A visually striking and spiritually appealing adaptation of the traditional liturgical calendar.
A liturgical calendar features written passages, paintings, and audio recordings.
Marler’s nonfiction debut is a seasonal account of her personal faith journey in the form of a more or less traditional liturgical calendar, commencing at Advent and moving through the Christmas season, the Feast of the Epiphany, Lent, and so on. Each of the book’s sections is generously and beautifully laid out, with an opening poem, the pertinent passages from Scripture, short reflections by guest writer Roger Housden, and longer devotional passages by Marler herself. In the Easter segment, for instance, she writes: “The ecstatic ringing of bells and ‘Alleluias’ sung by the faithful during this most joyful time of the year, bears witness to the world that through Christ’s Resurrection from the grave, there is eternal salvation and hope for those that believe in Him.” The work is extensively illustrated with paintings by Bonnell (Shadow Lessons, 2012, etc.) that are uniformly stunning—vivid combinations of thematic items and brilliant colors that drive the narrative in unexpectedly strong ways. The chapters end with ample space for readers to record their own thoughts about the seasons, and this is of a piece with the tone of the rest of the book, which is warm and inviting throughout. Marler’s elaborations of the facts and the basic importance of each of Christianity’s key seasons are simple without being scanty, and Housden’s commentaries on her poems mesh very smoothly with those explanations, almost always turning the emphasis outward to readers. The work consistently invites readers to link its teachings to their own faith journeys, to interact with the calendar being presented. Marler’s approach is resolutely nonscholarly; readers seeking deeper textual or historical context for great holidays like Christmas or Easter will need to look elsewhere. This is a straightforward guide for the faithful, stressing participation over investigation and celebration over study. This will make the book fairly opaque to outsiders, but the volume’s core audience, practicing Christians, should treasure it.
A visually striking and spiritually appealing adaptation of the traditional liturgical calendar.Pub Date: June 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5127-9180-8
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2018
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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