bookshelf

THE HEAVENLY WORSHIP ROOM

Name: THE HEAVENLY WORSHIP ROOM
Author: Raelynn Parkin
ISBN: 978-1-64151-148-3

by Raelynn Parkin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 4, 2018

An examination of worship and biblical ideas that sometimes gets lost in arcane language.

bookshelf

A writer’s vision leads her to explore the tabernacles of the Bible.

The founder of the Bride Song Ministries, the author focuses her religious efforts on worship and “restoring the Glory to the priesthood and to the church.” Parkin’s (Unlocking Worship Entering His Presence, 2014) latest book begins with a vision she received in 2004 when her ministry was taking over a new building. She discovered that God had plans for a small room the size of a walk-in closet—an “unfolding revelation....a teaching room” that had “many lessons inherent in its design.” The book includes pictures of the finished product, with gold walls accented with crimson to represent the glory and the blood. But most important was the “pattern” she received from God of how to construct and arrange the room: “He assured me this is how he led both Moses and David.” The connection of the room’s pattern to these two major figures leads the author to explore the tabernacles of Moses and David at length as both physical and spiritual spaces. Using King James concordances and a brief review of certain translations, Parkin deftly argues that Jesus himself was the vessel or tabernacle for the modern church, connecting Christian worship with ancient Jewish lore. In line with this driving thesis, there is something intriguing and almost anachronistic about the author’s prose. Her phrasing and terminology are more in line with a hymnal scribe than a contemporary Christian author, returning often to the imagery and metaphors of the “bridegroom.” At times, the effect manages to elevate something ordinary to the mystical and sacred, such as a closet being described as “a place where the Love song of the Bride would move the heart of her King, a place of romance and the Dance.” But overall, the effect is one of distance—rather than making esoteric and ancient ideas more accessible for readers, Parkin’s language only renders them more cryptic.

An examination of worship and biblical ideas that sometimes gets lost in arcane language.

Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-64151-148-3

Page Count: 154

Publisher: LitFire Publishing

Review Posted Online: April 9, 2018

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

bookshelf

NUTCRACKER

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

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

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.