An annotated innovation on the psalms of King David.
A short, passionate “psalm” of one Christian’s personal faith.
During a boring day at her property-management job in 1996, Phelps decided to write out a “letter” to God that she’d long contemplated—a personal “psalm” that she typed up and filed away in a binder. Years later, on a sleepless night, she says that she heard God tell her to publish it, resulting in this quick little volume. The psalm itself is only 12 paragraphs long, a deeply personal and widely allusive statement of faith. It’s a collection of assertions of her certainty in the power of God and the mercy of Jesus Christ, typically conveyed in lines such as, “As I walk through life I walk in Christ Jesus, and I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” Phelps makes clear that although her work was an exercise in compositional inspiration, it was also grounded in years of textual study. In the book’s most interesting feature, she lays out a detailed chart of the textual influences on her work: “the Lord brought a picture to my mind of a cross reference,” she writes. “I thought of putting this into an excel format so that those reading it would know this isn’t just me talking, but the Holy Spirit.” Her fellow devout Christians are clearly her intended audience, and she offers them a brief discussion of the nature of Christian faith. She also has some intriguing, if underdeveloped, things to say about living a religious life (“At the end of the day, Christians aren’t “perfect”, just forgiven”) and traces her psalm’s terms, such as “Abba,” “Bride of Christ,” and “the Elect,” to precise Scriptural chapter and verse. The quotes are sometimes-extensive, and the chart itself is a fascinating work of reference; it’s similar to those found in some Bible concordances but superior to most of them in its quote-selection skill. Bible-study groups may get through the psalm itself fairly quickly, but the chart will give them hours of fruitful work.
An annotated innovation on the psalms of King David.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-145753-935-0
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dog Ear
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2015
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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