I’ve been reminded lately that I love books. I love them because they are a chance to create a world that is better, a world that is different. I love reading a book and going on an adventure. I love watching the heroine change the world and be changed by the journey. I love books.
The world is broken. If that’s not apparent to you, you are either very young or very lucky. The world is broken, but in creating great books, we get to paint the truth about the broken world and the truth about the hope for the broken world. That is the very best Christian art. The very best Christian books aren’t necessarily the most overt. They’re the ones that are true, deeply.
My son is concerned by the fact that the Pevensie children are sent away from their parents because of a war. That world is disturbing to him. I love that. That innocence is precious. But, what’s almost as good is that the fantastic parts of the story are a reflection of the hope for that broken world where parents have to send their kids away. It was undoubtedly easy, in the midst of London during World War II, to perceive that the world system is one big cosmic war.
Lewis does a stupendous job of illustrating that, in a deeply true, fictional way. It’s accessible to my son. He gets that. The bad guys are bad. The good guys are good. The battles are real, but they’re not. So, that art, those stories, help my son to understand, to grab a hold, of hard and beautiful things about the world we live in.
The battle is real. The people are in grave danger. The King, the Emperor, is saving the day. It’s already / not yet. It’s hope, but it’s sure.
I love books.
Word of the Day: Catastrophe
I’ve always enjoyed using the word Catastrophe.
ca·tas·tro·phe
noun \kə-ˈtas-trə-(ˌ)fē\
: a terrible disaster
Tuesday Quotivator:
Take heart, I have overcome the world.
– Jesus of Nazareth
Fun Reads: Pathfinder
Pathfinder is a fairly recent (2011) release from Orson Scott Card. I’m surprised to find myself struggling to describe it, but I think it’s because there’s so much setup early in the book that I can’t come up with anything that isn’t a spoiler.
Here’s what works about this book: there is both a system by which the world works that is intriguingly fun and characters who feel worth following. It’s very much an ensemble cast of characters, so even if you dislike the protagonist (and I’ll admit, at times I found myself annoyed with him,) there’s enough about the other characters to carry you through.
Pathfinder is an excellent example of sci fi that crosses over into fantasy and then comes back. Or maybe it’s fantasy that crosses into sci fi and then comes back. I’m not really sure. I know this: I couldn’t wait for my wife to finish reading it so we could talk about it. Pathfinder definitely qualifies as a fun read.