The Glory of God's Mystery

“You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.” ~C. S. Lewis

The mystery of God’s Glory is the mystery of existence itself. After seven weeks of praying the Glorious Mysteries, I’m no closer to ‘solving’ the mystery than I was when I started—nor did I expect to be. “Si comprehendis, non est Deus”—”if you understand him, he is not God.” As Pope Benedict XVI quotes St. Augustine in the Encyclical Deus caritas est.

So as far as understanding goes, well, I ... went back to my original post. What did I ask? “How do we as poor weak humans share in His Glory?”

I also wrote that, “I want to believe in the Glory and the Power.”

However, that is not to say I haven't learned anything from my prayer. This is what each mystery in the Glorious Mysteries taught me:

• The Resurrection: ‘Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified.”’ ~Matthew 28:5 Yes! I am seeking Him. That was the whole point of the post. That was why I wrote it, why I want to understand in the first place. And that is a good thing. But truly, isn’t that really Our Lord seeking me out? Don’t all our good urges and actions really originate from the Source of All Good? Those words are for me, for you, for all of us. The angel is telling us not to be afraid; we are looking for Him, who is looking for us. All is well.

• The Ascension: ‘Two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”’ ~Acts 1:10-11 This time it’s two angels—even though they are called ‘men in white garments, we know they are angels—and they are speaking to the Apostles. But again we are reassured through a message delivered almost two thousand years ago. He will return. He IS coming back. For all believing and practicing Christians this is very Good News. I can be very, very happy. Everything He said is true. I must not despair. It is up to me to keep believing, praying and following the messages He gave. Nothing I do for Him is in vain. Although I may not understand why the long delay, I can trust Him to return.

• The Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost: ‘Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “ . . . God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses. Exalted at the right hand of God, he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth, as you (both) see and hear.”’ Acts 2:14, 33-34 God’s Holy Spirit is alive everywhere in His Creation, especially in those made in His Image and likeness. It is poured into souls washed clean by the waters of Baptism and sealed in the Sacrament of Confirmation. But it is up to me—to us—to bring forth the Spirit.

• The Assumption: ‘And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart … He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.’ ~Luke 2:19, 51 Luke makes a point to mention not once but twice in his Gospel about Mary keeping, holding and reflecting – in her heart – things which happened with and to the young Jesus. This more than anything else convinces me that he must have talked to Mary herself at some time. It is something a mother would say. It also sounds like an older woman at the end of a long life, who has had many years to meditate and pray on Her Son’s life. Mary, I can learn much from your quiet example. I, too, can study His Life, keeping, holding and reflecting on it in my heart. You lived the poorest, humblest and simplest of lives and left this earth without a trace Mary. No one has ever claimed to have found a single relic belonging to you. But you have left the richest legacy of holy wisdom in your few words in Scripture: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” “My Soul doth Magnify the Lord; My Spirit Rejoices in God My Savior!” and “Do Whatever He tells you!” If only I can remember to speak as sweetly! Help me dear Mother!

• The Crowning of Mary: ‘A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.’ ~Revelation 12:1

Finally, at the end of my search, I am back at the beginning, to keep on searching after Him, who I love with my whole heart—but don’t begin to understand. So I sing:

“Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the peoples his deeds!
Sing praise, play music; proclaim all his wondrous deeds!
Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
Rely on the mighty LORD; constantly seek his face.” ~Psalm 105:1-4

Constantly seek His Face!

The Mystery of Glory

I used to struggle with sorrow. In my youthful naiveté, it seemed the world just should be happy—or joyful. That it wasn’t I knew, but nevertheless I clung to the belief that it should not be as it was, i.e., often a sad place.

But at some point in time—or at some level—I came to embrace the Season of Lent in a way I enter into no other liturgical season of the year. Though it is a time of penance, prayer and fasting—things not usually associated with happiness and joy—I look forward to these weeks every year as the best, so much so that I often experience a letdown at Easter. Instead of rejoicing with the rest of the Church triumphant for six weeks after Lent, I spend six weeks reminiscing over the loss of the closeness I felt to Jesus when I was carrying a cross of sacrifice.

