The Emmaus Readers: Listening for God in Contemporary Fiction ed. by Susan M. Felch and Gary D. Schmidt (review)
In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: 358 CHRISTIANITY AND LITERATURE social reform and a compassion for those normally kept on the other side of sacred thresholds. He understands that the Rev. Emmett in Tyler's Saint Maybe is not a meddler in the grief-filled life of...
Saved in:
Published in | Christianity & literature Vol. 60; no. 2; pp. 358 - 361 |
---|---|
Main Author | |
Format | Journal Article Book Review |
Language | English |
Published |
Malibu
Johns Hopkins University Press
2011
|
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Abstract | In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: 358 CHRISTIANITY AND LITERATURE social reform and a compassion for those normally kept on the other side of sacred thresholds. He understands that the Rev. Emmett in Tyler's Saint Maybe is not a meddler in the grief-filled life of Ian Bedloe but a pastor who bluntly calls the sinful to holiness by way of accountability and reparation. He appreciates that the Rev. Margaret Bonner in Godwin's Evensong is not to be taken for granted, for she is that rarity in southern fiction, a female priest facing the everyday struggles and graces of her vocation. If Ramsey reads southern fiction to gain insights into the ministry, he also writes out of his own ministry to provide insights into southern fiction. Gary M. Ciuba Kent State University The Emmaus Readers: Listening for God in Contemporary Fiction. Edited by Susan M. Felch and Gary D. Schmidt. Brewster, Mass: Paraclete Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-55725-543-3. Pp xii + 206. $17.95. As the description on the back cover of The Emmaus Readers declares, this is a volume "Designed for reading groups, book clubs, librarians and any individual reader who simply loves novels that explore spiritual issues relevant to daily life:' This is not an academic study, although it is produced by a group of academics. Whether or not this book will be of interest to readers of Christianity and Literature will depend on how many among the journal's readership also fall into these other categories. My guess is that many will, and most of these will find this volume a helpful resource for its intended purpose. As the following review will make clear, the single limitation with this volume is that its authors have distanced their academic theorizing from this project. In doing so, they missed an opportunity to reflect on their own reading practices and to forward a conversation about how one reads wellfrom a Christian perspective, and about the methods and theoretical assumptions that make a life-giving reading possible. The Emmaus Readers is a collection of readers' guides to twelve books. Each of the twelve entries contains a synopsis of the novel, author's biography, and review of the issues raised in the novel, study questions for each individual book, and an integrative set of questions for each section as well as a list for further reading for each of the twelvenovels. The collection itself is organized in four thematic clusters, and around a line extracted from Horatio Spafford'sVictorian era hymn "It Is Well with my Soul:' The trajectory of thought in this collection of essays moves from a meditation on God's silence in suffering to the triumphant pronouncement that all is indeed "well with my soul:' The first