Book Review Club: The Breath of God

The Breath of God was recommended to me by a friend, but I didn't have time to read it all, so I asked her if I could use her review instead. Please welcome my friend Teresa Zimmerman-Liu, who is currently in the final stages of earning her Master of Arts degree in Asian Studies.

The Breath of God: A Novel of Suspense
by Jeffrey Small

Reviewed by Teresa Zimmerman-Liu:

Jeffrey Small is a professor of Religious Studies, and the book stars a PhD student who is doing his dissertation on the Issa manuscripts, which are supposed to be located in Bhutan. The book opens with the grad student, Grant Matthews, shooting the rapids in a kayak in a river in Bhutan with his guide. The rapids are a class 5; Grant makes it through with a broken leg, but his guide does not survive. A monk from a nearby monastery saves Grant and takes him back to the monastery's infirmary. The only monk in the monastery who can speak English is also interested in the Issa manuscripts, which happen to be housed in that particular place. 

When Grant emails home about his new data to his dissertation adviser at Emory University in Atlanta, the email is leaked to the press, and a group of fundamental Christians in Atlanta stage a protest. One member of that group is a former Marine, who is not quite stable after traumas suffered in Iraq. The pastor is hoping to use the event to become leader of the evangelical political coalition and wield power in the US like Jerry Falwell used to. His inflammatory sermons convince the ex-Marine that he must kill Grant. Things get really exciting when Grant has to return to Bhutan to rephotograph the texts because the ex-Marine hacks his computer and deletes all his data. The monk in Bhutan is forced by the political situation there to take the texts and flee to India. 

I really liked the book. It has a lot of good information about the major world religions (as one would expect from a professor of Religious Studies), but it is woven into an exciting story. It also shows how important religion is to world politics and power structures. I highly recommend the book.

My thanks to Teresa for the review and for recommending the book which I am enjoying very much. FWIW, FCC, we both bought copies of the book to read on our Kindles.

If you would like more background on the Issa story, may I also recommend Jesus In India, a documentary filmed in India detailing author Edward T. Martin's "quest across 4000 miles of India in search of answers about where Jesus was during the 'Hidden Years' from ages 12 to 30". I got the DVD from Amazon, but it's also available from Netflix. I enjoyed it a lot, too. 

Linda McLaughlin
http://www.lindamclaughlin.com/

Click icon for more
book review blogs
@Barrie Summy

Book Review Club: Jack Kennedy, Elusive Hero

When I heard about this book, I checked the local library website and saw that they had ordered it, and wonder of wonders, there was no reserve list yet, so I got my name in quickly. It arrived in mid-December and I checked it out to read over the holidays.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was one of the towering figures of my childhood, and like everyone who was alive in the early 1960's, I have vivid memories of the Cuban missile crisis and the assassination. Over the years, Jack has become even more fascinating to me, so I was anxious to read the book and I found it quite interesting.

Author Chris Matthews is a political pundit, so the emphasis here is on JFK as politician. If you are looking for juicy details about his private life, you'll have to look elsewhere. 

This is a political biography. Some of the things I learned about Kennedy are:

- Jack was the spare, not the heir, so in typical patriarchal tradition, most parental attention was focused on his older brother Joe. As a result, Jack developed an independent streak.

- His health problems were more serious than were publicly acknowledged at the time. Jack was a sickly child who spent a lot of time in bed reading. This experience made him a deeper and more original thinker. I suspect it also made him more empathic than might normally be expected of a young man from a wealthy family.

- In 1947 he was diagnosed with Addison's disease, a disorder of the adrenal glands. He also had a bad back and failed the physical to join the Navy the first time. He exercised to build up his strength and passed the second time. (A few moments ago, I read and reviewed a book called A First Rate Madness by Nassir Ghaemi that talked about Jack's health problems and the steroids used to treat him.)

- He was close to death on more than one occasion and was given Last Rites several times before becoming president. Matthews quotes a close friend of Jack's who said he was "deeply preoccupied by death" and that "quick... was the key". That gave me chills.

- Matthews talks more than once about their being "two Jacks" - the wealthy bon vivant and the serious politician. He was able to compartmentalize the different areas of his lives in order to focus on one at a time. He was anbitious and single-minded in pursuit of a goal, and could be ruthless when he had to be. 

- JFK and Richard Nixon were elected to Congress the same year (1946) and became friendly. Nixon was very upset when Jack became gravely ill. The friendship did not survive the contentious 1960 campaign, however.

All in all, I enjoyed the book and recommend it to those interested in politics and/or Kennedy. But read it now, before we all get heartily sick and tired of politics. It's an election year, after all.

Happy New Year and don't forget to check out the other reviews in the Book Review Club. Click on the graphic below.

Linda

Update: I finished the book last night and have a few final thoughts. I grew up in a family of Republicans who had no love for JFK when he was alive. In retrospect, I have come to realize what a great president he was. Matthews makes that apparent in this loving portrait of a remarkable man who accomplished so much in such a short time and at such great personal cost.

Click icon for more
book review blogs
@Barrie Summy

Book Review Club: Bewitching Season

BEWITCHING SEASON
by Marissa Doyle
Young Adult fantasy / romance 

Henry Holt Books for Young Readers

Bewitching Season is the first in the "Leland Sisters" series, though there are only two girls, so I don't know how many books are planned. The setting is England in 1837, right before Victoria came to the throne, and it revolves around the London social season. The twist here is that the sisters, Persephone and Penelope (Persy and Pen) are hereditary witches.

The first book is Persy's story. She is the more talented witch of the two twins, which comes in handy later. Persy is also more studious and shy than Pen, so the social season is a bit of a trial for her. To her surprise, she attracts the interest of several young men, including their neighbor, Lochinvar Seton, with whom she is secretly in love. After indulging in some champagne at a ball, she performs a love spell on Lochinvar, but then when he shows interest, she thinks it's because of the love spelll not because he really likes her, so she starts avoiding him which alienates her twin. (In so many ways, the twins are typical teenage girls and behave accordingly.)

The external plot revolves around the kidnapping of the twins' governess, Miss Allerdyce, a very talented witch. She has been spirited to Kensington Palace where Princess Victoria lives with her mother and the villainous Sir John Conroy, who wants Ally to help him bewitch Victoria so he can be the power behind the throne when the old king dies. Of course it is up to Persy and Pen to find Ally and free her (and Victoria) from Conroy's clutches. (Conroy was a real person and he did try to control the young Victoria though I would be surprised if he ever resorted to witchcraft.)

The characters are likable and book is well-written, fast-paced and amusing. Nothing serious here, but a nice diversion. Recommended for YA readers.


Linda 

Click icon for more
book review blogs @Barrie Summy