My question now is how do we as poor weak humans share in His Glory? This Easter Season, I am resolved—with the help of the Holy Spirit—to pray the Glorious Mysteries every day and meditate on these mysteries: The Resurrection; The Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven; The Descent of the Holy Spirit; The Assumption of Mary and The Coronation of Mary. If I am graced with understanding on even one of these great mysteries I will count myself blessed indeed, for truly when I contemplate them, they amaze, overwhelm, awe and confound my feeble human capabilities—which is probably as it should be.

Nevertheless, if it be God’s Will, I desire this Easter Season to be as spiritually fruitful as has been the Lent which has just past.

We should be joyful.

There is much sorrow.

I want to believe in the Glory and the Power forever ... so I do. But I know I don’t begin to understand it ... or Him. Glory mystifies me.

Oh Lord I believe. Help my unbelief. ~Mark 9:24

“Can you drink the cup?”

‘Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” He replied, “My cup you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, (this) is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” Matthew 20:20-23

I just returned from retreat—my first ever work-related retreat. Our retreat master, a nurse by profession—who for the past thirteen years has been working for our archdiocese in a service capacity—is one of those dynamic people who radiates enthusiasm and joy. She chose the above Scripture passage for our theme.

Using the analogy of ‘the cup’ as representing our own life, or God’s Will for us, we were invited to examine holding, lifting and finally drinking the cup. In the first step, we had the opportunity to see how we accept and embrace the lives we are given—in all their idiosyncrasies, mystery, pain, wonder and totality. We were entertained by many stories, some happy, others bittersweet which served to remind that God fills our cups with many varied things.

The second step, lifting or tipping the cup, was the act of community. Last night we even had a little ceremony where we held, clinked and drank from matching stoneware chalices in a symbolic opportunity which showed us visually our connectedness to each other. The beauty and vitality in this transitional movement is that to reach the point of being able to ‘drink from the cup’ we must first recognize the other. Your cup is different than mine. It may look the same on the outside—or not—but it certainly contains different things on the inside. When our cups touch, I acknowledge you and you do the same for me. Such a simple, old-fashioned notion, but oh so desperately needed in the world today.

And finally, I drink of my cup. It is in this action I am joining Christ and accepting the Father’s Will in humble, trustful surrender. Some days it is easy to drink from my cup; other days it is not. But it remains mine and mine alone to drink to the very bottom.

I’ve been trying to take a retreat ever since I started this job. I’ve needed something like this for ages. So often I say, ‘I’m too busy right now. I can’t get away. I’ve got all this work to do.’

And it’s true ... I do have all this work to do. And even more things here at home that I need and want to do. That’s my cup: full-time job which is also a ministry; good marriage I want to keep strong; a busy family life and extended family close and spread all over the country; friends in town and out; a home to care for; and many activities I like to do.

It is a very full cup, but probably no more full than most other people today. Very gingerly I lift my cup to you. Tell me about your cup. Then we can tip our cups together and drink of Our Father's Will.

Am I Good?

Am I? Is anyone? Are you?

And what is “good” anyway?

In Mark 10:18 and Luke 18:19 Jesus answers the greeting of, ‘Good teacher’ with, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” In Mark’s account it is the Rich Young Man who calls Jesus ‘good’; in Luke’s, it is ‘an official’ who also goes unnamed. However, in both accounts, Jesus is very clear, only God is good.

Yesterday’s Gospel reading was a favorite—the sweet story of the Good Shepherd who risks His whole flock to go in search of that one lost lamb. Who doesn’t see him or herself in that story from time to time?

And yet, we are called to be those righteous sheep who do not stray, those who remain faithful to Our Lord, perhaps rubbing or bumping up against him as a herd of sheep are wont to do.

So I ask myself that question again, ‘Am I good?’

Am I one of the ninety-nine or am I the troublesome lamb which Our Lord has to keep going after?