selection of four novels explores the moments when "sorrows like sea billows roll:' The essays on Ron Hanson's Mariette in Ecstasy, PD. James' The Children ofMen, and Maria Dora Russell'scompanion novels The Sparrow and The BOOK REVIEWS 359 Children of God draw readers' attention to the subtle exploration of the theme of sorrows and the ensuing doubts about God's omnipotence and goodness in worlds where sorrows are abundant. The second set of novels explores the limited vision that yearns for fulfillment of the biblical promise that we shall see "not in part but the whole:' Essays on David Gutersons Snow Falling on Cedars, Nicole Mazzarella's This Heavy Silence, and Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner's graphic novel The Road to Perdition investigate this theme ofpartial vision as it is employed as both a narrative technique (for example, the first quarter ofSnow Falling on Cedars is a mystery story) and as a more subtle theme in the interactions among the characters. In the third cluster of novels, limited vision is explored from another angle. The section titled "Thou has taught me to say" probes issues of subjectivity, and the relativity of truth through discussions of Leif Engers' Peace Like a River, Yann Martel's TheLife ofPi, and Ian McEwan's Atonement. The essays foreground questions posed by the novels themselves: which of Pi's stories is believable and why? What does one make of the "bleakest realism" related in... |
---|---|
AbstractList | In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: 358 CHRISTIANITY AND LITERATURE social reform and a compassion for those normally kept on the other side of sacred thresholds. He understands that the Rev. Emmett in Tyler's Saint Maybe is not a meddler in the grief-filled life of Ian Bedloe but a pastor who bluntly calls the sinful to holiness by way of accountability and reparation. He appreciates that the Rev. Margaret Bonner in Godwin's Evensong is not to be taken for granted, for she is that rarity in southern fiction, a female priest facing the everyday struggles and graces of her vocation. If Ramsey reads southern fiction to gain insights into the ministry, he also writes out of his own ministry to provide insights into southern fiction. Gary M. Ciuba Kent State University The Emmaus Readers: Listening for God in Contemporary Fiction. Edited by Susan M. Felch and Gary D. Schmidt. Brewster, Mass: Paraclete Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-55725-543-3. Pp xii + 206. $17.95. As the description on the back cover of The Emmaus Readers declares, this is a volume "Designed for reading groups, book clubs, librarians and any individual reader who simply loves novels that explore spiritual issues relevant to daily life:' This is not an academic study, although it is produced by a group of academics. Whether or not this book will be of interest to readers of Christianity and Literature will depend on how many among the journal's readership also fall into these other categories. My guess is that many will, and most of these will find this volume a helpful resource for its intended purpose. As the following review will make clear, the single limitation with this volume is that its authors have distanced their academic theorizing from this project. In doing so, they missed an opportunity to reflect on their own reading practices and to forward a conversation about how one reads wellfrom a Christian perspective, and about