A pragmatic, uplifting examination of the role that tragedy plays in people’s lives.
A debut guide to the redemptive power of suffering, as seen through the prism of the book of Job.
In this Christian-themed book, Grose chooses the single most challenging biblical tale on the subject of suffering: the story of Job, in which the titular righteous, wealthy, and pious man from Uz becomes the subject of a heavenly wager. Satan taunts God with the idea that if faithful Job were sufficiently tormented, he would curse the name of the Lord. God then gives Satan permission to destroy Job’s life, and so the man’s business collapses, his children and servants die, and he suffers from boils and sores. Still, he refuses to curse God. In carefully planned, very approachable chapters, Grose links this familiar story to tales of tragedy that he’s heard from parishioners over the years, including stories of illnesses and disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. “I wish you didn’t need this book,” he writes, addressing the reader directly, “but I’ve written it because I know you do.” The author carries this holistic tone throughout the book, which will prove invaluable to Christian readers enduring tragedies of their own. “Risky as it may feel, with Job you may need to express your anger, fear, and even rage to God directly,” he writes, referring to the fact that Job eventually breaks down and demands from God an explanation of his tragedies. Job is never given an explanation in his own story, which is slightly problematic for Grose’s book; when the author writes that God “brings [Job] through” his tragedies into a new life, he’s being extremely optimistic, as God was absent during Job’s sufferings. In the end, however, Grose says that he makes no excuses for the God of the book of Job, and this is a wise move.
A pragmatic, uplifting examination of the role that tragedy plays in people’s lives.Pub Date: April 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-578-16089-4
Page Count: 216
Publisher: Believers Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2015
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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