Today was First Friday. I went to Mass and Confession, said my rosary, and prayed for the souls in Purgatory. I wish I could say I do this all the time. I wish I was always good and never had anything to confess. Rather, I imagine my poor confessor thinking, “Oh no her again! Same old tired sins. Can’t she at least think up some new ones?! But no, I am putting my own uncharitable thoughts in his mind. For all I know, he could be praying for me as I should and will pray for him.

So, no I am not good when left to my own devices.

But yes, I am good because He made me that way.

No, I’m not good when I refuse to cooperate with His plan.

And yet I can be good when I say, “Yes!” to Him.

No, I’m not good when I think I act on my own.

Yes, I’m good when I allow His Holy Spirit to work through me.

Am I good?

Yes and No, depending on my choices.

Please dear Lord, help me choose, “YES!”

Genius of medieval church builders rediscovered with a crucifix that is only illuminated twice a year | World Of Mysteries

Genius of medieval church builders rediscovered with a crucifix that is only illuminated twice a year | World Of Mysteries

Check out my books on Goodreads!

ECCLESIA DE EUCHARISTIA

Where we read something is an important consideration in our receptivity to its message. This encyclical, ECCLESIA DE EUCHARISTIA or On the Eucharist in Its Relationship to the Church -- due to its subject -- needs to be read during Adoration.

It is a beautiful witness to all matters pertaining to Corpus Christi, the Body of Christ, and is best understood in the shadow of Him whom it is about. On the Eucharist can be read quickly, is best read slowly, should be read savouringly and hopefully by all communicating Catholic Christians. The late great Pope John Paul II wrote this as a letter of gratitude to Our Lord for the occasion of the 25th year of his Pontificate. He called the sacrament, "Gift and Mystery".

The Church draws her nourishment from Jesus through the Eucharist and wherever it is celebrated, heaven and earth are united. JPII urges all Christians to be distinguished above all by the "Art of Prayer" and one of the most perfect forms of prayer is silent adoration of Him who made all, gave all and continues to do so. The ultimate goal of every human being is union with God which is made possible through receiving this sacrament above all others.

A very accessible read, written for the average person. In a word, beautiful!

Check out my books on Goodreads!

Double Helix--double bind

Double Helix by Nancy Werlin is young adult mystery which my daughter handed me recently. The main character, Eli Samuels, a recent high school graduate, is at a crossroads in his life in more ways than one. His mother is completely debilitated and dying of Huntington's disease. He can't afford college but his father vehemently opposes a lucrative job offer with prestigious Wyatt Transgenics by its founder, a legendary molecular biologist. And yet Eli's father won't give a reason as to why he shouldn't take the job. Well, of course, Eli takes it and thus we have our mystery.

But if Double Helix were only a good mystery, you wouldn't be reading about it here. Woven throughout the tightly constructed plot, however, are perceptive questions about life, death, souls, suffering and the modern responses of technology, such as genetic manipulation (transgenics), cloning, and artificial methods of reproduction. As these are questions we're all going to be facing in the years to come, I highly recommend this book despite the implied acceptability of premarital sex by the main character, Eli Samuels, with his long-time girlfriend. Therefore I do advise parental discretion in recommending this book to young people. However, mature young people and most adults should find this book very enlightening in terms of examining and discussing ethics in the field of transgenic biology.

Double Helix is the kind of book I wish I could read in/with a group because of all the issues it touches on. I also would like to quote several sections which are especially appropriate for moral reflection and/or debate, but I will limit myself to the following selection between Eli and his bioethics professor:

'"Many years ago, I was at a national conference on biogenetics. It wasn't purely a scientific conference; it was open to the public. The idea was that people from all walks of life--intelligent, thoughtful people--would discuss our dreams about what this technology might do for us. There were panel discussions on the eradication of MS, and Parkinson's, and Lou Gehrig's disease, and on and on. We'd identify the genetic flaws, and no one would suffer from them ever again...It was electrifying, Mr. Samuels. I was as exhilarated as anyone. But then on the last day of the conference, a young man stood up in the audience. We had been listening to a speech about how prenatal testing was showing promising signs of making it possible to eliminate Down syndrome. And . . . " Dr. Fukuyama leans across the desk her eyes intent on mine. "Mr. Samuels, the young man who stood up in the audience to talk had Down syndrome himself. He was the head of a self-advocacy group of adults with Down syndrome."

