by Abraham Changwan Hahn ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 17, 2011
A quick tour of Presbyterian dogma.
Hahn eschews Christianity as a moral guide and the life of faith as one of works, instead returning to Presbyterianism’s Calvinist roots. He appeals to biblical inerrancy as the root of faith and the final authority on any moral, religious or personal question. He touches briefly on hermeneutics and systemic theology, but the bulk of his book is content to appeal straight to the Bible and the need to read and believe it with the right faith. He quickly sweeps the usual arguments about this under the rug, and there is something refreshingly straightforward and confident in his assertion. The book could serve as a wake-up call to evangelical Presbyterians to recommit themselves to faith because of faith, not because of the benefits it might bring them, and those within the denomination may find inspiration in his words. However, like Hahn’s belief about Christians, the book falters the most when it moves away from the Bible. For instance, a lengthy diatribe against the “fabricated” theory of evolution brings in studies that aren’t cited and half-finished arguments, weakening Hahn’s point and putting the book on the defensive. Inconsistent metaphors similarly undermine other sections of the book, especially in a long, somewhat paranoid section about the mark of the beast, which feels like something out of a cyberpunk novel. The chapters seem somewhat arbitrarily divided, with a few appendices that seem to be chapters in their own right. Better organization and a clearer sense of goal would have served Hahn’s ends better than attempting to cover everything. The author is obviously well-read and familiar with the Bible and the denominational roots of Presbyterianism, and he does best when he sticks to that. Ultimately the book is ambitious and unapologetic, if somewhat tangled, and readers of the same denomination and belief system as Hahn may well benefit from his message. An inspirational read for the like-minded, but may have difficulty finding a larger audience.
Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2011
ISBN: 978-0615504339
Page Count: 180
Publisher: Abraham Changwan Hahn
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by J.D. Salinger ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 1951
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2006
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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