nonetheless, it was reasonably enjoyable. Recommended for holiday reading, when you don't want anything too heavy.