Enigmatic yet practical poetry aimed at those too certain of life’s truths.
Debut author Sihag’s collection of poems addressing truth and freedom in relation to faith.
Sihag uses verse to explore humanity’s desire for truth and mistaken roads toward that desire. The author focuses especially on two disparate concepts; both are aimed at truth and yet, in the author’s eyes, miss it—atheism and religion. The cold logic of atheism, as well as the restrictions of religion, take individuals away from eternal truths. She notes, for instance: “The atheist—leaps to the most logical conclusion….A religionist loses all perspective in his confusion.” Sihag seems to argue instead for a personal and experiential approach to the divine. “Do not confuse God with religion,” she notes, “you see / The whole world is lost in such details.” Likewise, she warns the atheist, “[I]t is such a serious thing to repudiate God without care.” Not all of Sihag’s poems are so overtly faith-oriented in content. Some are more pastoral or therapeutic. For instance, “Why Me?” explores someone’s death from illness. “Beyond” is a brief poem that looks at the beauty of snowflakes and sees a glimpse into the eternal and infinite. All entries conclude with one or more verses from the Bible to underscore their lessons. Though simple rhyming schemes make the poetry seem elementary at first, it soon becomes clear that each poem’s meaning is opaque and mysterious, requiring deeper reading and pondering by the reader. Sihag’s work actually harkens back to the qualities of ancient Hebrew wisdom writings, such as Ecclesiastes. In eschewing simple, black-and-white versions of truth accepted by society at large and, instead, considering the ambiguities of life and accepting them for what they are, Sihag shares a worldview and style dating back to the time of Solomon.
Enigmatic yet practical poetry aimed at those too certain of life’s truths.Pub Date: Dec. 18, 2013
ISBN: 978-1492185635
Page Count: 202
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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