All posts by Lars Walker

Fiction, Reviews

Review: So Brave, Young, and Handsome, by Leif Enger

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From what I’ve seen of readers’ reactions to So Brave, Young, and Handsome, Leif Enger’s second novel, I think most people liked it, but found it a little less wonderful than his first book, Peace Like a River.

It seems to me it should be noted that trying to write a better book than Peace Like a River is a little like trying to produce a better flavor than milk chocolate.

If Peace had never been written, I think readers would hail this book as the work of a masterful new novelist, and it would immediately go on many favorites lists.

It’s not so much a fantasy as Peace was. I think there are fantasy elements, but they’re buried, running beneath the surface like secret rivers. There’s symbolism in plenty, and the gospel permeates every chapter.

Intriguingly, the second book question is really central to the story. I think Enger’s use of it in the narrative enriches the whole project. Continue reading Review: So Brave, Young, and Handsome, by Leif Enger →

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Asymmetrical politics

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John Hinderaker at Power Line reports on the efforts of Leftist protesters at the Republican National Convention to actually injure (possibly kill) people on their way to participate in the assembly.

Isn’t it fascinating that conservatives, who are supposed to be narrow-minded ideologues who see the world in stark black-and-white terms, did not try to do this sort of thing to the Democrats in Denver?

And that Leftists, who are supposed to be open-minded and tolerant, actually are attempting to prevent the party they oppose from holding a legal assembly necessary to carrying on the constitutional election process?

I know these protesters don’t represent the majority of Democrats. But why isn’t there a noticeable Republican equivalent? And why don’t we hear the Democratic leadership denouncing these acts?

(By the way, on a totally irrelevant note, “Hinderaker” is a Norwegian name. Some of my ancestors lived on a farm named Hinderaker, so it’s conceivable John and I are distant relations.)

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A brother beloved

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Gaius at Blue Crab Boulevard posts a moving tribute to his brother’s birthday today:

In a cognitive sense, my brother is about eight years old – and always will be. But he is sweet, affectionate, artistic and quite the ladies man. He will tell, with complete sincerity, any woman he meets that she is gorgeous. This is not a hollow compliment, he means everything he says; there is not one dishonest bone in his body. And he can draw some stunning pictures.

Read it all here.

Reading

Happy Labor Day

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My weekend was a quiet one. I puttered around my gutters a bit and washed my car, but didn’t accomplish a whole lot. Today I had to go in to work for a while, because every year on September 1 it is my obligation to give an orientation lecture on the library to our new students. Such are the sacrifices I make for my calling.

I read Leif Enger’s new book, So Brave, Young and Handsome. I’ll review it tomorrow. I’ll just say now that I liked it quite a lot, and would have been surprised if I hadn’t.

Then I read a Dean Koontz, Ticktock. Delightful. I started another, The Voice of the Night, which is an early book, and quickly gave me hints that it was one of the unpleasant ones he wrote before he found his voice, so I cast it aside into the outer darkness. Now I’m reading Twilight Eyes, and liking it a lot.

Hope you had a good holiday.

Religion

You’re not a heretic. You’re just a moron.

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I’m not sure where this post is going. I’m thinking through a thought I had this morning. I hope it will be short.

So I’ll do my best to be superficial.

It seems to me, too often in the church, we disagree in the wrong way. When someone suggests a new thing, our response tends to be, “This is un-Christian. It’s unscriptural. It’s heretical.”

In fact, very often the idea is just stupid.

(These thoughts were inspired by this post over at “Stuff Christians like.”)

Wouldn’t it be better to say, “That’s a stupid idea,” than “That’s a heretical idea?”

It would move the disagreement out of the realm of matters of faith, into matters of judgment.

We’d just be insulting the other person’s intelligence.

I guess that doesn’t help much.

Conflict resolution has never been my strong suit.

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Palin for VP?

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If this story is true, I’d say it’s very good news for the Republican ticket.

I had some sentimental, Minnesotan investment in Pawlenty’s shot, but frankly nobody except his own family is all that enthusiastic about the guy.

I’ve said for some time that if McCain could see his way clear to choosing a woman for his running mate, he could pretty much cruise home. Palin will attract both conservative Republicans and Hillary Democrats.

Political genius, I say. I shall allow myself the unaccustomed luxury of a short moment of optimism now.

Goofing

Visitor’s guide to Minnesota

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For the thousands of our readers who no doubt are delegates coming to St. Paul for the Republican convention, let me explain The Minnesota Way:

“They pull a knife, you apologize. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his tickets to the Guthrie and a gift certificate from Cariboo Coffee. That’s the Minnesota way!”

