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Photo by Mary Fran
Category Archives: literature classics
A good pastor
A.J. Cronin’s book Keys of the Kingdom. Written in 1941, it tells the story of Father Francis Chisholm, a Scottish Catholic who turns poverty and tragedy into a life of beauty in the service of the poor and of the … Continue reading
Posted in literature classics, reading, religion
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Henry David Thoreau “Life with Principle”
The chief want, in every State that I have been into, was a high and earnest purpose in its inhabitants….. When we want culture more than potatoes, and illumination more than sugar-plums, the the great resources of a world are … Continue reading
M*A*S*H the original novel
Just finished reading the original novel M*A*S*H by Richard Hooker (a pen name for Richard Hornberger, writing with W.C. Heinz). The original film kept close to the mood and attitude of the author. He watched it often. The TV series, … Continue reading
Begone!
1:00 am. Just finished reading Gone with the Wind. It was impossible to put down. Although I knew the story from the film, I found myself day after day reading from early morning until late at night. Why? It’s so … Continue reading
Posted in literature classics, reading, social issues
Tagged Civil War, Gone with the Wind, Old South, Scarlett
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Paulo Coelho: The Alchemist
Upon recommendation I read The Alchemist by best-selling Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. A fable/parable novel, it has some great insights into why we don’t pursue our dreams. What bugs me about the book is its New Age-y themes. Although Christ appears … Continue reading
Beauty and the Tyrant
Why bother with Arenas? A comment follows this quotation. Quoting Reinaldo Arenas, Before Night Falls (1993): “At the [Cuban] National Library in 1969 Lezama [Lima] gave a reading of perhaps one of the most extraordinary essays of Cuban literature under … Continue reading
In Spirit and Truth
I always get into what I’m reading. I’ve been wanting some biography, and happened on Before Night Falls through a book list. It’s a memoir of Reinaldo Arenas, Cuban poet, freedom fighter and gay activist. Not the kind of book you’d … Continue reading
Les Mis finished!
Left: Victor Hugo I just finished Les Miserables, 1260 pages in the Modern Library translation by Charles Wilbour. If anyone has read the new translation published by the Vintage Classics, please comment. I’d like to compare translations, because I’ve read … Continue reading
Posted in literature classics, reading, social issues, Spiritual classics
Tagged Les Miserables, reading, self image
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The Moth and the Flame, a parable
The following is from Les Miserables (Project Gutenburg) St. Denis, Bk 7, “Slang.” Hugo defends recording slang, which he calls the language of misery. Then, as is typical, after several pages I forced myself to read, I found this: Thoughtful … Continue reading
Posted in literature classics, reading, social issues, Spiritual classics
Tagged Les Miserables, reading
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Lent is for “lencten”—lengthen what?
As, from outside, I endure the extreme misery of my friends, sometimes it gets too much. This week it did. I turned to Victor Hugo’s mythic novel Les Miserables, which I’ve never read, I don’t know, maybe as a way … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, literature classics, religion, social issues
Tagged Isaiah, Lent, Les Miserables, Revelation
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