Half-Way Point

I hope you guys are enjoying this book as much as I am. I'll admit I didn't realize it was going to have such strong religious undertones, but nonetheless I am loving Engar's writing style. He is really a great story teller.

I have found a couple of things particularly interesting thus far:

1) When Jeremiah has a traumatic experience and is saved by a miracle he decides against finishing medical school and becoming a menial laborer. I have been thinking about how these two things are connected. A doctor is a noble profession focused on helping and healing others. It's not like he used to be an adult film executive who decided to give up a life of crime and adultery. I wonder if he was just looking for a simpler profession that would allow him to spend more time with his family. Either way, it has reiterated to me that I can never understand how another person thinks!

2) Reuben adores and respects each member of his family, but they all are decidedly different with different and conflicting ideals. I think this creates some of the conflict in the book--how can the same person who is in awe of his saintlike father and the miracles that he has seen as his hands give unwaivering support to the actions of his brother who, although with arguably noble intentions, provoked two thugs to break into his house so he could shoot them?

3) From a legal perspective (many of us went to law school so I'm sure you can appreciate this) it seems like a pretty weak case for murder. Even if Davy escalated the conflict by breaking the windows in Finch's car, they still broke into his house in the middle of the night with a baseball bat. Obviously the legal theory behind him being charged with murder isn't at issue in the book, but I'm surprised that the DA would go for it, and that the jury would buy a murder conviction.

These are just a few of my observations on the first half on the book. Let me know any thing you guys have come across. Enjoy the rest of the book and I'll see you in a few weeks!

The Wrap-up

Let me just apologize for picking a novel that ended up being so inaccessible for some of you. I had no idea! For those of you who did manage to get a copy, I hope you enjoyed it. Let us know what you thought about it in the comments.

I'm just going to leave two quotes that I really liked, taken from Part II of the book. I think Orual becomes very self-aware and articulate in these final pages.

"The change which the writing wrought in me (and of which I did not write) was only a beginning - only to prepare me for the gods' surgery. They used my own pen to probe my wound."

"I saw well why the gods do not speak to us openly, nor let us answer. Til that word can be dug out of us, why should they hear the babble we think we mean? How can they meet us face to face till we have faces?"

I thought this was a beautiful book, and liked the reconciliation at the end. I think the whole "You also shall be Psyche" bit was a little ambiguous but very symbolic of Orual's anguish as Psyche accomplished the tasks, maybe? Any thoughts on that?

Oh, and for you legal folk, I totally think you should try to work "the complaint was the answer" into your work somehow somewhere. So confusing and yet so...literary. Thanks, everyone!

Are we on the same page?

Okay, maybe not exactly, but is anyone else reading this one? I just finished the book last night (library due date is today), and have to say I rather enjoyed it. For now, we can just discuss Part 1 though. I don't want to throw off any schedules or anything.

I feel like this book is dripping with symbolism that I'm not necessarily picking up on, so if any of you have some insights, I'm looking forward to reading them. I have noticed a lot of vision/sight symbolism. Maybe some of us can relate to Orual in many ways, like when she starts to veil her face and eventually "the Queen of Glome had more and more a part of me and Orual less and less." Are there parts of our lives that we try to hide from the sight of others, even ourselves, because they are too painful (you obviously don't have to be specific, but I think this is worthy of some introspection)?

Also, have any of us felt the anguish of Orual through the "loss" of a loved one whom we feel is "blind" to things we feel can see?

I have a couple of other questions I've had on my mind that I'll post later. I do feel like Lewis shows compassion and sympathy in these hard realities he's exploring in the novel. I'm glad to have read it. For any of you who are reading this one, I sure hope you're enjoying it!

Man's Search--the Wrap Up

I'm really glad that I read this book again, especially at this time of year. It's a great time to get 2008 spinning in the right direction, and I am reminded that where it goes is my choice. To me, that is what this book was about. Each of us, no matter how deprived, depraved, or neurotic can choose kindness, compassion, and dignity. That's something that I've always "known", but even last night when my sweet baby woke up at 1:30 and cried for an hour and a half I wanted to spank her bum! Such a simple concept, yet so hard to execute. Isn't life grand? Needless to say, I'm glad for this little reminder!

For those of you who read this book, let us know what you thought. No specific question--just what stuck out to you, what you enjoyed, what you didn't, etc.

Enjoy the last few days of January, and I'll see you suckers next month!

Man's Search for Meaning, Pregunta Uno

I hope that you guys found the first part of this book both as depressing and uplifting as I did. I know it sounds contradictory, but here it works.

Viktor Frankl talks about the prisoners' struggle to survive the day to day savagery of being debased and treated like faceless, nameless animals. Each prisoner was identified only by a number. He says that this was basically the hardest thing to survive--being completely insignificant. How did the different groups mentioned in the book combat this feeling? What did they do to make themselves significant, and at what cost?

Do you see any parallels in today's pop culture, politics, or even your personal relationships?