Book club is discussing Theo of Golden tonight. I have read a few chapters and fear that my dominant conversational style will push out others who know more - even though the the others are predominantly university professors.* I may not go tonight. I do not think this will hasten or retard the Second Coming.
His name is Theo. He arrives at Easter. The town is called Golden. He is clearly a quiet elite who is encouraging to the common people. What I have read is charming. Got it? I think it is likely to be heartwarming, but because it appeals to many moderns it must have some ambiguity and complexity to it. I don't fault that, because that pretty much describes Tolkien and Lewis's heroic fiction, doesn't it? And they are the foundation of so much of my emotional, cultural, spiritual, and moral outlook that I should hesitate to reject any echo of that...correct?
Yeah, maybe not. Among my wife, my son, and my daughter-in-law I think they will have these things covered.
*They are generous and affirming, which probably encourages me too much. But my career was largely explaining mental health law to lawyers who thought they could bully me; systems to other agencies; or practical mental health to OneSky psychologists, etc. Even when I'm wrong I can lay down a marker. But that strength is a weakness in book discussions, isn't it?
3 comments:
I only read the first two pages, but I’m not going tonight. I’m not sure when along the way I would have picked up the spiritual stuff overtones.
It might have been a very long time. I read all of “A Separate Peace” in high school and caught none of the themes. “Why are they killing this kid? He seems great.”
Thomas Hobbs said of the ancient Greeks that they loved "to prate and loiter," and many academics are cut from the same cloth. Practical men see discussion as a means to decision, whereas many professors see discussion as an end in itself. Perhaps the two types work best when they balance each other, unbalanced deciders rushing to judgement, unbalanced discussers leaving everything up in the air.
I looked into this book on a recommendation a while back, but it seemed to be one of those books that's trying too hard to be liked by every book club on the planet.
Post a Comment