I nod.

"We were all a little taken aback," says Dr. Fukuyama. "But this young man stood up, Mr. Samuels, and he said the following. I have never forgotten it.

"'I don't understand. We don't make trouble. We don't steal things or kill people. We don't take the good jobs. Why do you want to kill us?'"

For a few seconds I cannot breathe. I stare at Dr. Fukuyama. She stares back at me. Then she smiles, a little sadly. "That moment changed everything for me. My excitement disappeared. I got a glimpse of the world we might create, with our high-flying ideas about the eradication of suffering...There's a difference between using our gene therapy for the treatment of existing medical conditions, and using our growing, but far from perfect knowledge of genes--or of humanity--to declare that we absolutely know who has--and hasn't--a right to life at all."' (pp. 244-245)

As an interesting personal side note, my oldest daughter was the one who gave me the book. She thought to shock me with me it--that I would dislike it and find it so much worse than the Twilight series because the young couple, Eli and his girl friend, actually engaged in premarital sex. So the comparison between the two books provided for some excellent discussion. I was able to show her the redeeming value in this book despite the parts in it which are clearly immoral.

Recommended, with reservations. ****

Note: When I wrote this review a few days ago for Goodreads and included the above example about the dangers facing those with Down syndrome, I was thinking future; I didn't expect to encounter concrete evidence that as a class of people, those with the Down syndrome are already being targeted for extinction. And with "new, noninvasive genetic screens" that are due to arrive in doctor's offices next year as "pos[ing] no harm to fetuses or mothers", there is virtually no speed bump on the road from pregnancy test to abortion.

Read Mary Carmichael's article "New Era, New Worry," in this week's issue of Newsweek. Interestingly the article has a subhead that says, "New tests for Down syndrome could lead to more abortions and less support for families."

Check out my books on Goodreads!

In Cold Blood

It’s chilling.

The cover. The title. The story. And worst of all its true.

In Cold Blood, Truman Capote’s 1965 book about the murder of a Kansas family reads like a novel. Well, at least it does in some places. At other times, it seems more like an enigmatic theological puzzle: are there actually human beings completely devoid of conscience? Well there are human beings born without physical body parts, so I suppose it is possible we can be conceived without whole psyches.

When my daughter told me she was reading this for her high school English 3 class, I was surprised. In Cold Blood? It seemed a strange choice for a literature class; it’s not even a work of fiction. Even so it is a masterpiece.

Capote constructs the story deliberately to build and hold the reader’s attention from beginning to end. I remember first reading the book as a teenager myself—although I’m sure it wasn’t a school assignment. Back then, I couldn’t read the book after dark and didn’t like being alone for weeks after reading it.

This read was quite different, however. I was more detached from the crime this time—knowing what it was, how it was performed and who did it. Therefore, I could read the book from the perspective of an amateur sociologist/psychologist and armchair theologian. Oh, and I also read it from a literary vantage as well.

It’s from each of these hilltops, I’ll offer the view. I must state at this point though, my writing will contain spoilers from now on; so if you have NOT read the book, I highly recommend you stop and read the book instead!

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!

It does seem silly to put a spoiler alert in a work of non-fiction, but that is to Capote’s credit in the construction of this book. He begins with the time period leading up to the day of the crime—both for the victims and their assassins. Then he abruptly cuts to the aftermath and the discovery of the crime and the beginning of its investigation. By using this technique, our author manages to create and maintain a heightened sense of suspense and uncertainty. What happened? How exactly did it happen? Who did what? When? How do they know this? Questions were buzzing around my head like annoying flies as I struggled along with the frustrated investigators in the unsettled weeks after the murders. I knew they would eventually solve the riddles, so I had that much more admiration for Capote’s incredible outline of events.

