The Yiddish Policmen's Union, by Michael Chabon

How about a little detective story in an alternative present?  I've never read Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon before, but I figured if he won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (in 2001 for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay) maybe he's worth a read.  Speaking of awards, The Yiddish Policemen's Union won a Hugo award for best novel (Hugo awards are for science fiction and fantasy.  TYPU fits the sci-fi genre in the sense that it presents an alternative history.)

In the world of The Yiddish Policemen's Union, the fate of the Jews took a different twist in the mid-20th century.  In the late 1930s, when the persecution of the Jews was becoming uncomfortably evident to those outside Germany, a number of proposals bounced around for relocating the Jews.  Two weeks after Kristallnacht, FDR's secretary of the interior proposed the use of Alaska as a "haven for Jewish refugees from Germany and other areas in Europe where the Jews are subjected to oppressive restrictions."  In real life, this proposal didn't get far.  In Chabon's world, thousands of European Jews immigrated to Sitka Island, establishing a Yiddish-speaking stronghold of Jewish culture.

Against that backdrop, Chabon spins a noir detective story featuring a hard-boiled, independent-minded, rumpled detective of the sort we see in Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe private detective stories and others.  Chabon's detective, Landsman, is called in to investigate the murder of an apparent junkie in a sleazy hotel.  Turns out the victim is the son of  a prominent rabbi/organized crime figure, so Landsman gets drawn into that world.

Besides the strong detective story, Chabon explores the world of Orthodox Judaism in Alaska, the land of the "Frozen Chosen."  An entertaining subplot involves the keeper of the boundaries.  The eruv is the enclosed area out of which an Orthodox Jew may not travel on the Sabbath.  The boundary keeper has extensive maps of the eruvin, which are marked out with rope around the community.  For someone unfamiliar with this practice (me), this sounds like it must surely be made up, but it's really observed in many Orthodox Jewish communities.

A larger Jewish theme, and a theme more central to the story, is the Jewish hope for the coming of the messiah and the reestablishment of the Temple in Jerusalem.  The Sitka Jews had placed a lot of hope that one of their own would be the messiah, but then, well, he turned up murdered in a sleazy Sitka hotel.  His death doesn't deter them from continuing with their plans, and we learn that the Jews are in cahoots with right-wing elements of the U.S. government, who want to see the Jews returned to Israel in accordance with their evangelical beliefs.

With Landsman's quirky personality and personal problems, his uncanny ability to get into problematic situations while uncovering the truth behind his case, and the believable alternative Jewish world, Chabon manages to make the reader laugh out loud and believe that there really is this Jewish enclave in the north.  Driving the urgency of the story is the fact that the 60 year agreement is coming to an end; soon the Jews will be on their own again, seeking a homeland.  I, for one, am grateful that in our history they did find a homeland in the restoration of the state of Israel.  In the meantime, you'll get a kick of Chabon's picture of what might have been.

The Superlative Stream, by Kerry Nietz

I recently read Kerry Nietz's first novel, A Star Curiously Singing, loved it, and was delighted to see that the adventures of Sandfly continue in a sequel, The Superlative Stream.  In ASCS, we meet Sandfly, a debugger who is sent to investigate the self-destruction of a robot on the space ship DarkTrench.  In the course of the investigation, he discovers a possible cause: curious singing from a distant star.  TSS picks up where ASCS leaves off.  Sandfly and his fellow debugger HardCandy take DarkTrench to search for the source of the singing, the superlative stream.

Nietz clearly matured as a writer with TSS.  As good as ASCS is, TSS adds a higher level of depth and complexity to his engaging style.  Utilizing flashbacks to their lives on Earth, we get to know Sandfly and HardCandy better and see how circumstances have brought them together.  We also gain insight into the Muslim culture of their world.  Nietz will not win friends in the Muslim community, as he takes certain elements of Sharia law to their logical, painful conclusions.

A subplot in both books deal with Sandfly's implant.  As a result of his encounter with the superlative stream, his stops are removed, so, if he wishes to, he can sin with impunity.  For the first time in his adult life, he experiences free will unencumbered by the programmed controls of the implant (and this right at the time time he embarks on an interstellar voyage, alone, with a beautiful woman!).  Given the Islamic theology of good works, he struggles with the realization that his good works can never tip the scale in his favor; his sinful nature will continually pull him toward 50.1% bad works.

Sandfly's understanding will no doubt continue to develop as he gets to know the source of the stream, whom he knows now only as "(A~A)³."  (That's A not A cubed, A being the shorthand for Allah, who is not named in the novel. )  Nietz skillfully weaves basic, thoughtful ideas like this throughout the story without preaching or distracting from the overall plot.