the methods and theoretical assumptions that make a life-giving reading possible. The Emmaus Readers is a collection of readers' guides to twelve books. Each of the twelve entries contains a synopsis of the novel, author's biography, and review of the issues raised in the novel, study questions for each individual book, and an integrative set of questions for each section as well as a list for further reading for each of the twelvenovels. The collection itself is organized in four thematic clusters, and around a line extracted from Horatio Spafford'sVictorian era hymn "It Is Well with my Soul:' The trajectory of thought in this collection of essays moves from a meditation on God's silence in suffering to the triumphant pronouncement that all is indeed "well with my soul:' The first selection of four novels explores the moments when "sorrows like sea billows roll:' The essays on Ron Hanson's Mariette in Ecstasy, PD. James' The Children ofMen, and Maria Dora Russell'scompanion novels The Sparrow and The BOOK REVIEWS 359 Children of God draw readers' attention to the subtle exploration of the theme of sorrows and the ensuing doubts about God's omnipotence and goodness in worlds where sorrows are abundant. The second set of novels explores the limited vision that yearns for fulfillment of the biblical promise that we shall see "not in part but the whole:' Essays on David Gutersons Snow Falling on Cedars, Nicole Mazzarella's This Heavy Silence, and Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner's graphic novel The Road to Perdition investigate this theme ofpartial vision as it is employed as both a narrative technique (for example, the first quarter ofSnow Falling on Cedars is a mystery story) and as a more subtle theme in the interactions among the characters. In the third cluster of novels, limited vision is explored from another angle. The section titled "Thou has taught me to say" probes issues of subjectivity, and the relativity of truth through discussions of Leif Engers' Peace Like a River, Yann Martel's TheLife ofPi, and Ian McEwan's Atonement. The essays foreground questions posed by the novels themselves: which of Pi's stories is believable and why? What does one make of the "bleakest realism" related in... |
Author | Zinck, Arlette |
Author_xml | – sequence: 1 givenname: Arlette surname: Zinck fullname: Zinck, Arlette |
BookMark | eNpFkE1Lw0AURQdRsK3-hwdudJEyX5kk7qS2VagItvsyybyxKc1MnEmU_ntTFF3dzeFe7hmTc-cdnpERp6lKUqXUORlRJvNECMEuyTjGPaVMMFaMSLvZIcybRvcR3lAbDPEeVnXs0NXuHawPsPQGagcz7zpsWh90OMKirrraO0AzhfII6z5qBy9TWOCh2oF2BpYn7HEK62rX1KaD24CfNX7dXZELqw8Rr39zQjaL-Wb2lKxel8-zh1XSZiJNSiuskiwzusiUzvLKppLmJc9NQbXSmulCWGGoLSoulebK0oxyijYtczvcEBNy81PbBv_RY-y2e98HNyxuuZQZo1KodKDkH7XHqmv6iP9gJopB0nZ98njSyBinlHMuvgFUtWbH |
ContentType | Journal Article Book Review |
Copyright | Copyright © The Conference on Christianity and Literature Copyright Johns Hopkins University Press Winter 2011 |
Copyright_xml | – notice: Copyright © The Conference on Christianity and Literature – notice: Copyright Johns Hopkins University Press Winter 2011 |
DBID | 7XB AFKRA AIMQZ AZQEC BENPR CCPQU CLO DWQXO GNUQQ GUQSH LIQON M2N M2O MBDVC PAF PPXUT PQEST PQLNA PQQKQ PQUKI PRINS PROLI Q9U |
