Author: rtrube54

Review: Jesus Loves the Little Children, All the Children of the World

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Cover image of ":Jesus Loves the Little Children, All the Children of the World" by Tara Hackney.

Jesus Loves the Little Children, All the Children of the World, Tara Hackney. IVP Kids (ISBN: 9781514010495) 2025.

Summary: A board book with a fresh version of this song and images representing all the children of the world.

Many of us grew up singing “Jesus Loves the Little Children” in Sunday School. But in more recent years, some have struggled with the racially stereotypic language of the third line of the song. Yet the idea of Jesus love for all children (and we were all once children) is a wonderful truth, especially in our divisive times.

IVP Kids is publishing a wonderful new board book written by Tara Hackney, who founded Jesus Loves You Ministries. And one of the first things I liked about this book are the fresh lyrics to this familiar children’s song. There are three verses of them! Here is the first. And notice the new third line:

Jesus loves the little children,
all the children of the world.
Every color, every shade,
just exactly as he made,
Jesus loves the little children of the world!

As is evident on the cover image, the photography in this book represents children from around the world in all sorts of settings–different seasons, activities, and dress. In addition, I particularly appreciated the representation of children with disabilities. The images include a child who appears to be undergoing cancer treatments, a child in a wheelchair, and a child with Down Syndrome.

Another plus of this book is that it is child safe. Not only are the page edges rounded but the publisher indicates that the gloss coating is non-toxic. Young children not only like to read books. They have to taste them as well!

In conclusion, this book is an absolute joy to look at, read, and even sing to your children. Not only does it speak of Jesus’s love for all children. It shows it. I can’t think of any better for a child’s first book!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry

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Cover image of "The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry" by Gabrielle Zevin

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, Gabrielle Zevin. Algonquin Books (ISBN: 9781616204518) 2014.

Summary: A widowed bookseller’s life changes when a rare book disappears and an orphaned child is left in his care.

Amelia Loman didn’t deserve this. She’s on her first sales calls, representing Knightly Press. She’s taken the ferry to Alice Island, where she has an appointment to meet the owner of Island Books, A. J. Fikry. He’s terribly rude and doesn’t appear to be interested in anything in her winter catalog. She even manages to knock over a pile of Advanced Reader Copies stacked in the hallway to his office. But all she can do is leave a book she has really liked in his office along with the winter catalog.

A. J. Fikry is not yet forty and a widower. His wife, Nic, with whom he started the bookstore on a resort island, had been killed in an auto accident. Since then, he’s been drinking and the store’s sales are slumping. His sister-in-law Ismay, married to a fading, once best-selling author, tries to help. She even took him to an estate sale where he found a rare copy of Edgar Allan Poe’s Tamerlane. He buys it for $5 but figures it is worth $400,000. It’s kind of an insurance policy.

The night of Amelia’s visit, he pulls out Tamerlane as he drinks himself into oblivion. When he wakes the next morning, the book has disappeared. But, in a strange turn, the officer, Lambiase, who takes the police report, becomes a regular visitor to the bookstore. Then he starts a popular book group for those who read detective fiction. Meanwhile, A.J. helps him broaden his reading interests.

While Lambiase was taking the police report, A. J. had a seizure, something that had occurred throughout his life. When a trip to the hospital reveals nothing wrong, except for his depression, the only recommendation is that he get exercise. One day, on returning from a run, he finds the door to his store, which he leaves unlocked, ajar. On investigating, he discovers a baby in the children’s section. With her, he finds a note introducing the baby as Maya and that the mother, who can’t care for her wants her to grow up in a place with books. With Ismay’s help, he figures out how to care for her, The next day, Maya’s mother’s body washes ashore.

Lambiase explains the realities of the foster system, and against all his instinct’s A.J. decides to fulfill the mother’s last wish. The town is abuzz. Then he adopts her, and gives her the middle name Tamerlane. She has become the most valuable thing in his life, an unexpected replacement for the missing book. And A.J.’s heart begins to open up as Maya blossoms into an amazing daughter.

Remember Amelia? She keeps calling and A. J. discovers he likes discussing books with her. He looks forward to her visits. And the wonder of it is that Amelia, who has had her own disappointments with men, finds herself drawn to this one. And she finds herself marrying the guy who had treated her so rudely on her first sales call.

