C.A. Gray's Blog, page 19
March 1, 2023
The Harbinger
This is the second Jonathan Cahn book I’ve read – the style isn’t my favorite, as I’d prefer he just share the information rather than create a fictional narrative to deliver it. He creates some “mysteries” in the course of his storytelling that aren’t real (though it’s not hard to tease apart the true from the false). That said, the information is quite compelling…
The tale centers around an obscure passage from Isaiah 9, which spelled destruction for ancient Israel. His mystery messenger tells the narrator that it has now been re-applied to America, as of 9/11, as a ‘harbinger’ of destruction if they do not turn from their wicked ways. He’s not (I don’t think) arguing that God ’caused’ such a travesty, but merely that wickedness has a natural wage, and God withdrew His protection as a result. Thus, ancient history is repeating itself. He makes a compelling argument, drawing from certain elements of the scriptures, the Hebrew calendar and the concept of the shmita year, the stock market crash of 2008 and how it parallels the ancient story, and many other details. If it all does line up as he says, it’s astounding.
Ultimately the book ends on a hopeful note – a call to repentance to America. We certainly need it.
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February 21, 2023
Where The Sky Begins
Rhys Bowen novels are always rather slow-moving, episodic, and character driven, which is kind of what I like about them. They feel rather calming, like an escape into someone else’s life. Common features are that the protagonists are always female, always artistic in some way (Josie in this one is a baker and runs a tea shop), they’re always set in WWII Britain, and there’s always a romance, but a complicated one–they’re never just single.
In “Where the Sky Begins,” Josie is in a loveless marriage to a domineering man named Stan–though he isn’t just an ogre for no reason. Bowen establishes that he’s insecure, which manifests as jealousy (so he forbids her from having contact with any other men). Stan also fears that Josie might be a capable woman and might show him up or not need him, so he controls her. He’s certain he won’t get drafted into the war, but then he does. Josie then has to find some way to support herself, so she gets a job working in a little tea shop, and becomes endeared to its elderly owner. But then London is bombed, and Josie loses everything–the tea shop and its owner, and everything she owns, down to the clothes on her back.
She’s transported to the countryside, where apparently the British government forced private citizens to house those who had been displaced, and finds herself in the home of a prickly old woman named Miss Harcourt, and her one Irish maid, an enigmatic woman named Kathleen who sometimes seems to appreciate Josie’s help, and alternately seems spiteful to her. Miss Harcourt happens to live near an RAF base, so after winning her hostess over, Josie convinces her to open up her house as a tea room for the men. In the process, Josie meets and falls in love with a Canadian pilot named Mike. It’s an odd, complicated romance because Josie is married and doesn’t want to be unfaithful to her husband, but she also doesn’t love him, and he’s pretty awful. He comes back from the war in a surprise visit, and the contrast between the way he treats Josie and the way Mike does is even more profound. It’s like Bowen doesn’t want to sanction adultery, but she’s trying to convince the reader that this is really a special case…
There are a number of other episodic incidents that definitely don’t follow the typical plot structure, which I just find intriguing. Bowen just writes as long as she wants to write, and ends when she feels like it. Josie gets commissioned as a spy and catches one in the act of relaying information to Germany. Stan later gets wounded and she leaves to take care of him. She finds out Mike may not be who he seems to be. An older Jewish doctor later proposes marriage when she’s (not surprisingly) free, and she has to decide whether she wants to marry a second time for practical reasons rather than for love. The story does have a happy ending, though, like all of Bowen’s books. They’re not page-turners; you don’t have to know what happens next, and I probably wouldn’t read it again… just a relaxing escape.
My rating: ****
Language: none
Violence: war only but not gratuitous
Sexual content: present… but the gratuitous scene is actually with her husband, and it’s rather disturbing. There’s adultery too but that’s not gratuitous, just fade-to-black
Woke content: none
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February 17, 2023
The Oath, Frank Peretti
This week’s podcast review comes from this blog review of The Oath.
The post The Oath, Frank Peretti appeared first on C.A. Gray.
February 15, 2023
Bright Winter Lights
This was adorable! Fluffy, clean, and brief, like a chick flick.