DatabaseName | ProQuest Central (purchase pre-March 2016) ProQuest Central ProQuest One Literature ProQuest Central Essentials ProQuest Central ProQuest One Community College Literature Online Core (LION Core) (legacy) ProQuest Central Korea ProQuest Central Student Research Library Prep ProQuest One Literature Religion Database Research Library Research Library (Corporate) ProQuest Learning: Literature Literature Online Premium (LION Premium) (legacy) ProQuest One Academic Eastern Edition (DO NOT USE) Literature Online (LION) – US ProQuest One Academic ProQuest One Academic UKI Edition ProQuest Central China Literature Online ProQuest Central Basic |
DatabaseTitle | ProQuest Religion Literature Online Core (LION Core) ProQuest One Literature - U.S. Customers Only Research Library Prep ProQuest Central Student Literature Online Premium (LION Premium) ProQuest Central Basic ProQuest One Literature ProQuest Central Essentials ProQuest One Academic Eastern Edition ProQuest One Community College ProQuest Learning: Literature ProQuest Central China ProQuest Central ProQuest One Academic UKI Edition ProQuest Central Korea ProQuest Research Library Literature Online Premium - US Customers Only ProQuest One Academic |
DatabaseTitleList | ProQuest Religion |
Database_xml | – sequence: 1 dbid: BENPR name: ProQuest Central url: https://www.proquest.com/central sourceTypes: Aggregation Database |
DeliveryMethod | fulltext_linktorsrc |
Discipline | Religion Languages & Literatures |
EISSN | 2056-5666 |
EndPage | 361 |
ExternalDocumentID | 739311_S2056566611200222 |
Genre | Review |
GroupedDBID | -ET -TM .4H 29B 2AX 3LD 3PF 3V. 5GY 8R4 8R5 9M8 AAJPV AAMGE AAVNP ABAWP ABBHK ABCCA ABDBF ABDLL ABEIX ABJNI ABONS ABXSQ ACDXX ACGFS ACHDO ACTQU ACUIR ACYXD ACZ ADACV ADULT ADWTG AEHFS AEOBU AERNI AEUHG AEUIJ AEUPB AEWDL AFEET AFFNX AFKRA AHJEN AIMQZ ALMA_UNASSIGNED_HOLDINGS AMBIC ANBFE ARTOV AUTPY AZFZN AZQEC AZXEI B0M BDZRT BENPR BEVBV BGHKT BMVBW BPHCQ CCPQU CLO DWQXO EAD EAP EAS EAT EBS EHI EJD EMK EPL ERP ESX EXF F20 FOMLG G8K GNUQQ GROUPED_SAGE_PREMIER_JOURNAL_COLLECTION GUQSH HEAUX HMHOC HQDSM H~9 IAO IEA ILR IOF IRE ITC J8X JAAYA JBMMH JCYGO JENOY JHFFW JKQEH JLEZI JLXEF JPL JSODD JST LCRDH LIQON M2N M2O MAH MBR MLAFT MSI MUP MUS O9- PAF PLION PQLOP PQQKQ PROAC PROLI Q1R Q2X QF4 QN3 QN7 RAT RLCXB ROL RWL RXW SA0 SCNPE SFC SSDHQ TAE UKR UPT UQL WU5 X6Y YCJ YCV YSQ YZZ ~8M 7XB AELHJ H13 IPSME MBDVC PPXUT PQEST PQUKI PRINS Q9U |
ID | FETCH-LOGICAL-p735-bf3f6417da976a78cf5408b28d90a6aa1a93f3d0f9c246a26f07020ef5b8fead3 |
IEDL.DBID | BENPR |
ISSN | 0148-3331 |
IngestDate | Tue Nov 19 05:01:51 EST 2024 Thu Jul 04 04:51:37 EDT 2024 |
IsPeerReviewed | true |
IsScholarly | true |
Issue | 2 |
Language | English |
LinkModel | DirectLink |
MergedId | FETCHMERGED-LOGICAL-p735-bf3f6417da976a78cf5408b28d90a6aa1a93f3d0f9c246a26f07020ef5b8fead3 |
PQID | 2447104365 |
PQPubID | 32522 |
PageCount | 4 |
ParticipantIDs | proquest_journals_2447104365 projectmuse_journals_739311_S2056566611200222 |
PublicationCentury | 2000 |
PublicationDate | 2011 20110101 |
PublicationDateYYYYMMDD | 2011-01-01 |
PublicationDate_xml | – year: 2011 text: 2011 |
PublicationDecade | 2010 |
PublicationPlace | Malibu |
PublicationPlace_xml | – name: Malibu |
PublicationTitle | Christianity & literature |
PublicationYear | 2011 |
Publisher | Johns Hopkins University Press |
Publisher_xml | – name: Johns Hopkins University Press |
RelatedPersons | Schmidt, Gary D |
RelatedPersons_xml | – fullname: Schmidt, Gary D |
SSID | ssj0013119 |
Score | 1.2313097 |
Snippet | In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content: 358 CHRISTIANITY AND LITERATURE social reform and a compassion for those normally kept on the... |