From the socio-psychological perspective, I sat in amazement of the description’s of the killers, Richard "Dick" Hickock and Perry Smith. I have a Bachelor of Science in Administration of Justice and a M.E. in Human Relations. Where do “people” like this fit in? Are they “people”? In fact, I found the personality descriptions of the killers almost more chilling than the crimes themselves. They rob, torture, kill and have no remorse. They don’t even see why they should feel sympathy for their victims. In some ways. And yet in another separate area, one of the killers, concerns himself with making the victims comfortable. Comfortable? Huh? It is as if the separate parts of their brains aren’t connected.

So that leads to the theological side of things.

What is the moral responsibility of such men? Are they even morally responsible? Can we hold them accountable for their actions? And if not, what do we do with them—which leads back into the social arena again. Maybe I shouldn’t even attempt to separate out all these sub-areas with arbitrary designations and classifications.

In this sad case, our society solved its problem on the gallows. In effect we said, “Look what a horrible thing they did—killing innocent people. But these men certainly aren’t innocent! They are going to pay for their crime and we’re going to show them by sending them back where they came from.” So we did.

Guess we showed them.

If you haven’t read In Cold Blood in awhile, you need to. No rating, but the highest recommendation.

The Thirteenth Tale

I really wanted to like this book. It was about a reclusive author who, at the end of her life, tells her 'tale' to a young person. It is a book about lovers of books, a booklady's dream, right?! It's a mystery which has all the makings of a great gothic novel, but it just didn't work for me. I kept trying to get swept up in it and then wondered if I wasn't too old for such stories. I'm still not sure that isn't the case, but I don't think so. I know that I still enjoy a good mystery, so it isn't that. I just think something is missing from Setterfield's book but couldn't put my finger on it. And it isn't worth a reread.



**

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

by Alexander McCall Smith

Started: 22 December 2007
Finished: 11 January 2008

Absolutely charming! One of the sweetest stories I’ve read in a long time. Okay, laugh at this booklady. I know, I know. The book was published in 1998—ten years ago and I’m just getting around to reading it for the first time? No excuse. I have seen it and even owned a copy for a several months. What can I say?

Ordinarily I’d have been sad when I finished a book this enjoyable, this readable, this joyous and life-affirming. But wait! There are seven sequels already published and a movie coming out as well! Hurrah! No need to have to lament saying goodbye to the book’s heroine, Precious Ramotswe. Sorry but I have no idea how to pronounce any of these African names; I have to look three or four times at the text to make sure I even spell them correctly! And it’s my only complaint (if that’s even the right word) about the book, that there are a fair number of names spelled very similarly so it takes carefully reading to keep the parade of client characters straight.

Precious (don’t you love it?) or Mma Ramotswe has a detective agency in Botswana, at the foot of Kgale Hill. Mma is the local honorific for females; Rra is for males.

She starts her two bit detective agency with two desks, two chairs, a telephone, an old typewriter and no gun. She is self-described as a “traditionally built” African woman, who drives around the dusty roads of her beloved country in a tiny white van, incapable of high-speed chases and not even safe from roadside snake invasion. Quite an image isn’t it? The numerous references to her generous proportions would lead you to believe that our Lady Detective is . . . um, rather on the large size. But that doesn’t seem to stop her—or even slow her down much.

The author, Alexander McCall Smith, writes with a straight-forward simplicity reminiscent of Hemmingway. His novel is a celebration of life, land and good old-fashioned values. You will keep going back to check the copyright date and the beginning of the story in curious wonder. Does a place like this still exist on this planet? Botswana is lovingly portrayed as Precious’s home, a land of endless skies, devoted people and slow-moving ways that Western society forgot or lost decades ago.

