View from a Bouncy Castle (by Adrian Plass)

(Amazon UK link)

I do like Adrian Plass’s writing. His books are a wonderful blend of honesty, humour and insights, and I like to re-read them all regularly. I hadn’t read ‘View from a Bouncy Castle’ for over thirteen years, so it was more than time for a re-read.

The slightly odd title is explained in a kind of prologue. Adrian Plass recounts seeing a children’s bouncy castle that allowed adults to get on, for a change. He describes how initial nervousness led to a kind of freedom, the abandoning of inhibitions, as people threw themselves into this new experience. One particularly quiet looking person took a while to experiment, but eventually removed his shoes and leaped about with joyful abandon.

This metaphor remained in the author’s mind. He saw it as a way of expressing how, as Christians, we sometimes need to become like little children, to put aside our hangups and cultural expectations, and just jump into whatever God has for us.

The bulk of the book consists of short chapters, on topics as diverse as trains, gardening, television, and confession.  Adrian Plass writes with his usual self-deprecating humour, usually beginning a section with well-drawn anecdotes from his own or a friend’s life, gently segueing into a thought about the Christian life, but without any hint of preaching. He quotes the Bible sometimes, in context, and with the regular acknowledgement that he might be wrong.

While I can’t say that any of the incidents has stuck in my mind - other than the one in the final chapters, involving his children and a near disaster in a boating incident - I hope that the themes and thoughts have landed themselves in my subconscious, to be brought out as relevant circumstances arise. There have been many occasions when I or one of my friends has quoted something from an Adrian Plass book, including this one. He has a way of putting into words ideas or worries that many of us have, but have been unable to express.

I should probably read this book more often. It’s not a difficult read at all, and I read about 25 pages most days, in the morning, stopping if my mind started to wander. There’s much to ponder, and also a tremendous sense of being a kindred spirit when reading works by Plass.

Don’t expect complex theological insights - these are more ideas that sneak in the back of the mind, or even new ways of expressing things that I wish I’d thought of myself. But if you follow Jesus or are interested in doing so, or even just in knowing what ordinary, honest Christians think, then I’d recommend this highly.

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