Poelman’s weighty inquiry into the biblical origins of evil is at times hard to follow but is notable for its hopeful vision...
An exploration of Christian attitudes toward evil, complete with hopeful predictions for the world.
Over the course of 30 chapters—with titles like “Evil: A Choice” and “Why Evil is Called Satan”—Poelman makes the provocative case that what the Bible says about evil has been misinterpreted by everyone from laity to Martin Luther. Through his close reading of several different translations, and with copious scriptural citations to support his arguments, Poelman purports to demonstrate the largely symbolic role of the biblical Satan and makes a case that as individuals accept greater responsibility for evil actions, the earth advances toward a “comforting, long-term restoration of humanity.” Unfortunately, 30 chapters is far more than these arguments need, and Poelman frequently finds himself deep in the weeds on esoteric issues, such as when he quotes eight different selections of scripture in a row to make a point about the form of Jesus’ holy being. The lack of a clearly stated thesis and the absence of summaries of Poelman’s arguments contribute to a sense that the theological tangents are more rambling than vital. For example, Poelman builds up to a claim that the interconnectedness of our modern world is a sign that the Kingdom of God appears on Earth several times, seemingly as if he’s lost track of the fact that he made the point already. Yet much of Poelman's thinking about the subject of evil is appealingly humanistic, and his attempt at a scholarly tone—though undermined by the use of nonscholarly sources, such as Parade magazine—brings an admirable restraint to potentially inflammatory topics. Poelman presents an optimistic vision for humankind: As we learn the true nature of evil, we are mastering it and eradicating it from the world, paving the way for a glorious and peaceable age. With a message like that, and a polemic perhaps a quarter of this manuscript’s length, Poelman could be a moderating voice in contemporary theological discussions.
Poelman’s weighty inquiry into the biblical origins of evil is at times hard to follow but is notable for its hopeful vision for humankind.Pub Date: March 22, 2011
ISBN: 979-1449002954
Page Count: 433
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A kind of Holden Caulfield who speaks bravely and winningly from inside the sorrows of autism: wonderful, simple, easy,...
Britisher Haddon debuts in the adult novel with the bittersweet tale of a 15-year-old autistic who’s also a math genius.
Christopher Boone has had some bad knocks: his mother has died (well, she went to the hospital and never came back), and soon after he found a neighbor’s dog on the front lawn, slain by a garden fork stuck through it. A teacher said that he should write something that he “would like to read himself”—and so he embarks on this book, a murder mystery that will reveal who killed Mrs. Shears’s dog. First off, though, is a night in jail for hitting the policeman who questions him about the dog (the cop made the mistake of grabbing the boy by the arm when he can’t stand to be touched—any more than he can stand the colors yellow or brown, or not knowing what’s going to happen next). Christopher’s father bails him out but forbids his doing any more “detecting” about the dog-murder. When Christopher disobeys (and writes about it in his book), a fight ensues and his father confiscates the book. In time, detective-Christopher finds it, along with certain other clues that reveal a very great deal indeed about his mother’s “death,” his father’s own part in it—and the murder of the dog. Calming himself by doing roots, cubes, prime numbers, and math problems in his head, Christopher runs away, braves a train-ride to London, and finds—his mother. How can this be? Read and see. Neither parent, if truth be told, is the least bit prepossessing or more than a cutout. Christopher, though, with pet rat Toby in his pocket and advanced “maths” in his head, is another matter indeed, and readers will cheer when, way precociously, he takes his A-level maths and does brilliantly.
A kind of Holden Caulfield who speaks bravely and winningly from inside the sorrows of autism: wonderful, simple, easy, moving, and likely to be a smash.Pub Date: June 17, 2003
ISBN: 0-385-50945-6
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2003
Britisher Swift's sixth novel (Ever After, 1992 etc.) and fourth to appear here is a slow-to-start but then captivating tale of English working-class families in the four decades following WW II. When Jack Dodds dies suddenly of cancer after years of running a butcher shop in London, he leaves a strange request—namely, that his ashes be scattered off Margate pier into the sea. And who could better be suited to fulfill this wish than his three oldest drinking buddies—insurance man Ray, vegetable seller Lenny, and undertaker Vic, all of whom, like Jack himself, fought also as soldiers or sailors in the long-ago world war. Swift's narrative start, with its potential for the melodramatic, is developed instead with an economy, heart, and eye that release (through the characters' own voices, one after another) the story's humanity and depth instead of its schmaltz. The jokes may be weak and self- conscious when the three old friends meet at their local pub in the company of the urn holding Jack's ashes; but once the group gets on the road, in an expensive car driven by Jack's adoptive son, Vince, the story starts gradually to move forward, cohere, and deepen. The reader learns in time why it is that no wife comes along, why three marriages out of three broke apart, and why Vince always hated his stepfather Jack and still does—or so he thinks. There will be stories of innocent youth, suffering wives, early loves, lost daughters, secret affairs, and old antagonisms—including a fistfight over the dead on an English hilltop, and a strewing of Jack's ashes into roiling seawaves that will draw up feelings perhaps unexpectedly strong. Without affectation, Swift listens closely to the lives that are his subject and creates a songbook of voices part lyric, part epic, part working-class social realism—with, in all, the ring to it of the honest, human, and true.
Pub Date: April 5, 1996
ISBN: 0-679-41224-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1996
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