Gabrielle Zevin writes a story of how tenderness, friendship, and love arise out of tragedy. And for booklovers, it all happens in a bookstore! Another bookish device are the “shelftalkers” that open each chapter, written as we later learn, for his daughter Maya, who loves books and writing beyond her mother’s hopes. This is the second Zevin novel I have read this year, and she is one of my “author finds” of the year.

The Weekly Wrap: May 18-24

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woman in white crew neck t shirt in a bookstore wrapping books
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The Weekly Wrap: May 18-24

New or Used?

Twice this week, I’ve been in discussions of the ethics of buying used books. One was this morning over breakfast with a friend. The other was earlier a week after reading “Is It Ethical to Buy Used Books and Music?” in the New York Times Magazine. I invited a discussion of this on my Facebook page, eliciting some strong opinions.

I’m personally torn on this. I respect what goes into writing a book and think authors worth their hire. And I support brick and mortar stores selling new books. A significant part of my book buying does support authors and the outlets selling them. But I also contribute to the used book economy. I donate and sell books I’ve read for re-sale. And I’ve bought a lot of used books and frequented the portion of the bookselling economy that flourishes by selling used books.

Perhaps the most interesting response on my book page was from several authors who were glad to see books get into people’s hands via either route, particularly if people talked about the books! They realize that word of mouth sells a lot of books and more of people reading their books, however they (legally) obtain them is beneficial.

For many, libraries and used books are the only way they can afford books. And things like library book sales fund a variety of library programs while passing along books very cheaply.

I also think the ecology of book printing suggests that there may be a value in passing along books to multiple readers, until they fall apart. It seems a tragedy to find perfectly good books in a waste or recycling bin. I also wonder if there is a tragedy of books sitting on shelves for decades after one person has read them if they won’t be used for reference or re-reading. I find myself looking at my own shelves this way more and more.

The best answer I’ve come up with is to set aside a portion of my book budget for new books to support my local booksellers and authors while buying backlist titles (and public domain titles) on a used basis. Sometimes, this is a necessity when a book is out of print. And I try to pass along both books and the word about them.

I’d be curious how others have thought about this!

Five Articles Worth Reading

There is nothing like a good mystery or crime novel for a summer beach read, wherever your “beach” is. Crimereads posted a list of 80 books in “The Most Anticipated Crime Fiction of Summer 2025.” Stock up!

One of the things I love about children’s books is the art. In “The Beauty of Imperfect Children’s Book Art” award-winning artist Elisha Cooper takes us behind the scenes, discussing both his influences and practices.

For many of us, A Prayer for Owen Meany was our introduction to the writing of John Irving. How many of these “13 Facts About John Irving’s ‘A Prayer for Owen Meany’” are new to you?

Now we come to the shameless promotion department. Matthew Carey Jordan is a friend from the days when he was a doctoral student in philosophy at The Ohio State University. Since then, he has taught at Auburn, then returned to his home turf in the Cleveland area to head up an innovative humanities program at Cuyahoga Community College. More recently he became Vice President of Academic Affairs at St. Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology. He has also followed figures like John Henry Newman from evangelical Christianity to the Roman Catholic Church. All this is background to introduce his Substack newsletter, Less of a Theory, which is about “reflections on issues in philosophy of religion, theology, and American culture, written for laypeople rather than scholars.” I’m a grateful subscriber. Here’s a sample, In illo Uno unum, which is Pope Leo XIV’s motto.

Finally, this Monday is Memorial Day in the United States, when we remember those who died in service to our country. “What Veterans’ Poems Can Teach Us About Healing on Memorial Day” allows war veterans to use their own words to speak to the service, loss, and healing this day represents.

Quote of the Week

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born May 22, 1859. He not only gave us Sherlock Holmes but this piece of pithy wisdom applicable in many contexts:

“There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.”

Miscellaneous Musings

I don’t recall requesting this but the folks at Penguin Random House sent me a copy of the new John Hancock by Willard Sterne Randall. I read and loved his biography on Jefferson years ago. So, I look forward to John Hancock becoming more in my understanding than a flourishing signature!

