In a secular age, here's an attempt to respiritualize the calendar with a year's worth of essays—some reprinted from Christianity Today and Modern Liturgy—covering every major Christian feast. The Chrysostom Society, whose members authored this collection, is a loose affiliation of Christian writers who assemble once a year to discuss their work. A few big names jump out—Madeleine L'Engle, Walter Wangerin, Jr., Gregory Wolfe, Larry Woiwode—but the rest are lesser lights. The title notwithstanding, only a handful of the pieces here are fiction—most notably L'Engle's quirky tale (``Transfiguration'') of a man, a thief, and a merry Christmas—with the bulk being memoirs of happy childhood or struggling adulthood. Five authors chip in twice: Wangerin, who longs to be pregnant like Mary (``Annunciation'') and recalls his boyhood desire to see Jesus (``Maundy Thursday''); Emilie Griffin, who exposes the religious roots of Mardi Gras in ``Shrove Tuesday'' and pays homage to the ``Solemnity of Mary''; William Griffin, who lauds ``All Saints'' and compares Herod's slaughter of first-born males (``Holy Innocents'') to modern-day abortion; Robert Siegel, with poems marking ``Ash Wednesday'' and ``Palm Sunday''; and Virginia Stem Owens, who commemorates Christ's Passion in ``Passion Sunday'' and ``Good Friday'' (``the day you can do nothing''). Among the best of the rest, Alice Slaiku Lawhead struggles to remember God in the midst of ``Advent''; editor Peterson (Spiritual Theology/Regents College) recalls the ``Christmas'' that his parents skipped the tree, a lesson in humility; ``Trinity Sunday'' triggers memories of early loves for Karen Burton Mains; Philip Yancey learns the meaning of ``irreversible'' on ``Easter Sunday.'' Harold Fickett, Luci Shaw, John Leax, Gregory Wolfe, Calvin Miller, Shirley Nelson, and Stephen R. Lawhead round out the contributors, who invariably catch the essence of the holidays in well-mannered prose shimmering with images of candles, angels, a loving God. A clever conceit, carefully crafted—and just in time for Christmas.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-02-525430-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1992
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
