Ron’s #33: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him.  Jonathan Swift

Swift’s quotation describes Ignatius J. Reilly better than you could possible imagine. The entire world is filled with idiots interfering, cheating, manipulated the misunderstood genius, or so it seems in Ignatius’s mind. Ignatius is over-educated, under-motivated, overweight, and socially deformed in his quest to, well, to do nothing. His mother is over-bearing yet sympathetic, but she is running out of patience with her TV-watching son. The story begins with a small car accident in New Orleans, forcing Ignatius to seek employment to pay help pay for the damages. The results are pure comedy.

Ignatius hops from a clerk in a failing clothing company to a hot dog vendor to a political organizer in an effort to bring his intelligence to a much lower element of society. Lucky them. The story is filled with flawed characters: a hapless police office, a detached business owner and his condescendingly liberal wife, a busybody neighbor, a stripper with a heart of gold, a flamboyant party organizer, a cruel strip bar owner, an elderly clerk with dementia, and female college activist with a penchant for bad screenplays and petty antics. And, of course, is Jones, a Black janitor for the less-than-reputable Night of Joy strip club. Jones is the least educated yet the sharpest character in the bunch.

But the real story is Ignatius himself. His “Oh my God!” gasps, complaints about his heart valve, and his sophisticated turnings of a phrase make this a funny, funny book. As readers we both love and despise Ignatius. Either way, we watch him with car wreck-like wonder.

The story behind the book is interesting: the book was published posthumously after his mother nagged Walker Percy to read it. Toole committed suicide in 1969, and the novel was published in 1980. It won the Pulizer Prize the following year.

I’ve wanted to read this book for years now. Mark read it this year, and his review nudged me to start it. I alternated reading the book with listening to the audio book. I’m glad I listened to it, because this is the best production of any audio book I’ve ever heard. The performance of Ignatius and Jones is unbelievable.

JRF's #38 - The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

When knights of the realm take breaks from writing detective mysteries, they write genre defining adventure stories - stories like the Lost World.

The Lost World introduces one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's lesser known protagonists, Professor Challenger.  Challenger is an eccentric academic who claims to have evidence that deep in the South American Rainforest exists a land isolated from time, a land where dinosaurs and other unknown beasts still roam.  To defend his honor and prove his claim he assembles a team of hunters, skeptics and colleagues.  What follows is a classic adventure of the first order.

Now if any of that sounds cliche or familiar (including the title) it is simply because Sir A.C.D. has influenced, inspired, and been borrowed from by many generations of writers since, not least of which is Michael Crichton who admits as much in the forward to this edition.

This book is a classic for a reason.  Highly enjoyable epic in the vein of L. Rider Haggard, Edgar Rice Burroughs and John Buchan.

Ally's #48: "Agnes Grey" by Anne Bronte

Well, it appears all three Bronte sisters are gifted writers. After finishing up Jane Eyre, I decided to give the more brief Agnes Grey a shot. I was not disappointed.

At first, I was afraid that Anne would only provide her readers a poor regurgitation of her sister's stories. The main character, Agnes, comes from a poor, but genuinely happy family. As a young woman, she ventures out to serve as a governess in the homes of two different, very indulgent families. This is where the similarities diverge.

Agnes' first year as a governess reminded me in some ways of my first year of teaching. I felt her pain as she struggled to control her pupils with her hands tied behind her back, so to speak. Her employers blame her for all of their children's shortcomings, but do not allow Agnes to elevate herself to a position of power over them, forbidding her to discipline, strike, or criticize their children in any form. Agnes is eventually asked to leave after a year of work because the children seem to exhibit worse behavior than before she arrived. It was not for lack of effort on Agnes' part, but the continual undermining of her authority by her employers.

Agnes' second job was better, to some degree, but she is still treated like a nothing and a nobody. What a challenge it is to make any impression on the young minds in your charge when they are taught by undeniable example that you are not deserving of respect. After a few years of service, her burden lightens with the departure of the young men of the home to university. Agnes also had some healing balm applied to the wounds of her loneliness. A new clergyman, Mr. Weston, comes to their town who handles the Word of God rightly and engagingly. He is also incredibly genuine and kind, and develops a rapport with all of the poor and lowly in the area.

To put it simply, Agnes' heart skips a beat upon every meeting, every conversation, and every thought that drifts to Mr. Weston. She prays fervently that God would grant her the pleasure of one day being Mrs. Weston, but never stoops to unabashedly flirt with him in the way oldest and most beautiful young lady she cared for did. Rosalie Murray is perhaps the vilest female character I've ever encountered. She delights in controlling men and their emotions by feigning to entertain some feelings toward them. She loves a conquest and tries to fit in as many heart-wrenching triumphs as possible before her marriage to a wealthy man in good standing, whom she detests. Agnes describes Miss Murray best in her diary account:

Had I seen it depicted in a novel, I should have thought it unnatural; had I heard it described by others, I should have deemed it a mistake or an exaggeration; but when I saw it with my own eyes, and suffered from it, too, I could only conclude that excessive vanity, like drunkenness, hardens the heart, enslaves the faculties, and perverts the feelings; and that dogs are not the only creatures which, when gorged to the throat, will yet gloat over what they cannot devour, and grudge the smallest morsel to a starving brother.

