A candid and thoughtful reflection on faith, reason, and art.
A debut memoir explores a young man’s upbringing in the Mormon Church and his flight from it.
Hansen was born in Washington state but raised in Hawaii to be a devoted member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He chose to undertake a two-year Mormon mission—he was assigned in Germany—when he was 19 years old. But his faith was repeatedly challenged by contradictions within the religion and his desire to become a writer free from conformist dogma of any kind. As a result, his faith withered over time. He married a woman he helped convert to Mormonism in Germany—he was 23 and she was 18—and he ultimately moved back to the country after returning home to marry her, study medieval German literature, and work as a journalist. But as his attachment to his religion evaporated, so did the bonds of matrimony. After he committed an infidelity, the marriage ended in divorce. While Hansen’s recollection is largely a personal one, he also furnishes a short history of the birth of Mormonism and founder Joseph Smith’s 19th-century ministry. Furthermore, the author discusses the basic theological principles of Mormon doctrine, including issues as diverse as the Trinity and the sexual significance of the so-called “magic underwear.” Hansen’s conversion experience to secular nonbeliever, though, wasn’t a bitter one laced with resentment at deception. He deftly describes Mormons in mostly positive passages, arguing that they are generally successful, healthy, family-oriented people who prize education and personal growth and are open to progressive change. The author, in limpid prose, fleshes out a fascinatingly complex religion, which he convincingly argues is the most American of spiritual traditions. In addition, his philosophical restraint is admirable—far from repudiating Mormonism, the author actually succeeds in broadening and deepening the terms of its appraisal: “Back when I was a church member, the question of Smith’s charlatanism bothered me. Now that I have left the church, I see the story differently—not as a question of true or untrue, but as an aspect of his humanity.”
A candid and thoughtful reflection on faith, reason, and art.Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2017
ISBN: 978-3-946213-12-3
Page Count: 132
Publisher: Hula Ink
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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