Review: A Thing of Beauty

A Thing of Beauty

About the Book:

Former child star Fiona Hume deserted the movie biz a decade ago--right after she left rehab. She landed in Baltimore, bought a dilapidated old mansion downtown, and hatched dreams of restoring it into a masterpiece, complete with a studio for herself.She would disappear from public view and live an artist’s life.

That was the plan.

Ten years later,Fiona’s huge house is filled with junk purchased at thrift stores, haggled overat yard sales, or picked up from the side of the road. Each piece was destined for an art project . . . but all she’s got so far is a piece of twine with some antique buttons threaded down its length.

She’s thirty-two years old and still recognizable, but Fiona’s money has finally run out. She’s gotten pretty desperate, too, and in her desperation she’s willing to do almost anything for money. Almost. So it is that she comes to rent out the maid’s quarters to a local blacksmith named Josia Yeu.

Josia is everything Fiona isn’t: gregarious, peaceful, in control without controlling . . . in short,happy. As the light from the maid’s quarters begins to permeate the dank rooms of Fiona’s world, something else begins to transform as well—something inside Fiona. Something even she can see is beautiful.

My Comments:

Lisa Samson's books are on my "must read" list and this one doesn't change that.  The focus of the book is love; how having it and how not having it have had an effect on Fiona's life.   As noted above, Fiona was an actress; in fact she was the daughter of an actor and actress.  We learn early on that as a teen she was sexually abused and believes that her parents did nothing about it.  Her parents also mis-managed her money and as a result, she divorced them, quit acting and moved to Baltimore, which is where her paternal grandfather lived.  She planned to become an artist, but instead has turned into a hoarder.  While she collects things with the idea of turning them into art, the transformation never takes place; instead she has a large house that is overrun with her treasures to the point that she can't find what she needs.

When it gets to the point that what Fiona needs is money, she decides to rent out a room.  She sets up house rules that basically say that her tenant has use of the bedroom and bathroom and that's it and that there is to be almost no contact between them.  The tenant she ends up picking is Josia who loves her (not romantically) immediately.  He also loves her house and her treasures and shows how the treasures can improve the house.  While I liked Josia I found him to be the most unbelievable character in the book.  

The story contrasts the lack of love of Fiona's mother, the flawed love of her father, the patient and reserved (and somewhat strange) love of Jack and the almost perfect love of Josia.  Once Fiona realizes that people do really love her she is able to open her heart to accept that love, and to shake the dust from her feet when dealing with someone who doesn't love her, but should.  

I've said in other reviews that I love Samson's writing.  I have an advance review copy, and the final may be different but I just have to share this passage with you.  The paparazzi have found Fiona, Twitter is full of tweets about her and she is discussing this with a man who is important to her:

You know what?  People are always searching for truth and I'm wondering if that even matters anymore.  ... Social media...brought about these thoughts? Yes!  Nowadays people formulate truth; they don't find it.  I'm sure people have opinions about what happened to me even though none of them have heard about it from me.  And you know what is even sicker?  "They are so sure about it?"  Right, So I ask you.  If this is what happens with the situation of someone...as insignificant as I am, how can we possibly know...what goes on with what really matters....a lot of them know nothing first hand and think they know everything.  And they talk-talk-talk-talk and post their opinions all over the Internet and it's loud and ridiculous.  It's like were all on this ship of fools and nobody knows if the boat is even real. 

The book is published by Harper Collins Christian publishers and the themes of love and rebirth are certainly Christian.  I guess Josia is kind of a God figure--he loves unconditionally, not romantically and makes old things new again.  Nevertheless there is no mention of God, Christ, religion or church in the book and I see no reason that it should offend anyone's religious sensibilities or lack thereof.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  A- 

Joy to the Word: My Review

Joy to the World: How Christ's Coming Changed Everything (and Still Does)

About the Book:

What could be more familiar than the Christmas story -- and yet what could be more extraordinary? The cast of characters is strange and exotic: shepherds and magicians, an emperor and a despot, angels, and a baby who is Almighty God. The strangeness calls for an explanation, and this book provides it by examining the characters and the story in light of the biblical and historical context. Bestselling author Scott Hahn who has written extensively on Scripture and the early Church, brings evidence to light, dispelling some of the mystery of the story. Yet Christmas is made familiar all over again by showing it to be a family story. Christmas, as it appears in the New Testament, is the story of a father, a mother, and a child -- their relationships, their interactions, their principles, their individual lives, and their common life. To see the life of this "earthly trinity" is to gaze into heaven.

My Comments:

If you aren't familiar with Scott Hahn, he is a Scripture scholar.  Throughout this book about the very familiar Christmas story, Hahn points out how the story is similar to other stories in the Bible.  The Shepherds to whom the angels appeared Christmas night were not the only shepherds in the Bible, nor the only ones to whom angels appeared and Hahn tells us about many of them.  

