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IN THE RELIGIOUS GRAIN

Name: IN THE RELIGIOUS GRAIN
Author: J.D. Palmer
ISBN: 978-0-9811-9800-2

: A GNOSTIC PRIMER

by J.D. Palmer ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2009

Those wanting a fleshed-out argument will be disappointed.

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A collection for truth-seekers that covers subjects from Catholicism to Salinger.

Palmer makes a case for faith, not religion, in this collection of writings about a hodgepodge of topics. â€œReligion is not faith,” he says. â€œReligion is a group of people doing something together that hurts other peopleâ€¦Faith, however, is belief in God in spite of the clergy or the scientists.” He also alludes to recently published books on atheism by writers Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, whom he calls â€œpop-atheists,” likening them to science-fiction or fantasy writers. Palmer’s premise is interesting, and if he followed up this thesis the book would be a worthwhile read. However, what follows is a mishmash of quoted material. The quotes aren’t woven into his writing; he aligns them against each other to make a point and often doesn’t bother to extrapolate upon them. He quotes Marx, Darwin, Camus, Dorothy Parker, the Bible, Orwell and Malcom Gladwell, among others. Interspersed within the quotes are sweeping grandiose statements about the human condition, such as â€œpeople don’t want freedom,” but he doesn’t use his material to explain why individuals huddle together and use religion as a shelter. Or, if he does, he offers platitudes. The book feels pasted together, rather than a well-developed argument on his thoughts and feelings about faith. Palmer spends a chapter interpreting the Catcher in the Rye and another chapter ruminating to his great-granddaughter about the state of the world. He makes an impassioned argument for Catholicism being the one true religion, but it’s only followed-up in snippets. Perhaps if the book were redefined as a collection of his essays it might work, but it may not be entirely clear what he thinks of faith itself. It’s too buried under the quotes of others.

Those wanting a fleshed-out argument will be disappointed.

Pub Date: March 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-9811-9800-2

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.