Book Blurb: The Saint and the Sultan by Paul Moses

The Saint and the Sultan: The Crusades, Islam, and Francis of Assisi's Mission of Peace by Paul Moses
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The basic story is well-established in the biography of Saint Francis of Assisi -- how at the height of the Crusades, he ventured into enemy territory to meet with the Sultan and to preach to him. Some suggest that Francis was seeking martyrdom, though the prevailing thought takes the saint at his word: he wanted to end the wars and felt that converting the Muslims to Christianity was better than trying to kill them all.

Beyond that basic summary, the details of the story can vary widely depending on who is telling it. More than any other event in Francis's life, I think, this episode tends to reflect not so much the ideals and worldview of the subject as of the biographer. In The Saint and the Sultan, Paul Moses delves deep into the history behind the incident, to try and get at the truth behind the spin.

Throughout his lifetime Francis played the role of conscience to the Institutional Catholic Church. His strict adherence to the Gospel ideals and a life devoted to Christ's teaching tended to put him in stark contrast to the Medieval Ecclesiastical Hierarchy. And nowhere was this more evident than in his reaction to the Crusades. While church authorities were beating the drums of war, Francis embraced the call to "love your enemies and pray for your persecutors." More than any other event from his life, I think, this one put him in direct opposition to the religious authorities and called them to a depth of soul-searching that they were not willing to do.

And so, while the story could not be entirely stricken from the Saint's biographies, it was watered down, reinterpreted, and revised, leading to the many variations we see today. Moses does a good and thorough job of tracing each version to its origin, picking apart the more dubious claims, and making some solidly educated speculations at the truth.

This book is more academic than most biographies I've read of Saint Francis, but I appreciated the author's thoroughness. It really gave me a deeper and more profound appreciation for the Little Poor Man of Assisi, who has always been an inspiration to me. I feel this book helped me get to know the Saint a little bit better than I had before.

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Book Blurb: Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The title of the book calls to mind the famous and popular fictional Victorian-era detective, but the book is about actual real-life events which don't always wrap themselves up as neatly and satisfyingly as Conan-Doyle's stories. So in that sense, as engaging as it often is, the book promises something it can't quite deliver.

It's really two different stories. There is the story of Ruth Cruger, a young woman who disappears mysteriously in turn-of-the-century New York, where the police are unable (or unwilling) to get to the bottom of things; and there is the story of Grace Humiston, the lawyer-detective who solves the case. The two stories intersect briefly but for the most part stay separate and unrelated.

Ms. Humiston begins the story under the unfortunate name of Quackenbos before discarding both the name and the husband who gave it to her. She studies law, becomes a lawyer, and champions the causes of the poor and underprivileged -- primarily immigrants and women.

Set about a hundred years in the past, the issues dealt with here are remarkably current. In particular, Grace Humiston crusades against a male-dominated culture that exploits and generally has its way with young women. Almost a decade before women could vote, she was fighting the victim-blaming mentality that still today plagues our discussions of sexual crimes.

There is a lot to like about this book, unfortunately there is also a lack of focus. I enjoyed it a great deal, but ultimately it fell short of what it could have been.

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Blog Post: Christmas Around the World with the VSO

The Vermont Symphony Orchestra celebrates the season at the Flynn Center. Check out my review on the Flynn's blog here:
flynncenter.tumblr.com/post/168547996878/christmas-around-the-world-with-vso-holiday-pops

Blog Post: The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra

Among the most enjoyable of my freelance writing gigs: I get to see live performances at the Flynn Center in Burlington, Vermont, and then write about them.

Like when the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra came to town. Check it out here:
flynncenter.tumblr.com/post/165335051693/jazz-at-lincoln-center-orchestra-is-a-metaphor-for

Book Blurb: Building a Bridge by Fr. James Martin

Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity by James Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Father Martin offers up a small, easily readable book which, for all the furor it's raised in certain sectors of the Catholic Church, is actually remarkably tame. There is nothing scandalous here, just one priest's sharing of his most effective ideas for reaching out to certain groups of marginalized Catholics.

In fact, I found myself wondering if Fr. Martin might not be offering us a blueprint for the various other deep divisions facing our society these days. All he's really advocating here is for two sides to listen to each other, make some attempt at dialogue, and to have the patience to let them work through whatever issues they have to work through. He offers no answers, only a process and a Christ-like pastoral vision.

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Book Blurb: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really a charming bit of sci-fi light space opera with an enjoyable ensemble of characters. It's been said that good sci-fi is less about predicting the future than it is about examining the present in which it's created, and this book really embodies that. At its heart, it's about a lot of very different cultures and conflicting ideologies all trying to get along -- something our own society is struggling with at the moment. This story takes the mostly optimistic view that it's possible to all get along in the end. It might not always be easy, but we can do it.

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Book Blurb: The Best of Connie Willis: Award-Winning Stories by Connie Willis

The Best of Connie Willis: Award-Winning Stories by Connie Willis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Connie Willis ranks near the top of my list of favorite authors. Those top spots, I've found, go to those rare and wonderful artists who quite clearly and obviously love what they're doing, and let their joy shine throughout their body of work.

One piece of advice I often hear from artists to artists for succeeding in the creative arts is to "write what you enjoy, and eventually the rest of the world will catch up." Or sentiments to that effect. And throughout this collection of stories (as with the rest of Ms. Willis's writings) you get the sense that she's doing exactly that. Her stories are fun (they tend to read like old screwball comedies) and she makes it look easy.

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