Stanley Kubrick described it as “probably the most chilling and believable first-person story of a criminally warped mind I have ever encountered.” That is the same Kubrick who directed a film based on A Clockwork Orange. So, what book is more “chilling and believable” than that Burgess’ novel? Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me. First published in 1952 and now included in the Library of America’s Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s. Lou Ford is the … [Read more...] about The Killer Inside All of Us
Christianity
Becoming Immortal
Is the desire to be immortal a universal constant? I’ve never really thought about it like this before, but a combination of a short story by Hawthorne and a volume of short stories by Doyle, has me wondering about the desire for immortality. Hawthorne’s “The Devil in Manuscript” is a quick tale of an author who cannot find a publisher (he lived in the pre-blog era) and in despair hurls his life’s work into a fireplace. A fire roars up in the fireplace, sending flame onto the … [Read more...] about Becoming Immortal
Child of God
When I am asked to pick one contemporary author whose books are most likely to be called Great Books in a hundred years, the answer is easy. Cormac McCarthy. The best thing about making predictions for 100 years from now, is that there is no chance of having to explain how I could have been so wrong. Child of God is not McCarthy’s best novel, but it is brilliant in its laser–like precision in asking a question. The novel is about a social outcast, a homeless guy who is loved by nobody, … [Read more...] about Child of God
Faith of the Unchurched
Is it possible to have faith in the existence of God and not know you have faith? At first glance, that question seems a bit odd. Surely you know if you have faith. Right? Graham Greene’s novel A Burnt-Out Case is a fascinating exploration of this question. The protagonist is a world-famous Catholic architect, Querry, who shows up one day at a leper colony in the middle of the jungle in the Congo. Querry unrelentingly insists throughout the novel that he no longer has faith. … [Read more...] about Faith of the Unchurched
Watching the World Go By
"An occasion for serious study and reflection."In the late 19th century, Stephen Crane (shortly before he published The Red Badge of Courage) spent a few years writing accounts of New York City, collected by the ever-invaluable Library of America. In “Coney Island’s Failing Days,” we read this: As we walked toward the station the stranger stopped often to observe types which interested him. He did it with an unconscious calm insolence as if the people were bugs. Once a bug … [Read more...] about Watching the World Go By
The Church of God the Utterly Indifferent
The Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut’s second novel, is marvelously fun.Quirky beyond belief—a seemingly wild random ride that ends up all linking together in the end. The basic plot is perfectly circular. It is the type of story that my wife, who hates looping time travel stories, would hate. (By the way, the recent Doctor Who invention of “Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey” was a hysterical dodge to avoid the inherent problem of maintaining continuity in a 50 year long science fiction series … [Read more...] about The Church of God the Utterly Indifferent