| ||||||||
 Masterpiece  Excellent  Very good  Good  Just okay  Not for me  Definitely not for me  |
All three of Gogol’s stories so far have contained the devil in human form. It seems that Gogol’s mother warned him repeatedly about the evil one’s devilish schemes. I think the stories must have scared him to death when he was a youngster! They definitely had an impact on his imagination. “Saint John’s Eve” is decidedly creepier than the “The Fair at Sorochintsy,” which was the first story in Evenings. Boy loves girl and uses the devil to obtain her. What the devil requires as payment is a heavy price to pay, but when the deed is done, boy doesn’t remember what he did to obtain girl. After they marry, he knows there is something he should remember, and he is obsessed with trying to figure out what it is and doesn’t even enjoy life with his wife. Does he ever remember? Read it and find out. I didn’t like “A May Night, or the Drowned Maiden” as well as the first two. I had a little bit of a hard time following the story, and it was also longer than the other two. It is another tale of boy wants girl, but in this one, the father of the boy also wants the girl. Once again, the devil plays into it, as well as a witch with drowned maidens in a pond by a haunted cabin. This story wasn’t that scary, and it even had some funny parts in it. These works sort of remind me of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories. I would still say Poe’s are better (at least so far), but I’m really glad I’m reading these for the RIP challenge.
Thanks SO MUCH, and I hope you do the Chunkster Challenge again next year!
Go to Callapidder Days for more info on this challenge. My choices:
Secondly, that Christians don’t love “sinners” because all they see is the sin and not the person. I wholeheartedly agree with this as well. Some may be more apt to “look down their noses” at a “sinner” rather than just reach out in love. This is obviously not what God wants Christians to do. Thirdly, that many Christians support right wing causes to the absolute exclusion of any left of center concerns. Guilty again. We do need to give to the poor and take care of the needy, particularly widows and orphans. Jesus taught that as well. I do have some concerns with some of his philosophy, however. He seems to advocate a grace and “acceptance” that go a little too far. I’m not talking here about non-Christians at all. I’m talking about people who claim to be followers of Christ. He lifts up Christians who appear to be following God in one or more areas, but yet are still engaging in practices not pleasing to God. He implies we shouldn’t judge and just accept. Of course God is the ultimate judge of all of us. Yet, the Bible clearly states that we ARE to point out to Christians (NOT non-Christians) areas that are not God-pleasing. Donald Miller himself has actually done that very well in his book! My point is this. Once we are a follower of Christ, God loves us unconditionally and forgives us everything we do. That I believe. His grace does go far–really far! But, just as he forgave David for being a murderer and an adulterer, he also pointed out that there would be consequences to David’s acts. These consequences were the natural result of David’s sin. Yes, we are forgiven, but we still have to face the consequences. So why not try to obey God so as to receive our reward in heaven? I’d rather not just barely “escape through the flames” and be a toilet-scrubber in heaven. Of course, that’s just a figure of speech. What? You say you’ve tried and just can’t live up to what God wants? NONE of us can. Not without his help. That’s the whole point of Christianity. We couldn’t do it ourselves, so God took care of it for us. If you have the desire to please God, all you have to do is ask for his help to do it. In conclusion, I think the Church would do well to examine some of Donald Miller’s points. But we can’t say that it doesn’t matter what we do because God loves us unconditionally and his grace covers all–EVEN THOUGH THAT’S TRUE!!! Because honestly, I wouldn’t want to live with the consequences of my actions if I just did what I wanted all the time. And even aside from the consequences, Christians should love God and WANT to please him. 2003, 240 pp. Rating: 3.5
Banished from his mouse community for fraternizing with humans (to borrow C.S. Lewis’s phrase), Despereaux is sent to the dungeon where it is assumed he will be eaten by the rats. Of course, he isn’t eaten by the rats, but while he’s in prison he learns of a rat’s plans to harm one of his beloved human friends, Princess Pea. His quest to save the Princess Pea forms the rest of the story, which I won’t spoil for you! This is a very charming fantasy tale that kept us truly entertained on our trip. It might be a little scary for those under 8 or so, though. I also recommend DiCamillo’s The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, which I read and enjoyed earlier this year. 2003, 272 pp. Newbery Award Rating: 4.5  |      
 | ||||||
Background by vladstudio.com | ||||||||
I’m a football fanatic–I love it. I love Sundays, unless both of my teams lose. Which they did. Lose. Yesterday. Grrrrrrr.
There is one bright spot, though–the Kentucky Wildcats beat up Arkansas on Saturday and are 4-0!! They haven’t been too great of a team for several years. This year that might change. Here’s to hoping.
Saint John’s Eve and A May Night, or the Drowned Maiden, stories from Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka, which is contained in The Complete Tales of Nikolai Gogol, Vol. 1.
After the Chunkster Challenge, I found out that I won the grand prize–2 books, a mug, and some bookmarks. I received all of them quickly and in great condition, and can you believe I never thanked 
Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligous Thoughts on Christian Sprituality makes some very valid criticisms about the Christian community. First, that sometimes Christians are obsessed with outward appearance rather than the condition of a person’s heart. I fully agree with this. I don’t think God cares one hoot what we look like–whether it’s tattoos, piercings, the color of our hair, whatever. He is concerned with where our heart is toward him. That’s all.
This is another Newbery winner that I listened to with my son on our road trip. We enjoyed this one even more than