Faith-based poetry that aims to inspire.
The word “triumph” can signify both the act of obtaining a victory and the victory itself and the 37 poems and four prose pieces that comprise this book each aim to tap into the duality of the title’s meaning, offering the reader snapshots of success—or the ways in which to obtain it. In clear, unadorned language and simple imagery, the poems reassure the reader that life’s struggles and difficulties will not last forever: the thorn-covered path will eventually clear, as it does in “False Premise”, and the darkness will end with a new light, as in “The Raven Banished”. These hope-laden poems encourage the reader to escape the chaos and violence of the modern world by seeking emotional and spiritual sustenance. For Bell, this nourishment and the calm that accompanies it can only come from faith in God: “My will and mine alone had caused my pain; / Apart from God, I sought for peace in vain”. As a result what transpires is a collection filled with poems depicting domestic refuge (“The Dream”), springtime renewal (“Spring At Last”, “Fragrance”) and recapitulations of the New Testament stories of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection (“It Is Finished”, “Different”, “Judas” and “Rejoice”). Less successful are the four short prose pieces that close the collection, primarily due to their heavy-handed retelling of the biblical tales of Joseph, Pilate and the prodigal son. While this collection offers very little that is new or daring in terms of language and form—limiting itself to a comfort zone of free verse, rhyming couplets and haiku—it does tap into universal questions about our existence. Many may find the heavy Christian message in this volume limiting but readers of a similar mindset to Bell’s may discover that this book sparks spiritual contemplation and personal reflection. A collection with admirable intent.
Pub Date: April 30, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4415-4232-8
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Xlibris
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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