SourceID | proquest projectmuse |
SourceType | Aggregation Database Publisher |
StartPage | 358 |
SubjectTerms | Children Christianity Compassion Conversation Fiction Graphic novels Literary characters Literature Narrative techniques Narrative theme Questions Readers Readership Reading Schmidt, Gary D Silence Spirituality Subjectivity Theme |
Title | The Emmaus Readers: Listening for God in Contemporary Fiction ed. by Susan M. Felch and Gary D. Schmidt (review) |
URI | https://muse.jhu.edu/article/739311 https://www.proquest.com/docview/2447104365 |
Volume | 60 |
hasFullText | 1 |
inHoldings | 1 |
isFullTextHit | |
isPrint | |
link | http://utb.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwfV1LSwMxEA5aQfTk-1VlDiJ6SN0ku2nWi6C2FVERH-BN8qQFu61uPfjvTdKtLQjC3nYWlgyZ-fLlmxmEDnmmKNVE45xLhVMuCZZOKWx1KhRxWe6_CmqLe379kt68Zq8V4VZWsspJTIyB2gx04MhPfRryyTBlPDsffuAwNSrcrlYjNObRAiVMiBpauGjdPzxO7xFIHO0RaTMWJ8nNMhx_4m9MKu0VtBwKDWDMzq-iOVusoa3bij8s4Qhuf1sel2tocSIeXkdD71to9fvyq4THsRT5zBt7fwWSAzwMhc7AQK-A2d5T0O7FGgawpgHqG6IeB-4a0LbvuguyMNAJZlcNeNLdfs-M4Hhc2HKygZ7brefLa1xNTsDDJsuwcszxlDSN9GBDNoV2HpcJRYXJE8mlJDJnjpnE5Zp691Du_ManiXWZEs7_NttEtWJQ2G0EeWJMONNp4VjKhfXoghBpjVOONlUidxCeWdC3agOUb6HRnj9aPNEkIkbuYV2su91B9cmST42nvt39__UeWhpzuuGpo9ro88vue1AwUgeV538ALp63-g |
link.rule.ids | 313,314,780,784,792,4024,21388,33744,43805,74302 |
linkProvider | ProQuest |
linkToHtml | http://utb.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwfV1LSwMxEB60go-T71fVOYjoIXWf6a4XQW2tWotoBW8lTyzYbXXbg__eJN3agiDklllYMsnMly_zADimMQ8C4QuSUsZJRJlPmOacKBEl3Ndxar6y0RYt2niN7t_it4Jwy4uwyolNdIZa9oXlyM-NGzLOMAppfDn4JLZrlH1dLVpozMOCrZwel2DhqtZ6ep6-I_iutYejzULXSW6W4fhjf51Tqa_Cik00wDE7vwZzKluH7WbBH-Z4gs3fksf5OixOgoc3YGB0i7Vej41yfB6HIl8YYaMvS3KggaF425fYzXC29hTWuy6HAZWsIP9GF4-DjxWsqw_xjiyTeGvFbir4It57XTnE03Fiy9kmtOu19nWDFJ0TyKAaxoTrUNPIr0pmwAarJkIbXJbwIJGpxyhjPktDHUpPpyIw6gmoNgc_8JSOeaLNb4dbUMr6mdoBTD0p7Z1OJDqMaKIMuvB9pqTmOqhyj-0CmVnQTnEA8o4ttGeuFi-B5xAjNbDO5d3uQnmy5FPhqW73_p8-gqVG-7HZad61HvZheczv2lGG0vBrpA4MQBjyw2IX_ADqgrri |
linkToPdf | http://utb.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwfV1La9tAEB4aG0J6apM0j7rtHEpJD-tIK2kt9VJoYyVNHRPygNzMPrGhlp3KOfTfd3Ytx4ZCQTetQOzsznz77TczAB9FpjjXsWaFkIqlQsZMOqWY1WmuYpcV9JVXWwzFxX16-ZA9NPqnupFVrnxicNRmpj1HfkphiIJhmojs1DWyiOuz8uv8kfkOUv6mtWmnsQVtiooRb0H7W394fbO-U4hDm49AoSWhq9wm2_GPLw4BpnwFL33SAS6Z-tfwwla7cDBouMQaP-HgufxxvQvbKyHxHszJztifTuVTjTdLWfIXGky284QHEiTF85nBSYWbdaiwnIR8BrSmi-oPBm0OXnWxtL_0GGVl8NwPO-virR5PJ2aBJ8skl8_7cFf2775fsKaLApv3kowplziRxj0jCXjIXq4dYbRc8dwUkRRSxrJIXGIiV2hOpuLCkRPgkXWZyh39dvIGWtWssoeARWSMP9_p3CWpyC0hjTiW1jjleE9F8gjYxoSOms1Qj3zRPTpm3PIooEdBEC_k4B5BZzXl68FrOx____UH2KYFMBr8GP58CztLqtc_HWgtfj_Zd4QVFup9swj-AmWKvw8 |
openUrl | ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=The+Emmaus+Readers%3A+Listening+for+God+in+Contemporary+Fiction+ed.+by+Susan+M.+Felch+and+Gary+D.+Schmidt+%28review%29&rft.jtitle=Christianity+%26+literature&rft.au=Zinck%2C+Arlette&rft.date=2011-01-01&rft.pub=Johns+Hopkins+University+Press&rft.issn=0148-3331&rft.eissn=2056-5666&rft.volume=60&rft.issue=2&rft.spage=358&rft.externalDBID=HAS_PDF_LINK |
thumbnail_l | http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/lc.gif&issn=0148-3331&client=summon |
thumbnail_m | http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/mc.gif&issn=0148-3331&client=summon |
thumbnail_s | http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/sc.gif&issn=0148-3331&client=summon |