Much of the story takes place on a planet in the Betelguese system.  There the humans encounter a whole new civilization, technically far ahead of human civilization.  This part of the story will feel very familiar to any reader of sci-fi or viewer of sci-fi movies and TV shows: an idyllic, communal society, where there is no evident material need, where everyone seems happy, yet everyone sort of looks and dresses alike.  Nietz kept me going for quite a while, trying to decide if this were some sort of angelic community, or if there were something more ominous under the surface.  I'll leave that discovery to you when you read it. . . .

Nietz shows his skill as a bona fide sci-fi writer with his use of hard science as a driver in the story combined with plenty of realistic scientific and technological speculation.  Combining that with his use of hard theology, exploring theological questions from a refreshing outside perspective, he gives us a thoroughly entertaining and satisfying read.  And here's the good news: the Dark Trench saga will continue!  An e-mail from Nietz confirmed that he has completed book 3.  It's in the hands of the publisher now, so we should see it in the coming months.  Keep an eye out at Marcher Lord Press for the release.

To Find Hope: Mother Teresa, by Sam Wellman

Few Christians in the 20th century were as well-known and admired as Mother Teresa.  Though a devout Catholic, her humility in service to the poorest of the poor brought her fame and adulation from around the world, among Christians of all stripes, and among people of other faiths or no faith at all.  Sam Wellman, prolific author of Christian biographies for young readers, provides an easy-reading introduction to Mother Teresa in his novelized biography, To Find Hope.

Like most people, I have been vaguely aware of Mother Teresa's work and legacy for some time.  I remember when she died, on the same day as Princess Diana, regretting that Mother Teresa's death was overshadowed by the publicity-loving celebrity princess.  But that is probably what Mother Teresa would have wanted.  Never comfortable with the media attention and honors she received, including a Nobel Peace Prize, she suffered through the praise with humility in order to bring more attention and needed funds to the poor.

One thing I always loved about Mother Teresa was her speaking out on behalf of the most helpless people: the unborn.  Her Nobel speech summed up her view: "I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion. . . . Because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me?  There is nothing in between."  Preach it, sister!  Er, Mother!  She backed it up by promoting adoption.  "Please don't kill the child. . . . I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child and be loved by the child."

However, I was never quite comfortable with her universalist-sounding talk.  There is no question that she was a follower of Christ, and that she followed and adored Christ in a way that has been equaled by few Christians.  But I have a hard time processing statements like this: "We convert Hindus into better Hindus. Muslims into better Muslims."  Surely there are many who became followers of Christ as a result of her ministry, but, at least in Wellman's telling, we don't hear of many.  To be sure, serving the poor for the sake of the poor, and touching them as if touching Jesus, is a good unto itself.  But I'm left wondering about her ready embrace of other faiths.

Wellman's uncritical treatment may not satisfy someone with a serious scholarly or theological interest in Mother Teresa's life and influence, but he captures her life and work in a way that will inspire the reader to try "something beautiful for God."

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans . . ."

A Star Curiously Singing, by Kerry Nietz

I have long been a fan of sci-fi, but have been skeptical of Christian sci-fi as a genre.  Several years ago, I read some novels by Jeff Gerke (under the pen name Jefferson Scott) in the sci-fi/tech/suspense genre.  I enjoyed them, and wondered what happened to him.  Lo and behold, he has started a publishing house dedicated exclusively to Christian sci-fi and fantasy titles, Marcher Lord Press.  Of course, titles from this small, new publisher are not available at my local library, so I went against my reading glutton, cheapskate tendencies and actually bought a few titles from Marcher Lord Press.

I was more than pleasantly surprised by Kerry Nietz's first novel, A Star Curiously Singing.  This is not a second-rate, knock-off imitation sci-fi novel, but the real deal. Nietz creates a believable, if a little scary, near-future earth, incorporates creative technological ideas, and introduces likable characters in an engaging story.  I was reminded of some of Asimov's stories; like Asimov, Nietz weaves a detective story into a future setting, letting the technology and cultural commentary provide a rich background while giving primary attention to an engaging plot.  Sandfly, the narrator and central character, is a debugger whose owner sends him to check out a robot who self-destructed during a deep-space mission.  That sentence alone requires a large amount of explanation, immersed as it is in the context of the book.  Nietz takes the reader directly into that world, so it may take a few pages for you to feel comfortable, but he does so artfully, quickly drawing you in.

