Review: Julian of Norwich: And the Mystical Body Politic of Christ

Julian of Norwich: And the Mystical Body Politic of Christ by Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book: ***
Performance: ***

Not for the Faint of Heart

It’s an academic piece, so performance wise it was adequate. This book itself was a look into the writings of Julian of Norwich, who is created with writing one of the earliest surviving english language works by a woman. While living as an anchoress in a cell at St Julian Church in Norwich, she became seriously ill and experienced several (16) visions; after which wrote them done into what would become known as the short text [The Showings]. Much later, she reexamined those visions and attempted to explain them better in what would become known as the long text [of Julian’s Revelations of Divine Love]. The net result is that her writings show a fairly mystical , while at the same time very corporal, understanding God’s love and redemptive desire for man, primarily from an aspect of the feminine/motherhood … all of which makes her somewhat dated works difficult to fully comprehend by a modern, casual reader such as me. It was my hope this book would make her more accessible. It did not.

I say this because this is first and foremost a philosophical/theological examination … to which the use of language that is rarely seen outside those genres that make what is presented quite dense, nuanced and difficult to understand. Placing Julians concepts within other medieval mystics and thinkers further exacerbate the struggle. In the end, I don’t really know how to even summarize the primary point beyond a general feel that bodily suffering somehow reveals the Love of God. I did get some insight into how woman of that time were treated … but then I really didn’t need to that to know how complete weird and hard and oppressive the life of woman then.

Introduction (0:04)
Chapter 1: Imagining the Political (1:31)
Chapter 2: I Desired a Bodily Sight (1:17)
Chapter 3: A Fair and Delectable Place - Part 1 (1:19)
Chapter 4: A Fair and Delectable Place - Part 2(1:20)
Chapter 5: A Continuant Laborer - Part 1 (1:25)
Chapter 6: A Continuant Laborer - Part 2 (1:17)
Conclusion: Performing the Book (0:31)
Appendix: Who Was Julian of Norwich (0:26)

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: The Coded Blue Envelope

The Coded Blue Envelope by Anna Elliott
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book: **
Performance: ****

By now it should be clear that I am a fan of the series; this my review here is primarily on how it sits within the corpus. With that in mind … it is decidedly average and more or less what I have come to expect as Sherlock and the Sons of Ra under Lord Sonneborne (the big bad for this trilogy) maneuver around a plot to throw the empire into disarray so that Egypt might gain their independence. The story begins in Milan Italy with Lucy’s mother Zoe before moving back to London to secure the help of Sherlock and Lucy … and it is a marvelous opportunity to explore more of Zoe’s history and personality (and perhaps learn a bit more about how she hooked up with Sherlock so long ago). Jack, Becky and Flynn, as part of the expended caste, make a few minor contributions just so we can stay in touch while the blue envelope macguffin holds an important clue to the ultimate overarching plot that will remove itself one way or another on the next story … and for some reason, that was not enough of an incentive, this story ends in a surprising cliffhanger (minus 1 star) that makes the beginning of the next book more confusing than it should have been. Still it was fun and I continue to recommend this trilogy and the series over all.

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: The Dead Cat Tail Assassins

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a fairly short book (200+ pages) that I was able to read in one sitting … so I can easily say that it all just worked. The foundation premise and world building were fun and interesting (an undead assassin caught up in a conspiracy that threatens her own very existence … to say nothing of the other members of her guild). So we get a combination of mystery, magic, action and humor that made it hard to put down all the way to a rather satisfying ending … perhaps my only complaint (and for me it was enough to subtract a half point … then I rounded up at the end) is the mangled, quasi-caribbean, dialect used by the assassin’s patron deity, which was so difficult for me to understand that I skipped most of her dialog and just picked up the gist from the context. Fortunately this was limited to the last part of the story, so I was already fully invested in the story and outcome. The snarky humor of the main character may not be for everybody, but I really enjoyed it (it reminded me of another favor series with the same black humor). Just as important for me was that it was more or less a unique take on a common trope (it didn’t feel mechanical or derivative), which made it so much more interesting overall.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Review: Torat Ahava - Loving Torah

Torat Ahava - Loving Torah by Rabbi Avi Weiss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a five (5) volume work covering the Jewish Torah (aka The Pentateuch or the first five(5) books of the Christian Old Testament). Right off the bat you recognize that this is an ambitious effort that eventually runs well over 658 pages. Each volume is dedicated to one of the five (5) books and within each volume, the chapters basically cover a specific story within that book, which is further divided into brief commentaries on specific elements within the story. As I come from a different tradition than what can be extracted from these commentaries, I can’t really evaluate how faithfully that represent concepts within the Jewish tradition; however, I can say that I found them to be very thought provoking and enjoyable. Most Christian analysis of these books tend to focus on extracting understanding and support for the message presented about Jesus in their New Testament and in many cases have ignored how our cousins in faith have interpreted their own scriptures … and I think we have lost something there. Mostly, however, what I gained from these book is the idea that there are many different ways to interpret, understand and apply the ideals and concepts presented in scripture and they can all be useful for the spiritual pilgrim.

The Book of Genesis

• Chapter 1: Bereishit
• Chapter 2: Noach
• Chapter 3: Lech Lecha
• Chapter 4: Vayera
• Chapter 5: Chayei Sarah
• Chapter 6: Toldot
• Chapter 7: Vayetzei
• Chapter 8: Vayishlach
• Chapter 9: Vayeshev
• Chapter 10: Miketz
• Chapter 11: Vayechi

The Book of Exodus

• Chapter 1: Shemot
• Chapter 2: Va’era
• Chapter 3: Bo
• Chapter 4: Bechalach
• Chapter 5: Yitro
• Chapter 6: Mishpatim
• Chapter 7: Terumah
• Chapter 8: Tetzaveh
• Chapter 9: Ki Tisa
• Chapter 10: Vayakhel
• Chapter 11: Pekudei

The Book of Leviticus

• Chapter 1: Vayikra
• Chapter 2: Tzav
• Chapter 3: Shemini
• Chapter 4: Tazria
• Chapter 5: Metzora
• Chapter 6: Acharei Mot
• Chapter 7: Kedoshim
• Chapter 8: Emor
• Chapter 9: Behar
• Chapter 10: Bechukotai 

The Book of Numbers

• Chapter 1: Banidbar
• Chapter 2: Naso
• Chapter 3: Beha’alotcha
• Chapter 4: Shelach
• Chapter 5: Korach
• Chapter 6: Chukat
• Chapter 7: Balak
• Chapter 8: Pinchas
• Chapter 9: Mattot
• Chapter 10: Masei

The Book of Deuteronomy

• Chapter 1: Devarim
• Chapter 2: Va’etchanan
• Chapter 3: Ekev
• Chapter 4: Re’eh
• Chapter 5: Shoftim
• Chapter 6: Ki Tetzei
• Chapter 7: Ki Tavo
• Chapter 8: Nitzavim
• Chapter 9: Vayelech
• Chapter 10: Ha’azinu
• Chapter 11: V’zot Haberachah

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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