Doing some early-1991 reminiscing the other day, I thought about the best books I have read in the last year. Though there have been an abundance of good books, a handful come most quickly to mind. A couple I have mentioned briefly before; others I have not. If you haven't already, try to catch a couple soon.
A New Vision
Early in the year I had the opportunity to read the page proofs of a New Society Publishers book, Ambassador of Reconciliation: A Muriel Lester Reader ($14.95, paper). Edited by Richard Deats, director of interfaith activities at the Fellowship of Reconciliation, this is a marvelous first-person account of a very interesting life.
Muriel Lester was an activist whose rebelliousness was based in the principled religious beliefs of faith, prayer, and nonviolence, and so unleashed the transforming energy of a prophet upon early 20th-century Britain. Her resilience against cynicism and despair challenged the power of the principalities of her age. Deats' choice of source material demonstrates Lester's celebration of the human spirit and captures the vision for reconciliation promoted by this unique and wonderful woman.
The "Dorothy Day of Britain" moniker reflects the caliber of this woman who easily could have chosen the creature comforts of her familial home over the less stable environs of antiwar activist and local charity provider. She chose to dwell with people of a different background, who had no choice where to live. Boundaries or differences never inhibited Lester; in fact they only compelled her to deeper relationship. Compassion was a driving force, undergirding her analysis as well as her activism.
Deats wisely allows Lester to speak for herself while providing at the beginning of each chapter some background information for context setting. This format certainly captures the vision of this unique woman.
The vision of two African-American men are similarly captured in Malcolm & Martin & America: A Dream or A Nightmare? by James Cone (Orbis, 1991, $22.95, cloth). And, Cone would argue, rather than getting double vision from looking at both together, the reader will have much come into focus.
In ways that most Americans are only now appreciating, Malcolm X and Martin King are intertwined as individuals and symbols with America's legacy and destiny. The questions raised by the lives of these men about this nation must be examined by all. Cone offers insights that may serve as a road map for those willing to undertake the long journey toward reconciliation. This book is a contribution to finding our way.
Clearing Our Vision
One of the best releases of 1991 deals with the depth of liturgical commitment as it enlivens our faith. Seasons of Faith and Conscience: Kairos, Confession, Liturgy, by Bill Wylie Kellermann (Orbis, 1991, $12.95, paper) is the story of liturgics and radical discipleship for the last decade, and I think for the next.
Kellermann sets in context the bulk of biblical material by demonstrating what he refers to as Jesus' liturgical politics. He persuasively argues that in the narratives Jesus' analyses often drive his choice of behavior or statement. And by using familiar symbols of faith, those around him - friend and foe - became aware of the radical nature of his actions. By swearing allegiance to God, Jesus was setting himself at odds with imperial Rome and the powerful elite of Israel.
Such clear action reawakens us - our society tends to numb or deaden our consciousness - to the subversive nature of worship. By proclaiming God as sovereign in worship, we state publicly our allegiance to the Resurrected One over any temporal leaders. We may forget the power of this commitment, but the powers-that-be do not; they are too threatened by it.
Many books of pious thought suggest that we simply allow Sunday to redefine the rest of the week, especially as we confront ethical decisions (most of us instead have allowed the rest of the week to influence our "Sunday-thinking"). Kellermann offers us a concrete way to comprehend the power of liturgy's effect on our public life.
Following in the tradition of William Stringfellow, and in the company of biblical scholars such as Walter Wink, Walter Brueggemann, Ched Myers, and Hannah Arendt, Kellermann restages the Easter drama for us. We see it again, yet anew, with this reading; the choice is once more before us. Christ or Caesar? This book compels us again toward the Nazarene, Jesus, filled with more hope and joy even as we know more deeply the powers of the principalities.
Visions of an Old World
Now, I am a sucker for a series. Any fictional or non-fictional work that unites characters again and again in sequels is likely to catch my eye (perhaps accounting for my positive feelings toward soap operas and comic books). One of my favorite series saw a new release in 1991.
None of the sequels to The Clan of the Cave Bear, by Jean M. Auel, has matched the original's standard, but The Plains of Passage (Bantam Books, 1991, $6.95, paper) reunited me with characters I have missed since last we met.
Originally ground-breaking feminist literature, the books - this one being the fourth - increasingly read more like Harlequin Romances than classic works of fiction (the heated description of two woolly mammoths in love almost did me in). Still the characters are multidimensional, and the rich detail of the period when woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers walked is interesting.
Another very powerful novel, The Crown of Columbus (Crown Publishing, 1991, $21.95, cloth), is a modern story of suspense based upon lost information about Columbus and his trips to America. Timely as the debate over Columbus' impact on subsequent history is rising to a fever pitch, the book offers a creative evaluation of the myth and the man.
Though the plot is as important as the players, the characters in this work by Louise Erdrich and Michael Dorris are the kind that would cause me to come back again and again to any sequels. But can they come back after what they have been through? Sorry, you must read the book to find out.
No Revisioning the Vision
And sent into my life just to prove that history can be more entertaining than fiction is Linda Ellerbee's Move On: Adventures in the Real World (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1991, $21.95, cloth). This is Ellerbee's sequel to And So It Goes: Adventures in Television, and it is a joy to read.
It's tempting simply to recount Ellerbee's humorous anecdotes, of which there are legion. (Suffice it to say that it compares favorably in wit to Erma Bombeck or Art Buchwald, but with an added dimension: depth.) But a mere retelling of her stories would miss the real wisdom of the book. This is a philosophical meandering through the lives of the baby-boom generation.
Ellerbee's stories come pretty close to defining a generation. The children of the '60s will see their reflection in the passages of this book. Will they like what they see? That depends on their vision.
Stay tuned.
Bob Hulteen was the Under Review editor at Sojourners when this article appeared.
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