The story has a happy ending and the conclusion is succinct. I would recommend this read for any teacher, mentor, or parent who wants to be encouraged that the children in their care are not as horrid as the ones Agnes had to deal with.

JRF's # 37 - Knowing God by J.I. Packer

I listened to this classic in the car this year.  Although I still struggle with the medium of audiobooks (see here and here), and as such find it hard to write a substantive review as I have retained far less of the book than if I had read it with highlighter in hand, it was easy to see why this book is such a classic.  Packer unpacks (see what I did there) deep, breathtaking Truth about God in an accessible and engaging way, and in a way that doesn't just leave the reader (or hearer) feeling more knowledgable about God, but actually points the heart and mind to worship God.

I will be returning to this book often, next time in writing.

JRF's #36 - Inventing the Enemy by Umberto Eco

This book is a collection of essays about anything and everything by University of Milan professor and author Umberto Eco.

Here's a brief synopsis of each:

Inventing the Enemy -  A historical account of humanity's proclivity to look for someone to stereotype, vilify, and hate.

Absolute and Relative - A somewhat muddled discussion of the relationship between absolute and relative truth.

The Beauty of the Flame - Beautifully chronicles the various uses, philosophies, and symbolic utilizations of fire and light throughout history.

Treasure Hunting - Catalougs some of the more interesting and fantastical relics that have filled the treasuries of Roman Catholic churches over the years.

Fermented Delights -  Catalougs the writings and musings of the late Italian historian Piero Camporesi, who had a fascination with historical forms of fermentation, be that of beer, cheese, or decomposing bodies.

No Embryos in Paradise -  An examination of Thomas Aquinas' views on the humanity and soul of the unborn (spoiler alert: Aquinas was wrong).

Hugo, Helas!: The Poetics of Excess - Eco celebrates Victor Hugo's trademark penchant for dramatic excess.

Censorship and Silence - Examines the irony that censorship of something make it more popular and the oversaturation in the media of that same thing dulls its influence and allure.

Imaginary Astronomies - Investigates the attempts throughout history to map the universe as well as the earth and shows how even erroneous theories became stepping stones in our understanding of the world and the heavens.  Interesting side story about how some Nazi's belief that the surface of the world was actually concave with us on the inside of the sphere may have contributed to so many botched V8 rocket launches.

Living by Proverbs -  This essay is made up entirely of folk wisdom and "things my daddy used to say", showing that if we literally lived by proverbial wisdom we would cease to function.

I Am Edmond Dantes! - Explores the use and misuse of the literary device of anagnorisis, which surprises the readers and/or the characters of a story with the revelation of a secret identity.

Ulysses: That's All We Needed... -  A collection of fascist era reviews of James Joyce's Ulysses.

Why the Island Is Never Found - Discusses the search of islands real and imagined, the invention and importance of longitude, and the reason that some islands are never discovered.

Thoughts on WikiLeaks -  commentary on the significance of the WikiLeaks scandal and what it means to live in a world where not only is the technology for an Orwellian like Big Brother government available, but the technology exists to steal Big Brother's secrets.

I enjoyed all of the essays, understood most of them and appreciated the opportunity to have my mind stretched in subjects I wouldn't normally encounter.

JRF's #35 - Deny Yourself by Steve Gallagher

I was given this short book(let?) at last years' Desiring God Conference, Finish the Mission. It is a collection of 20 short biographical excerpts ranging from the early church to the 20th Century that highlight extraordinary examples of Christian missionary faithfulness, even faithfulness unto death.  We have been reading a chapter every saturday morning as a family.  It has been convicting and steeling to be reminded of the faithfulness of those who truly understood the value of the Gospel for themselves and for the lost, and literally loved those trapped in darkness to death.

When missionary to China, Jack Vinson was asked by his executioner, "I am going to kill you.  Aren't you afraid?"  Vinson simply replied, "Kill me, if you wish.  I will go straight to God."  Inspired by Vinson's sacrifice Presbyterian minister wrote a poem entitled "Afraid? Of What?" that went on to become the theme of all missionaries in China during that period.

Afraid?  Of What?

To feel the Spirit's glad release?  To pass from pain to perfect peace, 

 The strife and strain of life to cease? Afraid - of that?

Afraid? Of What?

Afraid to see the Savior's face, To hear His welcome, and to trace

The glory gleam from wounds of grace?  Afraid - of that?

Afraid? Of What? 

A flash, a crash, a pierced heart; Darkness, light, O Heaven's art!

A wound of His a counterpart! Afraid - of that?

Afraid? Of What?

To do by death what life could not - Baptize with blood a stony plot, 

Till souls shall blossom from the spot? Afraid - of that?