Abundant food for thought for anyone who thinks religion should build more bridges and fewer walls.
In his debut nonfiction title, Markham explores what religion could be without fundamentalism.
Markham’s brief book asks the big questions: Why does anything exist? Why do bad things happen? What is the nature of the soul, heaven, hell and God? What is truth—for that matter, is there one truth at all? Drawing heavily from his own experience, Markham argues against fundamentalist beliefs. Instead, he regards religion (primarily Christianity) as a guide and metaphor rather than a set of iron-clad rules and truths. In a well-rounded, deeply considered purview, Markham pulls in many modern thinkers—Paul Tillich, Karen Armstrong, Martin Buber and Erich Fromm—as part of an unaggressive, readable narrative that will be palatable to even the most rabidly dogmatic believers. Markham sees God as unknowable yet nonetheless inspiring. Heaven is a state of being where one is connected to the divine presence, whereas hell is a state of disconnect—as opposed to a reward- or punishment-based delineation for adhering to a particular set of beliefs. He believes the soul is not a separate self but an awareness of the interconnectedness of all beings. While this belief system may veer toward concepts found in modern interfaith practices, the author argues against the relativism that can arrange all beliefs as being equally valid; instead, he recognizes the values of unique religious beliefs and the dangers of simply doing away with them. Markham’s grounding in religious practices makes for a refreshing read, and the earnest, lucid prose invites readers to consider their own beliefs. Unlike some works that challenge faith, this title considers all sides of the issue, including a fair, thoughtful dialogue between a fundamentalist and a secular agnostic.
Abundant food for thought for anyone who thinks religion should build more bridges and fewer walls.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2010
ISBN: 978-1605710846
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Shires Press
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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