I’ve been troubled by the incessant offers from institutional buyers to purchase my house, not to re-sell, but to rent. Then I hear what rents go for in my area and I’m not sure if I would be able to rent, let alone buy a home in my area today if I were starting out. In Brian Goldstone’s No Place for Us, I’m learning this is just the tip of a much larger national problem. Unfortunately, for many working poor, affordable housing is out of reach or simply unavailable. Increasing numbers are doubling up, living in extended stay hotels or rooming houses. I’d like to think we are a better country than this, but the facts in many communities suggest otherwise.

Our local Barnes & Noble is opening in a new location on May 28. Thy are taking over a bigger retail space in a shopping center across the street from their old location. My membership just renewed with them so I’m entitled to a new tote bag. I wonder if I’ll get any other swag to put in it (or maybe a book or two). At any rate, I’m delighted that they continue to have a presence in our part of town.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Gabrielle Zevin, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Tuesday: George MacDonald, Gutta Percha Willie

Wednesday: Liz Charlotte Grant, Knock at the Sky

Thursday: Bruce Herman, Makers By Nature

Friday: Rachel G. Jordan, If the Ocean Has a Soul

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for May 18-24, 2025!

Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page

Review: Reading the Margins

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Cover image of "Reading the Margins" by Michael J. Gilmour

Reading the Margins, Michael J. Gilmour. Fortress Press (ISBN: 9781506469355) 2024.

Summary: How reading literature may enhance empathy for those on the margins, illuminating the advocacy of scripture for them.

Researchers have found that the reading of literature can enhance the empathy of readers. In this work, Michael J. Gilmour extends that argument in a couple ways. Specifically, he argues that the reading of literature can deepen our awareness for those on the margins. And he proposes that as a spiritual discipline, such reading, aware of the biblical allusions in texts, can capture the spiritual imagination. Thus, it may bring to life the scriptural teaching about God’s concern for those on the margins.

In an engaging text, Gilmour ranges from Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan to Anne Bronte, Charles Dickins, and Richard Adams. He explores the ways literature invites us into imagined worlds in ways increasing our identification with the marginalized. Along the way, he helps us hear the biblical overtones in literature.

He reads Bound for Glory by Woody Guthrie alongside Matthew 25:31-46, the parable of the sheep and the goats. We discover in Anne Bronte’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall how the wisdom of scripture serves to empowers Helen Huntingdon in a bad marriage. She incarnates Lady Wisdom even as her husband pursues Folly. Then, Gilmour contrasts Robinson Crusoe’s racist and dominionist readings of the Bible with Jean Rhys Wide Sargasso Sea, written from the perspective of the colonized Antoinette (Bertha).

Racism is also explored in Joy Kogawa’s Obasan (on Canada’s Japanese internments) and Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses. Gilmour observes a number of the religious references in Obasan, and Rushdie’s retelling of the fall of Lucifer in the “fall” of an Indian migrant. He traces the influence of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicle of Narnia (which Dylan likely read) on Bob Dylan’s music, particularly during his ‘born again” phase. Specifically, he identifies a theme of Christian discipleship, a kind of pilgrim’s journey, in the songs of this period.

Speaking of pilgrims, Gilmour, using the lens of Pilgrim’s Progress, explores the flight of Nell and her grandfather from the evil Daniel Quilp in the Old Curiosity Shop. Nell had read a copy of Bunyan’s work and likened a resting spot to the decision they’d made to embark on their journey, putting aside former cares for a better world. London is a kind of Babel they leave in “the dead of the night.” Gilmour explores biblical allusions and parallels with Bunyan in their escape from the exploitative Quilp. Finally, in another tale of flight, Gilmour considers that of the rabbits in Watership Down as they flee a kind of eco-catastrophe, and the incidents of their generosity amid vulnerability.

Gilmour concludes with a discussion of how we engage literature. He notes the aversion of many Christians for works that seem “impure.” On the other hand he describes how we “bowdlerize” them by creating Christianized versions of them. Instead, he invites a thoughtful engagement that opens up the imagination and often offers fresh perspectives on scripture. We may “learn far more about the evils of systemic injustice and the ameliorating potential of simple acts of compassion from Charles Dickens than sermons.”

Of course, why not bring both worlds together, which is what I see Gilmour trying to do. I remember a conversation with an outstanding preacher who spoke of how the reading of novels, on his wife’s advice, had greatly enriched his preaching. I note that Gilmour is a professor of New Testament and English Literature. In this book, he models well the fruit of bringing together these two worlds of reading scripture and reading literature.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: Abundance

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Cover image of "Abundance" by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

Abundance, Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. Avid Reader Press (ISBN: 9781668023488) 2025.

