Life’s Paradox

In march, I read a couple of works of fiction during Spring break. It would have been very wise of me to try to get a better start on my reading for my end-of-the-semester papers, but reading explicitly theology/philosophy texts was the absolute last thing I wanted to do at that time. So instead, I read Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory and a more recent one called The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

The Power and the Glory was recommended to me by a professor during one of our classes earlier this semester. He said that it had a profound effect on his life when he read it, and he was right: this book did not disappoint. I would want to distance myself from some of the conclusions he drew regarding how it contributes to his current view on how theology functions, but all in all, the story of the whiskey priest was a very good one. In a way, the book was profoundly theological, but at least not in any direct way like the usual books I read. Highly recommended.

The Shadow of the Wind was a book I saw on the book tables at Costco sometime last year. It was cheap and as far as judging a book by its cover, I would have to say that this book was delicious before even opening it up. It was much easier to get into than The Power and the Glory, but it was a very different kind of tale. Let’s just say I have now loaned it to my friend Jarrod — singer/guitarist of In Reverent Fear who loves Oscar Wilde — and he called last week to tell me he loves it so far. Zafón is an excellent writer, and he knows how to spin an labyrinthine yarn with skill. A very enjoyable read, from page one.

~ by Eric Lee on May 16, 2007.