Without giving away the story, I'll highlight a couple of story elements that set A Star Curiously Singing apart.  First, the cultural context.  In the world of the novel, everyone, I mean everyone, is now Muslim.  Sharia law is the law, and it's zealously enforced.  Nietz doesn't go into much detail about how that transition came to pass, but he does off-handedly imply that the Muslim takeover occurred primarily due to birth rates.  It's a little on the extreme side, of course (Catholics have high birth rates, too.), but it stands as a warning to us Western Christians who have small families and whose children tend not to embrace their parents' faith.  And before you write off the possibility of world-wide sharia law, keep in mind that there are heads of state in the Middle East whose stated goal is just that, and they have, or will soon have, nuclear weapons.

As a debugger, Sandfly has an implant which not only gives his owner a means of control (think of a training device like you might have for your dog, only implanted in the brain.  Ouch!), but the implant also controls his actions when he's alone.  Tell a lie.  Zap!  Steal.  Zap!  Blaspheme A (The full name of the deity is not spelled out here.).  Zap!  Yet free will and the sin nature survive.  Using this device, Nietz explores human nature and our sin nature in a unique way.

The core of the novel, the singing of the star, makes the story.  In a world where Christianity has been successfully quashed, where all reference to it has been eliminated, no witness to God remains on Earth.  But, as Jesus said, if we keep silent, the stones will cry out!  Why not the stars, too!  I love this depiction of God's calling out to his children, even when his children have cut off all communication.  I hope and pray we don't come to a place where the whole world rejects God, but if it ever comes to that, Nietz reminds us that creation will not keep silent.

I heartily recommend this book, and encourage you to check out Marcher Lord Press, as well.

1611 Bestseller

As I was reminded by an article in Baylor Magazine, this year we celebrate the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible.  It's hard to overestimate the impact that the King James Bible had and continues to have on the English language, Western culture, and the church.  (Plus, as my Uncle David discovered, some distant relative of ours was on the translation committee!  But I don't get a discount on Bibles.)

I have also been reminded multiple times recently that I have not been spending time in the word.  If you never saw this post, which shows a tribe getting the Bible in their language for the first time, check it out.  I can only imagine the thrill of hearing God's word for the first time in a way I could understand, whether I had only heard it in Latin or Greek, or maybe never in a language I could understand.  What a privilege to have such easy access to the Bible in many forms!

So to celebrate the quadricentennial and to try to revive my own love of God's word, I bought myself a KJV Bible.  I had one at one time, but I think I gave it away years ago.  I considered buying a cool edition that reproduces the original printing, but I figured I'd get tired of the antiquated letters, like using a v instead of u,or I instead of J. I just got a modern printing instead.

So my plan is to read the KJV all the way through over the next several months.  I'm using a reading plan I've used before (this one); I like it because it's a one year plan but it's undated, so you can start whenever and wherever you like. Maybe I'll post some gleanings from my reading from time to time.  Or not.

Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity, by Mark Batterson

First of all, let me say that I was pleased that Primal is not the book I thought it was going to be.  It is not an attempt to find some kind of pure expression of Christian worship, faith, and practice, seeking to replicate the first century church today.  Those sorts of efforts tend toward cultural ignorance and folly.  Batterson does long for a sort of early church purity; the book was at least in part inspired by a visit to the catacombs  of a church in Rome.  Batterson wants to be sure modern Christians are able to see beneath the "bells and steeples . . . creeds and canons . . . pews and pulpits, hymnals and organs, committees and liturgies" that have come to be a part of the Christian experience, to remind us of what is most basic about Christianity.

It's pretty simple.  The church is "not great at the Great Commandment.  In too many instances, we're not even good at it."  He sets out his recovery plan with four big ideas:

The heart of Christianity is primal compassion.

The soul of Christianity is primal wonder.

The mind of Christianity is primal curiosity.

And the strength of Christianity is primal energy.

Taking each of these things, he offers a couple of chapters each to flesh out the ideas.

I can't be 100% sure, but I have little doubt that this book started as a sermon series at his church.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, but the end result feels a little cobbled together.  Much of the exposition feels like filler; he came up with the basic ideas, then had to stretch them out for Sunday sermons.  And his preacher's habit of pulling in random scientific factoids to illustrate his points got a little annoying.

