January:
Keeping House: The Litany of Everyday Life – Margaret Kim Peterson
The premise–a look at keeping house and theology–seemed interesting, but didn’t quite live up to my expectations. The author makes a good argument for why a well-kept house (regardless of the makeup of the people in it–group of friends, aging relatives, etc.) lends to a better quality of life. Claiming theology was a bit of a stretch.
New Stories from the South: The Year’s Best, 2008 – Edited by ZZ Packer, Series Editor Kathy Pories
A fantastic collection. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes short stories or wants something to read in small bits. The first half was excellent, but much of the second half weren’t to my liking.
The Inheritance of Loss – Kiran Desai
I was excited to read this book because it was a bestseller and I was on an India kick. However delightful the language and the atmosphere and the setting were, the characters were lacking. It felt more like a novel about a place or an idea than about the characters, but not like most idea or place novels (if that makes any sense). I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it seemed like there was too much distance between the characters and the reader. I read that Desai cut several hundred pages from a draft of this, so I wonder if those pages would have made the characters more accessible.
Right now I’m finishing The Power and the Glory, which I bought on my birthday because it was on sale and because I’d been meaning to read Graham Greene. I am ecstatically surprised. So far, it’s a contender for a slot in my favorite list.
I beg to differ on Peterson’s book. I don’t think she was stretching for theology. It was thought provoking as to what makes a Christian home. And God is pleased even in our seemingly boring day to day sacrifices. Reminds me of the Missionaries of Charity, established by Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, who sweep the floor for Jesus.
But what do I know…I think I’m biased because she’s from PA.
Comment by steph — 4 February 2009 @ 6:37 pm
Oh, no, I agree with you for the most part. It’s challenging to keep house because those tasks often seem so pointless in their repetition, so I appreciated how she shows their value. I guess I was hoping for something more, though I’m not sure what that more would have been.
Comment by kristynwinters — 8 February 2009 @ 4:28 pm