Summary: A vision of an American future where we invent and build what’s needed and for government that enables rather than hobbles growth.

Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson open this book with what seems an idyllic dream in the not too distant 2050’s. Abundant water floods the West because oceans provide desalinated water to our taps, allowing a resurgence of tapped out rivers and the greening of desert cities. Fresh food from local “skyscraper farms” and lab grown meat fill your refrigerator, allowing the re-wilding of land. Miracle drugs manufactured in space extend life. Electric transport has cleaned up the air. Work weeks have shrunk through the use of AI. Homelessness, health, and climate crises are a thing of the past.

I have to admit reading this sounded like an exercise of constructing castles in the air. The authors would disagree. They boil their contention down to this: “to have the future we want, we need to build and invent more of what we need. Our housing shortages, infrastructure woes, energy needs, and technological challenges are not insurmountable. And the answer for them is not “less is more.” Technology is an engine of incredible growth. The vision is one, not of a static, but expanding pie.

What is striking is that Klein and Thompson are two progressives, who write primarily to progressives. While critiquing conservative efforts to hobble government, their critique is far more focused on the ways progressives have hobbled growth and innovation through excessive and labyrinthine regulation. Much of it was well-intentioned to provide for safe housing, a cleaner environment, and more equitable contracting. Environmental litigation hamstrung housing growth in places like California, where it is most needed.

Perhaps the most telling example in the whole book is California’s efforts to build high speed rail, beginning in 1982. As of the writing, none of the 500 mile system is operational while costs balloon. Meanwhile, China has built more than 23,000 miles of high speed rail. The problem is not know how, with the U.S. long a leader in rail transport technology. Rather, the problem has been regulations and the protracted negotiations, environmental reviews, and lawsuits these entailed.

The issue is not that government can’t work. For example, Houston permitted more housing units than San Francisco, the Boston and New York Metro areas combined during a recent year. In Houston, the median home price was $300,000 versus $1.7 million in San Francisco. Houston has land use but no zoning rules whereas the others have layers of regulations and restrictions that make construction processes lengthier and far more expensive. Contractors build fewer housing units. And none of it is affordable.

America has led the world in innovation due to our commitments to basic research. Once again, in more recent years, research has been hamstrung by reporting requirements that stifle many of the most creative. They observed that we haven’t studied the creative process. Not only that, increasingly, we don’t build what we invent, but offshore it. The authors argue that the country that can both invent and build what it invents is destined to be an economic powerhouse.

Finally, they highlight the importance of strategic deployment, citing examples from Kennedy’s moonshot program to Trump’s operation Warp Speed, which produced a vaccine that might normally take ten years in ten months during a global health emergency. It means logical, streamlined processes and the ruthless removal of bottlenecks. They raise the question of AI development and the wisdom of allowing the innovation and implementation infrastructures to be located offshore. Is it such a good idea to contract this out to the Middle East, they ask?

On one hand, Klein and Thompson offer a trenchant critique of the failures of progressives, one of miring growth and innovation in regulative processes. Likewise, they offer a compelling vision of the possible. What I don’t find here are substantive proposals of how to go about removing the regulative barriers to growth apart from dismantling them, as the current administration seems to be doing. I also think they are optimistic about the ability of technology to save us. I find that technology is always doubled edged. The electric future they envision relies, at least in part, on battery and nuclear technology. Both of these carry significant downsides.

I also think the authors are caught in a binary of scarcity versus abundance. A third alternative that I don’t see here is one of “enough.” In a society with obscene extremes of wealth and poverty, it seems we lack a commitment that everyone would have enough–of housing, transport, health care, education, and economic opportunity. We have an abundance in our social, intellectual, and material capital for everyone to have a high standard of enough. The problem is not merely regulatory but structural and spiritual. I fear that without addressing these problems, the vision of these writers is indeed of “castles in the air.”

Review: The Last Romantic

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Cover image of "The Last Romantic" by Jeffrey W. Barbeau

The Last Romantic (Hansen Lectureship Series), Jeffrey W. Barbeau with contributions from Sarah Borden, Matthew Lundin, and Keith L. Johnson. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514010518) 2025.