However, one important measure of a book like this is, Did he accomplish what he set out to do?  I would say the answer is yes.  By the time I got to the end, my level of inspiration had moved up a few notches.  I didn't read all of the discussion questions at the end, but they definitely provide good fodder for reflection.  Ultimately Batterson wants to see a new reformation.  Whereas Luther's Reformation was a reformation of creeds, marked by the rallying cry Sola fide (faith alone), the new Reformation should be marked by deeds of compassion, wonder, curiosity, and energy, with the rallying cry Amo Dei (love God).

Thanks to WaterbrookMultnomah for providing this free copy for review!

Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand

OK, there's just no way I can sufficiently treat one of the twentieth century's greatest (and longest!) novels in the usual space of a Reading Glutton review.  So I'll just give some highlights and personal thoughts.  But you wouldn't expect anything more of a shallow book consumer like me, would you?

I first read Atlas Shrugged in 1987, just after I graduated from high school.  (Thanks, Chelli, for turning me on to Rand!)  I still have that paperback, and have read it a couple of times since then, but not in years.  With the movie coming out (still haven't seen it) I thought I'd revisit it.  I have to admit, I did it the lazy way: I got the CDs from the library.  (In case you're wondering, it's 45 CDs, 50-something hours, I think.)

I had forgotten what a great read this is.  Yes, it's long--my edition, a trade paperback, is 1084 pages of teeny tiny print--but Rand does not write fluff.  Her descriptions are memorable, the dialogue is tight, and the story line moves briskly.  One criticism often made is that the speeches are too long.  She does have a few long expository passages, where the characters flesh out their ideas, but they're all naturally part of the story and do not detract.  The one exception is John Galt's major radio speech late in the book.  It goes on for 57 pages in my edition.  On CD it's 3 hours.  In the book, they refer to it as a 2 hour speech.  In any case it's long, and one certainly has to suspend disbelief to think the whole nation would listen to the entire speech, much less take it all to heart.  Maybe I'm too jaded by our media saturation; in the days of radio, I guess it's possible.  I could just see a modern audience tuning out within 5 minutes to see what's on ESPN.

As great a novelist as Rand was, she is more remembered for her ideas.  She unabashedly promoted the virtue of selfishness, especially from the perspective of business.  I am a Christian, and I know that we are to follow Christ's example of selflessness, but I do not believe Rand's conception of selfishness conflicts with the Christian life.  Business is all about serving the needs of others; a businessman who does not do so finds himself out of business.  Adam Smith captured this idea in his line: "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest."

One of Rand's heroes, Hank Rearden, made a similar point at a speech when he was put on trial for violating the restrictions placed on industry by the government.

I work for nothing but my own profit--which I make by selling a product they need to men who are willing and able to buy it.  I do not produce it for their benefit at the expense of mine, and they do not buy it for my benefit at the expense of theirs; I do not sacrifice my interests to them nor do they sacrifice theirs to me; we deal as equals by mutual consent to mutual advantage--and I am proud of every penny I own.  I made my money by my own effort, in free exchange and through the voluntary consent of every man I dealt with. . . . I refuse to apologize for my ability--I refuse to apologize for my success--I refuse to apologize for my money. . . . I could say to you that I have done more good for my fellow men than you can ever hope to accomplish--but I will not say it, because I do not seek the good of others as a sanction for my right to exist.

The villains in Atlas Shrugged (not to mention the current administration) never seem to get the point that by making money, a good businessman does vastly greater good for society and his fellow man than he ever can by giving money away.

Speaking of the current administration, Wesley Mouch's description of the John Galt Plan (which had nothing to do with Galt's ideas, he simply attempted to conscript Galt's name into government service) sounds suspiciously like something Barack Obama would say.  As you read this, please picture BO and his Teleprompter:

The John Galt Plan will reconcile all conflicts.  It will protect the property of the rich and give a greater share to the poor.  It will cut down the burden of your taxes and provide you with more government benefits.  It will lower prices and raise wages.  It will give more freedom to the individual and strengthen the bonds of collective obligations.  It will combine the efficiency of free enterprise with the generosity of a planned economy.

This is the kind of doublespeak I have come to expect from Washington.  Sometimes it seems Washington is taking its cues from Atlas Shrugged.  Rand talks about the "aristocracy of pull," which rewards the well-connected at the cost of successful enterprises.  What other explanation is there behind the bank bailouts?  Washington rewarded failure by bailing out the failed banks, costing the economy and the country, and penalizing successful banks.  I am in awe of the idiocy of our federal government's economic policies, but they would not have surprised Rand at all.

In many ways, Rand was an offensive figure, and she was certainly no friend of the Christian faith.  But I long to have someone like her making sense of the world today.  If you have never read Atlas Shrugged, you owe it to yourself to take a look.