Wish Fulfillment

I finished "Wishin' and Hopin'" by Wally Lamb last week, in preparation for both hearing him at Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin and for the church book club discussion we'll have after he speaks the first evening. It was a fun read. Lamb is a master of point of view--I read "She's Come Undone" years ago, and though it was not one of my favorite novels, I felt that I knew the main character inside and out.

His alter ego, Felix Funicello, navigates the world of 1960s Catholic school and the mysteries of growing up in a completely believable way. Felix's wish to know more, to matter more and his inability to manage either are all too familiar to anyone who survived middle school. It also made me laugh. A lot. This book is often, in the word that Felix uses to describe some of his classmates, "salty." But it's got some heart. It's not a heavy read, yet at the end, after the dubious nativity scene, I came away thinking about what a great description it is, to have such hapless, unprepared, flawed individuals emulating the holy family. We are such flawed and yet somehow endearing reflections of Christ!

Next up is "The Thin Place" by Kathryn Davis, which I'm about a quarter of the way through. The first few chapters were a bit disorienting--the novel jumps from character to character, without much context. It's starting to come together a bit now, and I look forward to figuring out what it's really about. Davis has some wild ways of describing things.

I know this is a book blog, but I'll probably throw in music or movie info too. Today I was working on a small editing project, and I put on a new album for background music. It's Patty Griffin's latest CD, "Downtown Church." If you enjoyed "Raising Sand" by Allison Krauss and Robert Plant or the soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" you might want to try this collection mostly made up of traditional folk and country hymns. Her voice is more Bonnie Raitt than Allison Kraus, but it's lovely. And it closes with a rendition of "All Creatures of Our God and King" that might finally reinvent that particular song for me. Years ago our family watched a Mr. Bean short where he visits church, and that song figured prominently in the sketch. Ever since, whenever that song shows up in worship, my kids and I find ourselves stifling laughter. Maybe I can keep a straight face now. Here's hopin' (and wishin')!