Mma Ramotswe believes in justice, acts on instinct and is as humorous as she is refreshing. She is joined in some of her investigations by her shy suitor, J. L .B. Matekoni. There is a loose over-arching mystery holding the entire book together consisting of a series of smaller conundrums which our hefty heroine solves with wit, wisdom and wiles. And there is even a dab of romance and a dash of melancholic longing thrown in to round out the story.

‘Mma Ramotswe walked back towards her van, not wanting to intrude upon the intimate moments of reunion. She was crying; for her own child, too—remembering the minute hand that had grasped her own, so briefly, while it tried to hold on to a strange world that was slipping away so quickly. There was so much suffering in Africa that is was tempting just to shrug your shoulders and walk away. But you can’t do that, she thought. You just can’t.’ (p230)

And it would be a mistake for you to walk away from this story. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency may not be great literature, but it is as delightful as a summer rain and just as welcome. Treat yourself to a case or two with Precious. I’m sure you’ll enjoy her as much as I have; I’m off to the library to get the second book in the series, Tears of the Giraffe.

****




Check out my books on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/350218?utm_source=email_widget

The Gardens of the Dead

by William Brodrick

Started: 23 November 2007
Finished: 27 November 2007

I’ve read mysteries and I’ve read mysteries. If it were only for the fact that I almost never solve the crime before the end of the book, I might still find the genre mildly palatable. Okay, they usually read like a roller coaster ride—wild, crazy twists, ever-increasing speed and mounting build-ups followed by gut-wrenching drop-offs. But so long as I know I’m really physically in my own chair, I can do the occasional mental ‘wild ride’ . . . if that’s all I had to deal with.

However, most mysteries I’ve read recently also feel the need to add in that little something extra—alphabetical or numerical themes, excessive violence and sexual perversion, or some other ‘cute little gimmick’, which – to this booklady – only clutters up an otherwise good story.

Not so The Gardens of the Dead. It is what I would call an intelligent person’s mystery. Some might call it a boring person’s mystery. It isn’t “exciting” in the sense currently in vogue among mystery stories. I would think its appeal would be to thinkers and/or to our higher selves. The author quotes Kierkegaard and Thomas á Kempis. The characters reflect on the possibility of undoing evil, about ‘the forgiveness of the victim’ being more ‘deadly than vengeance’ because ‘it goes right to the heart’. (p103)

And I learned about something very interesting called Locard’s Principle. ‘The idea is that if you touch an object, you leave behind something that wasn’t there in the first place—a little of yourself. By the same token, you take away something that wasn’t on you when you came—part of the object. It’s an alarming fact. We can’t do anything without this interchange occurring.’ (p113)

But what about the story? If Gardens were only a collection of philosophical reflections, it wouldn’t be a mystery, much less a mystery worth reading and recommending.

As it is, the story is excellent! It unfolds slowly, almost stumblingly. The ‘sleuth’, a former lawyer who has become a cloistered monk, Father Anselm is drug–reluctantly–into the case by the written request of a deceased colleague.

Anselm continues to be led to relevant information of the case—sometimes by the deliberate instructions and information of the dead woman, Elizabeth, but more often by circumstances, other people and the unraveling of time. I think I liked The Gardens of the Dead so much because it seemed so realistic to me—something most mystery books don’t.

If you’re looking for excitement and entertainment—both with capital “E”s, this may not be the book for you. But if you want a story you can sink your teeth into, with believable characters you might even want to know, then pick up this book by William Brodrick. Or maybe, you might want to check out the first Father Anselm mystery, The Sixth Lamentation. I usually like to read the first book in a series first. This time I happened to pick up the second book on sale, which is the only reason I read it first.

****

The Eyre Affair

by Jasper Fforde

Started: 30 August 2007
Finished: 13 September 2007

If I was to give out awards for 'Wackiest Book I've read This Year', The Eyre Affair would get it, hands down. It's the most hard-to-classify book I've read in a long time. 'If ever?' she asks with a puzzling look on her face.

Part time-travel, part literature-lover-lore, part mystery, part sci-fi and part something else--too nebulous to define.