Summary: The influence of Romanticism on C.S. Lewis in terms of imagination, subjectivity, memory and identity, and the sacraments.

As a young Christian, the logical arguments of Mere Christianity were helpful in confirming me in my own Christian conviction. They also served as a source of “reasons to believe” that i could share with my friends. So I went on to read other works by Lewis including the Chronicles of Narnia and the Space Trilogy. These works captured my imagination and evoked both fear and love for the Lion who was on the move. Then I read Surprised by Joy, and how joy served as a signpost for Lewis in his journey to faith.

Jeffrey W. Barbeau helps me understand the subjective experience and Christian imagination I found in Lewis and its connection to the objective, logical arguments Lewis made for the Christian faith. What Barbeau develops in this book, a transcript of three Hansen Lectures, is the influence of nineteenth century Romantics on the thought of C.S. Lewis. He begins, though, with a debate during 1967 at his own institution, Wheaton College. Was Lewis’s thought infused with “the Romantic heresy”? The principles were Clyde Kilby, who obtained Lewis’s papers for Wheaton and introduced many in this country to Lewis, and Morris Inch, who took Lewis’s subjectivity to task.

Studying the marginalia in Lewis’s books, Barbeau traces interaction with Schleiermacher, Hegel, Marx, and Kant. He also shows the profound influence of Wordsworth, and especially Coleridge upon Lewis. While Lewis recognized that subjectivity could mislead, it could also evoke and mirror objective reality and point toward it. He shows how often in Lewis’s work, he begins with the personal to point toward the general, objective truth.

In the second lecture, Barbeau turns to what he calls “the anxiety of memory.” He observes that Lewis, in Surprised by Joy and A Grief Observed, draws on nineteenth century spiritual biography. He parallel’s Lewis to Sarah Eliza Congdon or Elmira, New York and the Journal she kept of her spiritual journey. Lewis didn’t know of Congdon but possessed a copy of John Wesley’s Journal. Again, for Lewis, Wordsworth and Coleridge released him from concerns about the “suffocatingly subjective” character of his own experience. Rather, Coleridge’s ability to connect spiritual intuition with objective theological truth was critical in the lead-up to Lewis’s conversion.

Finally, the third lecture focuses on how Romanticism influenced Lewis use of symbol. He unpacks Lewis’s view of nature, imagination, and of experiences of God. Barbeau shows how Lewis differed with figures like Nietzsche and Emerson, distinguishing nature’s power from nature worship. It is actually in the commonplaces of food and drink, and with our neighbors that we may most deeply encounter God, as in the bread and cup of the sacrament.

A distinctive contribution of Barbeau’s scholarship is his study not only of Lewis’s works but of his library. Lewis’s marginalia points to what he was thinking as he read philosophy, theology, and the works of the Romantics. Not only that, Barbeau retrieves Romanticism from the dustbin of evangelical thought as he elucidates the influence of figures like Coleridge on Lewis. It turns out the personal, the subjective, and the imagination may well point us to objective truth. Both cannot help but be inextricably involved in the Christian journey.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: Third Girl

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Cover image of "Third Girl" by Agatha Christie

Third Girl (Hercule Poirot, 40), Agatha Christie. HarperCollins (ISBN: 9780062073761) 2010 (first published in 1966).

Summary: A young girl disturbs Poirot’s breakfast claiming she may have murdered someone, then leaves, telling Poirot “You’re too old.”

Poirot is enjoying his breakfast when George, his servant, interrupts to announce a woman who thinks she might have committed a murder wishes to see him. When he asks her to tell her story, she decides she cannot, telling him as she leaves, “You’re too old.”

She has disturbed Poirot. Not just by her insult. But also by her manner. Something is off. Then he learns his mystery writer friend Mrs. Oliver sent her to him. They’d met at a literary party. Her name is Norma Restarick. Her father has only recently returned after many years abroad to take up the family business. Norma’s mother, who had raised her, has died. Her father has returned with a new wife, Mary. They are living with his maternal Uncle, Sir Roderick Horsfield, a former intelligence officer writing his memoirs. Norma is ill at ease there. Part of this has to do with their disapproval of Norma’s boyfriend David, an artist.

And that is how she has become the “third girl,” living in a flat with two other girls. One is Claudia, her father’s very efficient secretary. The other is Frances, who represents an art gallery.

