A new voice in Christian inspiration offers quaint glimpses of a devoted life.
This collection of first-person vignettes is intended to show how God is manifested “in the ordinary.” The first story opens in the titular coffee shop–awake an hour early due to an alarm clock snafu, Ingram arrives at Starbucks at 6:30, and is tickled to find a high school group meeting for early morning prayer and praise. Ingram also finds Jesus through other varied mediums: a bedtime conversation with his son, a beggar on the street, his hobby of beekeeping and at a convenience store. He expounds on his efforts to support and sympathize with a friend whose wife leaves him after 26 years, as well as the spiritual lessons he’s learned from bugs. Each story ends with a sermonic spelling-out of the point: Jesus’ blood washes away our sins, we are all beggars before God, Jesus’ “words are real,” Christ “is freedom indeed.” Not exactly revolutionary religious concepts, but pleasant nonetheless. Some of the short chapters are reflections on Scripture–he retells the story of Elisha (whom you can meet in II Kings), meditates on the sufferings of Job, interprets the Sacrifice of Isaac and muses about becoming more like Moses. The stories and lessons are approachable and good-natured, but it’s somewhat disconcerting to be told, in the author’s note, that “some–but not all–of these stories are true.” Readers may be distracted, wondering which of these small epiphanies really happened, and which are products of Ingram’s imagination. And some of his musings are a little twee: “I’m God’s croissant, and I’m not quite done...What do dough and I have in common? We are both bread in the making. We are both unattractive to the untrained eye.”
A collection of mildly inspiring snapshots of the Christian life–a good gift for those who participate in devotional sessions.Pub Date: May 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-9747425-1-1
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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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
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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
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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