One chapter is "Mary:  Cause of Our Joy" and in it Hahn discusses the scriptural and historical support for the Catholic beliefs of the virgin birth (shared by most Christians) and Mary's perpetual virginity (basically a Catholic belief).  In another chapter Hahn looks at the angels and in yet another, the town  of Bethlehem. The Magi get their chapter as well. Hahn ends the book with a look at the Trinity and how it is imaged in the Holy Family, and in our families.  Hahn's thesis is that God became like us (human) so we could be like Him.  

I enjoyed the book and found it to be an engaging read with many facts of which I was unaware.  While the endnotes are extensive, the text itself is approachable and readable.  If you are looking for a good book to end your Christmas season this year I recommend this one--or put it on your list for next year's Advent reading.  Grade B+.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via the Mega Advent Giveaway and was not obligated to write any review.  

Day by Day for the Holy Souls in Purgatory: 365 Reflections

Day by Day for the Holy Souls in Purgatory: 365 Reflections

About the Book:

"If we, by our prayers and sacrifices, freed a soul from purgatory, we would then have another intercessor for us in heaven." - Venerable Solanus Casey

Every day we have another opportunity to pray for the holy souls in purgatory - author, speaker, and purgatory expert Susan Tassone gives you a unique tool to do just that.

Day by Day for the Holy Souls includes prayers, teachings about purgatory, real-life stories, Susan's own wisdom, meditations, quotes from the saints, and more. You can use this book however you like - as a daily devotional, as a year round novena, to follow the liturgical seasons - or, just pick it up and read as the Spirit leads you.

God has given us the duty, power and privilege of praying for the release of the holy souls. Now Susan Tassone has given you a powerful way to accomplish that mission.

My Comments:

One area of belief that separates Catholics from other Christians is our belief in Purgatory--a place or state which most people enter after death to cleanse them and prepare them for heaven.  Those in Purgatory are saved, they will eventually get to heaven, but they died with sins and/or attachment to sins that make them imperfect and not ready to be in the presence of God.  Purgatory is the reason that Catholics pray for the dead.  We believe in the Communion of Saints, which means that we believe the Church--God's people--is made of three groups:  The Church Triumphant  is the Saints in heaven, both those canonized (formally named) and those who aren't (most of us).  They can pray to God for our intentions and they don't need our prayers.  The Church Militant is those of us here on earth.  We can pray for others and the prayers of others can help us.  The Church Penitent is those in Purgatory.  They can benefit from our prayers, but can't pray for others--until they get to heaven.  

Day by Day for the Holy Souls in Purgatory: 365 Reflections is a prayer book rather than one that sets out to teach; yet by its format it does teach about Purgatory and what we can do to help those there.  There is a short reading and reflection for each day and those readings generally concern Purgatory or the Poor Souls.  The author quotes saints and theologians and each day's page begins with a short scripture quote.

I'd like to thank Our Sunday Visitor Press for providing a complimentary copy via the Mega Advent Giveaway.  No review was required. Grade:  B

Book Review: He Leadeth Me

He Leadeth Me

About the Book:

Captured by a Russian army during World War II and convicted of being a "Vatican spy," Jesuit Father Walter J. Ciszek spent 23 agonizing years in Soviet prisons and the labor camps of Siberia. Only through an utter reliance on God's will did he manage to endure the extreme hardship. He tells of the courage he found in prayer--a courage that eased the loneliness, the pain, the frustration, the anguish, the fears, the despair. For, as Ciszek relates, the solace of spiritual contemplation gave him an inner serenity upon which he was able to draw admidst the "arrogance of evil" that surrounded him. Ciszek learns to accept the inhuman work in the infamous Siberian salt mines as a labor pleasing to God. And through that experience, he was able to turn the adverse forces of circumstance into a source of positive value and a means of drawing closer to the compassionate and never-forsaking Divine Spirit.

He Leadeth Me is a book to inspire all Christians to greater faith and trust in God--even in their darkest hour. As the author asks, "What can ultimately trouble the soul that accepts every moment of every day as a gift from the hands of God and strives always to do his will?"

My Comments:

This book is more of a spiritual journal, written after-the-fact, than an autobiography.  While Fr. Ciszek includes some details of his daily life as a prisoner of the Soviets, he mostly writes about his spiritual life during that time.  He talks about learning to depend on God and God alone, about his love for the Eucharist, about serving the other prisoners by administering the sacraments and counselling them.  

While at times the book seemed repetitive, it was an easy read, though one that had a lot of food for thought if you want to use it as spiritual reading.  Today in the US it is so easy to take the freedom to practice our faith for granted; Fr. Ciszek tells his story and the story of people for whom practicing the faith could and often did lead to hardship.

I'd like to thank the Blogging for Books program for providing a complimentary review copy.  Grade:  B+.