As Poirot investigates, he learns some disturbing facts. There had been a recent death at Borodene Mansions, where the girls live. A woman, living one floor up, fell to her death from her balcony. It appeared to be an accident or suicide. But could she have been pushed? Also, Mary Restarick has suffered several bouts of intestinal illness coinciding with Norma’s visits. The illness is traced to arsenic in her food.

But where is Norma? That’s where Mrs. Oliver comes in. She spots Norma and David at a cafe and calls Poirot. Shortly after he arrives, David leaves, and she decides to follow him, having taken it upon herself to join Poirot once again as co-sleuth, despite his warnings. He intuits that something dangerous is going on. After she leaves, Norma recognizes him. This time she shares more, including gaps in her memory and disturbing events, like finding herself holding a revolver. She doesn’t want to see a doctor, and in the end, walks out on Poirot once more.

Next thing we know, a man is caring for her after she’d nearly been killed by a speeding car. He’s a doctor by the name of Stillingfleet and persuades her after a long conversation to go to a “convalescent” home.

Who is this mysterious doctor who saves Norma in the nick of time, and what is he going to do with her? And what is Poirot doing, other than gathering information from an investigator (Goby) and thinking? Mrs Oliver keeps pressing him to do something, especially since he “lost” Norma.

The signs seem to point to Norma as a murderer. But things don’t add up. The principal of Norma’s school saw no sign of mental illness in Norma. Several of the characters also capture his attention from David, found searching Norma’s room at the Restarick’s, to unaccounted absences by Mary, and a painting where it would not be expected.

The mystery was published in 1966. There is a drug theme that runs through the story. One wonders if Mrs. Christie also struggled with questions of whether she were too old, and is trying to be “with it”. It feels like there is a lot of Christie in Mrs. Oliver, who is eager to not just write mysteries but solve crimes. Is there a commentary here on the difference between being a crime writer and a real detective?

In the end, it will be apparent that Poirot has been doing more than meets the eye. And despite some implausibilities, so has Christie, spinning a tale with enough twists and turns to keep at least this reader engaged.

Review: A Prophet in the Darkness

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Cover image of "A Prophet in the Darkness" ed. Wesley Vander Lugt

A Prophet in the Darkness, Wesley Vander Lugt, editor. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514011058) 2024.

Summary: An exploration of the work of Georges Roualt and his identification of human suffering with Christ’s sufferings.

“Paul Klee says ‘Art does not reproduce the visible; rather it makes visible.’ This is what the art of Georges Roualt (1871-1958) has done; his images have penetrated deeply into the human dilemma to find meaning and offer hope, helping us to see light in the darkness, making visible the invisible.”

Thus Sandra Bowden, in the forward of this work, introduces A Prophet in the Darkness, an exploration of the theological significance of the works of Georges Roualt. A theme running through all these essays was that Roualt’s faith and artistic vision came together in a body of work that identified deeply with the suffering and the marginalized. However, juxtaposed with these works are paintings of the suffering Christ, in whom suffering is transformed into redemption.

Many of the essays reference Roualt’s Miserere series. These were executed in the 1920s as paintings transferred to copper plates, and finally printed in 1948. A number of these are reproduced in the book. One triptych includes “Are we not all slaves,” “Believing ourselves to be kings,” and “Who does not wear the mask?” (an image of a clown). The series portrays human folly and suffering juxtaposed with images of the Passion. They communicate visually our desperate need for mercy (hence Miserere). And they also reflect Roualt’s style of images outlined with thick black lines.

The collection of essays opens with a biography of Roualt by his son, Philippe. He discusses Roualt’s experience of war, family tragedy, and personal suffering. Then he considers how these intersected with his deep faith to form his aesthetic. Thomas Hibbs argues amid contemporary hopelessness, Roualt’s work enables us to “see, feel, and say” in a way that counters nihilism without lapsing into sentimentality. Soo Y Kang explores the influence of writer Leon Bloy, who wrote of poverty. Joel Klepac, an artist and therapist considers the healing power of Roualt’s images.

Pamela Rossi-Keen writes from her experience of community-centered art in post-industrial Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. Drawing on Walter Brueggeman’s ideas of prophetic imagination, she shows how Roualt’s art carries prophetic weight for communities like hers. Then James Romaine compares Roult’s work to that of Romare Bearden for their ability to evoke empathy.

