- Motherhood and domesticity: What would it have been like to share that territory with another woman? How does it compare to the modern practice of enlisting daycare to hold down a paying job?
- How much does the instilling of hatred and bigotry into her family diminish the value of an otherwise loving mother? On the other hand, how much, if at all, does the benign neglect of the issue of racism (or any other destructive tendency) excuse poor mothering?
- What personal resources would have been needed for a woman in that era to shun an unhealthy romance in favor of her dreams? How does that compare to the present day? How important is it for a married couple to agree on politics, etc?
- Regarding ugly racist vernacular: How does it affect people, who can use it and be accepted, what are the implications? Are people okay with a double standard?
- How much does the era in which one is raised underscore his or her values? How much are we as a society willing to tolerate racist undertones based on age group or geographic influence?
- If we are in fact slowly rubbing out the worst stains of racism from our culture, then what is the next controversial territory? Where will we next seek to improve our collective attitude?
- How far reaching can a child’s earliest moral education be?
The Imperfectionists (book review)
First of all, the book is written in a slightly unusual format which, once deciphered, was completely enjoyable. Rachman weaves the story pretty much by characterizing people over and over again, and quite well. The reader is served insights into human nature and motivation, parental relationships, the strength of romantic passion (or lack thereof), and even the fallout of the loss of a child.
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Stieg Larsson (book review)
Exfoliate My Soul (book review of The Shack)
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Trusting God’s goodness when you don’t really trust Him anymore
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Senseless tragedy and how people cope with it
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Hating God (and repenting of that)
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Reconciling genuine spirituality with indoctrinated religion
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Relating personally to God
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Abandoning judgemental tendencies
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Forgiving those who have wronged you
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Accepting your own forgiveness
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Believing you are loved
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When should grief expire?
Also, please read this brilliant girl’s review of the same book. She is one of our newest book club members and drove many hours to the farm to be part of this weekend! We mulled over the intricacies of the stuff for hours. Enjoy.
Metabolizing Lemon Cake
It should come as no surprise that reading The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake had great impact on my eating habits during those weeks. The bright blue volume was slipped into my purse when I went on a trip to Texas. I read page after page while feasting on one incarnation of Gulf shrimp after another.
His ripe green fruit tasted of risk and bankruptcy.
An element of Rose’s character development I found especially delightful was that as her skills became sharper and the feelings more intense, her physical appetite changed. She craved hand-prepared food less and less, turning more frequently to overly processed, factory-made junk. No human source was numbed enough to insulate her from feeling their strong, messy emotions.
To this, Aimee replied that she was not trying to make an overly political statement, just that she was happy to call attention to a different way of looking at the issues of food origin, processing, health, animal handling, etc.