Some folks on my British Classics Book Group were talking about the series and warned me it was 'different' but they also said if you like Brit Lit, then you're sure to love it. I do and I did!

Don't let my reading dates (above) fool you. This book can be read in far less time. I've just had too much on my plate recently and have put this down when I wanted to pick it up. I am sure when I treat myself to my next Fforde 'sweetie'--as the English like to call them--I'll probably devour it in a two- or at most three-day stretch. And yes, I would classify the book as a candy--no real nutritional value, morally speaking, but very, very enjoyable. On the other hand, nothing objectionable or offensive either--rather old-fashioned in that respect.

So, now that I've thoroughly confused you, what is The Eyre Affair about?

Thursday Next, a Literary Detective, is the main character; she's 36 years old and works solving crimes involving Literature in 1980's England--but it is a very different country than we know or remember because all sorts of things we thought happened either haven't yet or might not due to all sort of time-travel complications. Yes, well I did try to warn you--weird and wacky! A couple of examples: the Crimean War is still going on, which if you remember from your history books should have ended almost 130 years earlier and Winston Churchill seems to have died -- unknown -- as a young boy. Time travel apparently can have disastrous results.

Thursday's father has a face that can stop a clock; no, he isn't ugly; he can literally stop Time. And he frequently does--to drop in on his daughter for a chat, pass on info or ask questions--often with quite humorous consequences.

Now if all this sounds improbable, try to imagine a world where people actually care enough about Literature to even have Literary Detectives in the first place! But they do. And the theft of the original Jane Eyre manuscript is enough to send the entire world running to read their copies of this book, because in this world people can enter books and characters can leave manuscripts. Thursday has her work cut out for her. Her adversaries have no less interesting names than Acheron Hades and Jack Schitt, if you'll forgive my French. However, on the side of good, Thursday is helped by no less than the formidable Mr. Edward Fairfax Rochester, Esq., himself, Jane's employer and, well, I should say no more, in case you have not read Jane Eyre.

But then if you haven't read Jane Eyre in the first place, much of the subtle humor and even a good deal of the plot will be lost. Indeed, Mr. Fforde's appeal will be to a rather limited audience. However to those who love British Literature as much as yours truly, this was truly a gem in the rough.

The best website about the book is the one by the author himself. If you're going to read even one in the series, check it out! http://www.jasperfforde.com/thursdayintro.html

Thanks folks at British Classics for the tip!

***1/2

Wilkie Collins and "The Moonstone" (RR)

First read in 2001, from the 15th of December to the 26th; this time, from the 25th of July until the 24th of August.

The fun in rereading a mystery -- if you can remember whodunit; usually with my memory and how long I wait between rereads, it doesn't matter anyway -- but if you can remember, the fun is in watching the story unfold with a knowing eye. I wonder if that's how it will be when we do our life reviews, except of course then we won't be able to be so dispassionate, will we?

But I digress. In The Moonstone, considered the first real mystery, which set the entire mystery genre in motion, Collins is at his humorous best.

The first time around, I enjoyed his characters and their quirky names, ofttimes forgetting to follow the plot I was so amusingly diverted by the the likes of the Robinson Crusoe-quoting head servant Betteredge, self-righteous Miss Clack's attempts to convert the world or at least her aunt, Aunt Ablewhite's inability to accomplish anything and the original Sherlock Holmes prototype, Sergeant Cuff and his love of roses. If those names aren't descriptive enough, there's also a banker named Lucre and a lawyer named Bruff.

I also enjoyed his use of third person narrative. Beginning with Gabriel Betteredge (get it? Better Edge!) Collins proceeds to Miss Clack's story (clackety clack went her tongue...or think of "The Clackers" in The Devil Wears Prada) and then narrates through Mr. Franklin Blake, etc. It's a very effective and interesting way to tell a story. You come to know the characters better and enjoy seeing the story unfold from numerous perspectives.