William A. Dyrness explores the resistance within the Christian tradition to modern art. And he argues that engaging Roualt’s work might lead to a more nuanced approach. Stephen Schloesser focuses on the Miserere series, showing how Roualt deals with appearance and reality and how the beauty of a broken world meets in the beauty of a suffering Savior in the series. Finally, editor Wesley Vander Lugt weighs why Roualt resonates with contemporary viewers.

This work “shows” as well as “tells.” The book includes a number of black and white images of Roualt’s works. In addition, the book points to links available on the publisher’s website (https://www.ivpress.com/rouault) for works not included in the book. Finally, “Artistic Interludes” offers artist responses to the work of Georges Roualt, including a number of color plates of works by the artists inspired by Roualt. Two of the color plates reproduce works of Romare Bearden and of Georges Roualt.

This book introduced me to Roualt’s work. I came to understand not only its power to evoke empathy but also his profound insights into human suffering and the suffering of Christ.. For Christians skeptical of modern art, this book offers a profound counter argument that represents a deep Christian spirituality expressed through modern art. This book is a feast for both the eyes and the heart!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

The Weekly Wrap: May 11-17

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The Weekly Wrap: May 11-17

Story Keeping

We have always loved storytellers, from the stories told in oral cultures, to writers who spin stories, to historians who research and tell the stories of our past. Less glamorous, but just as important, I would contend, are those who are story keepers. Without story keepers, our stories may die within a generation or less, whether from neglect or deliberate action.

Who are the story keepers? They are the publishers who keep important stories in print. They are the librarians who keep the stories on their shelves and connect readers and books. Booksellers, who take financial risks to make books available to readers are story keeping heroes.

I believe we are entering a season where story keeping is taking on greater importance. For example, books are being removed from libraries in service academies and schools. Others have pressed for the removals of books from public libraries. It may be subjects labeled “DEI,” which may include many works of Black, or other ethnic histories. Or it may include books portraying non-traditional gender identity or sexual orientation. If it has been politicized, it has probably been challenged or removed.

I don’t necessarily agree with all the stories or how they ought to be told. It is messy because of the rich mosaic of people who make up our society. Some just think it is simpler to erase the stories that differ from our favorite rendering of the story. But when we do this, we only hear the versions of a story from those who hold power. Then dissenting stories that give a fuller perspective are silenced. Simpler but smaller is what we get.

We are all important to the work of story keeping. We can support publishers, librarians, and booksellers. Whenever we buy and read and talk about books, we are story keepers. And when we read diverse books, we help keep alive the stories of those on the margins whose stories are under attack. We should aggressively resist any effort to ban or destroy books. I hope we don’t come to the day of Fahrenheit 451, where it becomes the task of those who want to save the stories to memorize them. Ultimately, they understood that this is what it meant to save civilization.

Five Articles Worth Reading

Summer is coming and the reading is easy. The Atlantic “The Summer Reading Guide” offers recommendations of great books for the beach or those hot summer afternoons where we dive into a book while sipping our sweet tea.

Were there books that made you challenge the conventions, that opened your mind to new ways of thinking about life, relationships, society? Timothy Aubry explores this topic in “Gateway Books.” What were your gateway books?

Then, perhaps you would study philosophy to explore the meaning of life. However, Pranay Sanklecha describes how this is not what he found in his philosophy studies in “Philosophy was once alive.”

What is “close reading”? In a review of On Close Reading by John Guillory, Dan Sinykin explores how one defines “close reading” and its place in literary studies. The article is “Pay Attention!” His own argument for close reading in the penultimate paragraph made reading this one worth it for me.

Finally, Mrs. Dalloway is one hundred years old! “A Hundred Years of Mrs. Dalloway” explores how Virginia Woolf’s novel was so revolutionary both in its day and in its long-term impact.

Quote of the Week

Feminist poet Adrienne Rich was born on May 16, 1929. She observed:

“Lying is done with words and also with silence.”

It seems to me that this is a corollary to Edmund Burke’s famous statement, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Miscellaneous Musings

Ron Chernow’s Mark Twain arrived at my doorstep today. It is another massive biography, coming in at over a thousand pages of text. I’ll literally be reading that all summer. But if it is like his previous works, it should be a great ride.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. If anything, I have enjoyed The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry even more. And its main character is a somewhat cranky bookseller!