As a Republican visitor in a famously blue state, home to Hubert Mondale and Walter Humphrey, you may be confused as to how to build good will and get along with the natives here.

The answer is, don’t bother. They will hate you whatever you do. If one of them has a heart attack in your presence and you administer CPR, they’ll file a lawsuit against you for inappropriate touching.

However, this is Minnesota, so most of them probably won’t actually assault you physically. Therefore, if you simply watch your step, look nobody in the eye and speak only when spoken to, you can probably survive your visit.

Here’s something nobody probably has told you—you don’t need to pack winter clothes. Leave the parka at home. A couple weeks from now, yeah, you’d probably need it. But just now mosquito spray and heavy duty deodorant will be more useful to you.

For maximum safety, you should probably do what the rest of us do. Try to blend in. Purchase Birkenstocks and a pair of those narrow eyeglasses. Slap a green WHAT WOULD WELLSTONE DO? bumper sticker on your rental car (you can buy them at special kiosks in the airport). At odd moments, whenever you’re among people you don’t actually know already, blurt out, as if spontaneously, “D*mn, this country used to be a great place before Bushie turned it into a vast concentration camp,” or “Oh, how I long for the moral altitude we enjoyed during the Carter administration,” or “George Clooney’s latest film was so insightful!”

Liberals will nod and be impressed with your sophistication.

Conservatives will understand.

If you suspect you’re in the presence of another conservative, employ our Secret Recognition Sign, revealed beneath the fold: Continue reading Visitor’s guide to Minnesota →

Goofing

Buddy, can you spare some change?

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It’s recently been brought to my attention that some sort of political event is going on this week, someplace out west (or out east, if you live to the west of wherever it is). I’ve also heard, through my highly-placed sources, that the civic-minded citizens assembled there are promoting the idea of “Change.”

This is a good thing. Count me in. I’ve often been told that “Change is good,” and I think that can be considered an incontrovertible truth. Take a few examples that come to mind, ideas for change which (I’m certain) these farsighted individuals will immediately recognize as positive boons to the common weal.

First of all, I think we need more global warming. I’ve been promised global warming for several years now, but this has been one of the coolest summers I’ve ever seen, and last winter was positively frigid. Obviously we haven’t been doing a good enough job of promoting Change Through Global Warming. Continue reading Buddy, can you spare some change? →

Writing

Words vs. music

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Had to take a little road trip tonight, for no interesting reason. So this post won’t even be up to my usual low standards.

The other day I got a call in the library from someone who wanted information on an old Lutheran hymn. You benighted Calvinists and Catholics probably don’t even know about this one, but it’s quite good . There are various translations, but the one I know is entitled “O Take My Hand, Dear Father.” I was able to use a resource we have in our collection to relate to the caller the story of the hymn’s writing.

Julia von Hautzmann (d. 1901), the poet, was born to a German family living in Estonia. As a young woman she married a missionary, but he left almost immediately for the far east (exactly where he went slips my mind). Sailing out to join him, she learned on arrival that he had died of a tropical disease. So she had to sail home again, a widow. On the voyage home she put her submission to God’s will into a poem:

Oh, take my hand, dear Father, and lead Thou me,

Till at my journey’s ending I dwell with Thee.

Alone I dare not journey one single day,

So do Thou guide my footsteps on life’s rough way.

Apparently she never married again. She wrote many Christian poems over her lifetime, but had them published only reluctantly, and even then insisted on anonymity.

My resource had something to say about the composer of the hymn tune, Friedrich Silcher, as well. But his story seemed a lot duller. He studied music, had a career as a church musician, wrote a number of hymn tunes, and that was about it.

What struck me was that, in most of the hymn stories I’ve heard over the years, the interesting part has almost always been the poet’s story. Contrary to their reputations, musicians always seem rather dull. Most of the time they come up with a tune to fit a poem. But it’s rarely a matter of much drama.

Which proves to me (word guy that I am) that words are more important than music.

And that bodes ill for contemporary church music.

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On swords IV: The epilogue

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I’m flip-flopping here. I said my previous sword post would wrap it up, but (as is so often the case) I thought of something else I wanted to say.

One of the great things about blogging is that you’re generally immune from “staircase syndrome,” the phenomenon where you get into an argument with somebody at a party, and then finally come up with the perfect retort as you’re going down the staircase as you leave.

When a blogger comes up with something he should have said, he can just make it a new post.

One of the guys I do live steel combat with is a Vietnam combat veteran. At one point early in my training, after I’d been in my first fight, and he saw how much I’d enjoyed it, he told me, “Now you know what it’s like.” There was a gleam in his eye as he said it. Continue reading On swords IV: The epilogue →