Silence

This was on my Back to the Classics List last year but I didn't get to it. I chose Dante instead and I can't really feel bad about that but I am glad I did get to this. In fact, this came at just the right time for me.

It's not at all my normal type of book. I always hear people say "Oh, it was agonizing and heart-wrentching and I loved it" and all I can think of is "Ugh, why?!" Telling the story of a Portugeuse Jesuit priest who responds to the news of his former mentor apostasizing in Japan by going there himself to minister to the Japanese and face temptation himself, Silence is agonizing and heart-wrenching and I loved it! I told Craig he should watch the movie. I know I can't though!

So if you are looking for a well written, thought provoking book that makes you wrestle with hard ideas, I'd definitely recommend it!

(Spoilers ahead as I brain dump my thoughts on the book. You have been warned)

Besides being just the right timing for me for some personal reasons, it was also good timing as far as themes and other things I've been thinking about. I'm leading our youth Sunday School through James this year. We're taking the slow and steady approach but thinking about James and the idea of trials and growth and the connection between faith and actions really worked with this book. And then while I was reading this, a friend was reading Kristin Lavrasdattar and while in many ways, those books are completely opposite, thinking of my response to that book was surprisingly relevant to my response to this one and my mind has spent the last few weeks pondering those ideas.

Faith and the life of a follower of Christ - is it about how I live my life in obedience to Him and follow Him? Well, yes, and no.

Of course, ideally yes. As a Christian, I know that placed in unspeakable hard circumstances, I would want to respond like Corrie Ten Boom or Deitrich Bonhoeffer. I know they're admirable. I'd want my actions to be a mirror pointing those around to me Christ because they know I could only do what I am doing through His power.

But also no, its not about my response to God but His towards me. Because would I really respond that way? Can I know? And how should we feel about those that aren't capable of that, those with a weak faith but still faith.

There is no pit so deep that He [God] is not deeper still - Corrie Ten Boom

I'm a black and white thinker. I know exactly what I think Father Rodrigues should have done. And he didn't do it. But does that mean I think he didn't have faith? Shusako Endo sets the story up so perfectly having us judge certain people and their actions as the story progresses. But he ends up with, at least in my case, I feel like I'm right there with them making those poor decisions - and then feeling the joy that comes with knowing that doesn't mean my relationship with God is over just as I don't believe Rodrigues is over either.   Rodrigues failed God in that moment but I think the point  is more that God didn't fail him. Now the ending is sorta left open so those are all based on my view of the ending. But have you read it? Care to share your thoughts?

Silence in my Back to the Classics Challenge Classic in Translation Selection.

It will also count as my Foreign/Non-Western Book for the Lit Life 20 for 2020 Challenge and a novel for the Schole 5x5 challenge.

These book lists, they're killing me!

I didn't think I wanted to do any reading lists this year. I wanted a no-pressure, read what I want, do what I want year of reading. I wanted to tear off the shackles of my, uhm, I don't know. I picked the books on my list last year so I'm not sure what I wanted but I was pretty sure it would invovle a lack of book challenges. But then, well, they started popping up. And now, I've completely changed course and am reading for 3 different challenges.

Well, you know what they say about a woman's perogative. So what are the three?

#1 - Karen's Back to the Classics Challenge.

I think this is my 4th year. It's such a good one! Just enough limits that I'm challenged but enough flexibility that I'm not normally stuck reading something I don't want to. It pushes without being pushy. I am not picking all my books in advance this time, for any of the catagories, just a few to start with and I'll go from there. I'm sure some of the books I select for other catagories will work here too. And I'm going to be okay if I only get 6 or 9 catagories done. Enough with the overachieving.

Here are the Categories for that and my selections if I've picked on.  

1. 19th Century Classic.

2. 20th Century Classic. 

3. Classic by a Woman Author.

4. Classic in Translation. Silence (Spoiler, I just finished this! In a little under a week! Review coming soon.)

5. Classic by a Person of Color. 

6. A Genre Classic. Probably one of the many mysteries I'll read this year. Although I could probably be convinced to try a different genre if you have one you'd highly recommend. 

7. Classic with a Person's Name in the Title.  Emma? I think it needs a re-read before/after the movie comes out. 

8. Classic with a Place in the Title. Death on the Nile. 

9. Classic with Nature in the Title. How the Heather Looks - This is an AO Year 7 selection I didn't get to, because I was limiting myself to books I owned or could get from the library, but I'm going to buy in this time because I really really want to read this before the big move. I'm pretty sure I'll love it. 

10. Classic About a Family. This classic should have multiple members of the same family as principal characters, either from the same generation or multiple different generations.  Updated: Family members in the title are also acceptable.Examples include Sense and Sensibility; Wives and Daughters; The Brothers Karamazov; Fathers and Sons; The Good Earth; Howards End; and The Makioka Sisters.

11. Abandoned Classic. Choose a classic that you started and just never got around to finishing, whether you didn't like it at or just didn't get around to it. Now is the time to give it another try.

12. Classic Adaptation. Would Sanditon count I wonder? It's unfinished and fairly short but I've never read it and I'm watching the PBS version (Parts of which I like a lot - parts of which I DO NOT). If not maybe I'll put Emma here and do a different Person's name book. 

#2 - The Literary Life's 20 for 2020 Challenge

This one is also really flexible too but a few catagories will stretch me.

I'm tentatively planning to read The Odyssey so that will definitely count for intimidating (Oh, I just realized it would count for #11 with the B2CC too! If I don't abandon it again.) I just finished On Reading Well so that's my Book about Books, Northanger Abbey was my satire, An Emily Dickinson Poetry book and Lucy and I are reading Hamlet together so that will be my Shakespeare. I'm halfway through Trent's Last Case for my detective novel. I'd also like to do some Chekcov short stories for the short story one. Any ideas for Essays? Please don't say Wendell Barry, I have read and liked some of his essays but other times I just feel bogged down so the idea of a whole book of him is too much. Why don't I like him the way I should? I feel it's burden I must bare alone because Everyone Loves Wendell! Except me. And I have no idea for a Ancient Play. I've done Oeidpus Rex and once was enough but that's honestly the only one I can name!

#3 Schole Sisters 5x5 Challenge

This one is interesting because it's only 5 catagories but you pick them and read 5 things in each. 

My Catagories are

Poetry 

1) Emily Dickinson

2) The Odyssey

3)

4)

5)

History

1) Undaunted Courage

2) Churchill's History of English Speaking People #3 (I'm over half way through this 4 book series. I can't stop now!)

3) 

4)

5)

Novels - An Easy catagory of me but also important as I don't want all my must read for my reading list books to crowd out what I enjoy reading for its own sake. 

1) Something by Elizabeth Goudge

2) Heaven Tree Trilogy

3)

4)

5)

British Related - I need help here. What else would work well in this catagory? Could be fiction or non-fiction just things that give me inspiration when I'm overwhelmed with the moving process - or when I'm feeling homesick post-move. 

1) How the Heather Looks

2) The Wild Places

3)

4)

5)

Teaching Inspiration - some of these will probably be repeats but I need to revist them as my kid's are getting older and hitting new stages. 

1) The Living Page 

2) Mind to Mind

3) 

4)

5)

Whew, typing this all out has me half exhausted and half inspired. I think I could solve both those "problems" by curling up on the couch with a good book for a while. Better get to it before nap time ends.