One of the reasons I like a book is when--and if--it opens my mind to something I did not know before. In the case of The Moonstone, there was an interesting twist, a plot that revolved around the effects of opium on a character. It was recommended that to learn more about this subject, read, Confessions of an Opium Eater. I shall have to add this to my "To Be Read" list. I had no idea, prior to reading The Moonstone, that opium has effects other than that of pain relief.

Although considered by many, including yours truly, Collins' finest novel, the author himself did not agree with that assessment of The Moonstone. Perhaps he may be forgiven this undervaluing of his masterpiece of mysteries because Mr. Collins was suffering from a painful illness at the time he wrote The Moonstone which led him to use the only pain-reliever of the day--opium--and hence his own experience of writing The Moonstone could not have been a pleasant one.

'Wilkie Collins was born on 8 January 1824 and died on 23 September 1889. In those 65 years he wrote 27 novels, more than 50 short stories, at least 15 plays, and more than 100 non-fiction pieces. A close friend of Charles Dickens from their meeting in March 1851 until Dickens' death in June 1870, Collins was one of the best known, best loved, and, for a time, best paid of Victorian fiction writers. But after his death, his reputation declined as Dickens's bloomed. Now, Collins is being given more critical and popular attention than he has for fifty years. Almost all his books are in print, he is studied widely, and new film and television versions of some of his books have been made. Nevertheless, there is still much to be discovered about this superstar of Victorian fiction.' http://www.wilkiecollins.com/

My own personal discovery of Wilkie Collins was six years ago when I was in the middle of Charles Dickens' study. At that period of my life, I 'tackled' a new author each summer and attempted to read as many of his/her novels as possible before the (home) school year began again. The summer of 2001 was the summer of Dickens...and Hard Times, Martin Chuzzlewit and my all-time favorite, Bleak House, which is anything but bleak. In reading a biography about Dickens, I learned about his publishing pressures and a particular friend, Wilkie Collins.

"Wilkie Collins? Never heard of him. What did he write?" Then Blackstone, my favorite book-on-tape merchant featured The Moonstone on their monthly sale page. Why not? I bought it, tried it and loved it! I never guessed whodunit or how. Not that that is any surprise. I'm an Agatha Christie drop-out too. Only after reading 90% of her mysteries have I finally figured out that the murderer is usually the person who has the greatest motive, but least opportunity. Of course, often, the motive is also unknown which makes it even more difficult, if not downright impossible to solve. And if I do occasionally happen to figure out whodunit, I never manage to figure out how, so mystery writers rest easy!

But The Moonstone was the first of the mysteries and it's not a murder mystery. It involves the theft of a famous Indian diamond, yellow in color and resembling the moon. So much I'd like to tell you about The Moonstone, but unfortunately I can't for the very reason that it is a mystery and it would spoil it. However, I can say that I enjoyed it every bit as much on this second listen through. It is read by a cast of three readers, two men and a woman and they play the parts of the several male and the one female narrators of the story.

After my first unsuccessful attempt to solve the crime (I didn't feel so bad since Sergeant Cuff himself was also deceived as to who was the real culprit) I tried to interest my family in listening to the book on one of our long journeys back to St. Louis but unfortunately the car tape deck broke along the way and my hopes were dashed.

We were several tapes into the book but no one else in my family was as dismayed by this calamity as I was, which might have led me to doubt my conviction about this story, but it didn't. Then recently we watched the movie, The Woman in White, based on another of Collins' book--this one being his own personal favorite--and my entire family was quite enthralled with the story, also a very thrilling mystery. I knew that the only reason they hadn't fallen in love with The Moonstone was because they hadn't gotten far enough along in the book. Victorian stories move at a slower pace; they don't 'hook' you right away like modern tales do. Another time...

I highly recommend listening, if you can. But if not, just be sure to read it. As a piece of Literature, it is not only first-rate, but it's also History! You owe it to yourself to meet Mr. Collins and the marvelous characters he has created in this clever story. And yes, The Woman in White is good, but sorry, I still think The Moonstone is better. Wilkie Collins' fans are split down the middle, so you must read both and place your vote too!

*****