As an addendum to my thoughts on story keeping. I consider reviewing as a form of story keeping. I try to review a variety of diverse and important books and it is one of my ways to be a story keeper, making sure others know of these important stories.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Wesley Vander Lugt, ed. A Prophet in Darkness

Tuesday: Agatha Christie, Third Girl

Wednesday: Jeffrey W. Barbeau, The Last Romantic

Thursday: Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson, Abundance

Friday: Michael J. Gilmour, Reading the Margins

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for May 11-17, 2025!

Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page

Review: Jakob Hutter: His Life and Letters

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Cover image of "Jakob Hutter: his Life and Letters" edited by Emmy Barth Maendel and Jonathan Seiling

Jakob Hutter: His Life and Letters (Classics of the Radical Reformation, 14), edited by Emmy Barth Maendel and Jonathan Seiling. Plough Publishing (ISBN: 9781636080901) 2024.

Summary: Biography, letters by Hutter, chronicles of Hutterites, testimony, and Hutterite and government letters.

The Hutterites were a communal Anabaptist movement residing in the regions of Tyrol and Moravia in the late 1520’s and 1530. While heavily persecuted in Tyrol, they persisted in Moravia throughout the sixteenth century. They take their name from Jakob Hutter, who led the communities for six decisive years from about 1529 to 1535, until his arrest, torture, and execution. This was the fate of many Anabaptists in this period.

Emmy Barth Maendel and Jonathan Seiling have gathered and translated a collection of early writings pertaining to the early Hutterite movement, including eight of the letters of Jakob Hutter. This volume, part of the Classics of the Radical Reformation series represents the fruit of their scholarship. The editors introduce the work with the history of the Anabaptist movement in Tyrol and Moravia and a well-researched account of the life of Jakob Hutter and his wife Katherina They recount his acceptance of Anabaptist faith, his study of scripture, his leadership of communities in Tyrol, oversight of communities in Moravia and move there when Tyrol became too dangerous. And we learn of his and Katharina’s decision in 1535 to return to Tyrol, despite the danger. In the months of his freedom, many believed, until their arrest in Klausen. Authorities held them separately. Katharina escaped but later joined her husband in martyrdom.

The second part of the book consists of translations of eight of Jakob Hutter’s letters. The first three cover relations, and conflicts between communities, or individuals within them. The fourth addresses the governor of Moravia after he drove the community from Auspitz, where they had lived peaceably and flourished. It differs greatly from the affection and pastoral tone of his other letters. He speaks of their desperate situation, living out in the open. And he warns the governor that he will fall under the Lord’s judgment if he doesn’t aid the people.

Needless to say, this letter made him persona non grata in moravia, and contributed to his decision to return to Tyrol. The last four letters are written from Tyrol to Moravia, urging their faithfulness, and increasingly expressing his affection for them in the face of the closing noose as the authorities pursue him. Having soaked himself in the Bible, the letters include many biblical references and sound not unlike the Apostle Paul.

The remainder of the book collects a variety of primary source documents regarding Hutter and the nascent Hutterite movement. First are the ‘Chronicles,” the first narratives of Hutterite history. These are followed by “Witnesses,” government accounts of the interrogation, often with torture, of Hutterites, including efforts to gain information about Hutter and other community leaders. “Hutterian Epistles” represent letters mentioning Jakob Hutter. “Governmental Correspondence” includes official communications about the effort to put a stop to the Anabaptist movement. Included is a lengthy ketter of instructions for the interrogation of Hutter after his arrest. “Additional Documents” include a miscellany of early documents including eulogies for Hutter. Document 2 lists twelve ordinances that describes the standards ordering Hutter’s communities. Timelines, maps, notes and indices are also provided.

This was an instance in which reading a collection of historical resources was not a slog. Hutter’s pastoral care is impressive as is the courage of all who die rather than renounce Anabaptism. Equally striking are the accounts of the communal life of the Hutterites. They persist to this day, along with the Bruderhof communities, a related Anabaptist communal movement. I’ve not said much of Katharina, but she is also impressive, not the least because she escaped captivity and eluded recapture for a time. Most of all, Maendel and Seiling have done a great service to Anabaptist scholarship in collecting these sources.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.