The plot was sort of unique (though I guess none of them are all that unique): Adam wants his Jewish mom to stop bugging him to find a good Jewish girl, and so he tells his mom that he’s seeing someone. His mom presses him on the girl’s identity, and the name that pops out of his mouth is that of his childhood friend, from whom he’s been more or less estranged. Years ago, Adam’s family became suddenly wealthy, and (their perspective): he no longer wanted anything to do with his childhood friends. From his perspective, he was trying to navigate a brand new world, and by the time he returned, they no longer had time for him and had moved on. But he never quite forgot Sarah, and has always wondered what might have happened, if. But to keep his mom from finding out the truth, he has to approach Sarah again, and ask her to do him the favor of showing up to his mom’s Hanukkah party as his date, and playing along.
Sarah, meanwhile, has also never forgotten Adam, but is very suspicious of his motives at first. It doesn’t take her long to fall for him, but she thinks that he’s going to vanish and break her heart. He, meanwhile, thinks this might be their second chance.
The story style goes back and forth between their perspectives. It manages to be sweet without being at all sappy.
My rating: *****
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February 10, 2023
The Oath
Christian paranormal thrillers seem almost like a contradiction in terms, but Peretti manages it, and does it very well.
The story follows Steve, a professor of wildlife biology whose brother Cliff was killed by what is believed to be a grizzly bear. His sister-in-law was left almost out of her mind after the attack though… and his brother’s death is so gruesome that they’re left trying to find another explanation. Steve pursues the investigation with local cop Tracy–sort of. Tracy sometimes seems to be on his side, and other times attempting to discourage him from ruffling any feathers of the townsfolk. Only the local mechanic Levi, who happens to be a Christian, is willing to tell him anything–and Levi is considered a religious nut. According to him, there’s a dragon in their town, and it was the dragon that killed Cliff–along with the many others who go missing as the story goes on. Just before each person disappears, they develop a black tarry substance over their hearts, which oozes and stinks, but they don’t seem to notice it. Everyone around them does, though. They also lose all sense of shame, and begin to brag loudly enough for all to hear about every foul deed they’ve ever committed, and gotten away with.
As Steve and Tracy attempt to unravel the mystery, they also get closer to each other… which is a problem, because Steve later learns that Tracy is actually still married to one of the men in the town. I’m tempted to reveal more about what the dragon really is, because it’s so central to the plot, but I don’t want to give it away–part of the intrigue is how all of those clues work together in the paranormal logic of the tale. There are twists I didn’t expect for sure. The ending was satisfying and entertaining.
My rating: *****
The Hunted, Jeff Wheeler
Today’s podcast review comes from this blog review of The Hunted.
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February 3, 2023
The Compound Effect
My mom loaned this book to me, as encouragement that small choices can add up to a big difference over time, whether for better or for worse.
Favorite illustration (which I will paraphrase and possibly get a few details wrong): three hypothetical men all start out more or less in the same place in their lives. All are married, have good but not great jobs, enough money but they’re not wealthy, in reasonably decent shape, but not athletes.
Then two of them make a small change. One decides to read self help books just a little bit each day. One decides to buy a big screen TV. And the third remains the same, changing nothing.
Over time, the three men continue to look and seem the same on the outside. But the one who bought the TV slowly begins spending a little more time in front of it than he used to. He installs a minibar next to it so that he can have an extra drink every now and then while he’s watching. He watches the Food Network more, and begins to develop the hobby of baking and making sweets for family and friends. He gains a little extra weight, and and the extra alcohol also interferes with his sleep. He starts to feel fatigued over time, gets more irritable, and takes it out on his wife. Maybe in six or nine months he looks just like the other guys, but in twelve to eighteen to twenty four, suddenly the difference becomes obvious. All from tiny changes compounded over time.
Then there’s the guy who changes nothing. Maybe he’s got things he’d like to improve upon, but because he doesn’t act upon them, twelve, eighteen, and twenty four months later, he’s in exactly the same spot.
The guy who reads the self-help books, however, starts to find that he’s more motivated, and begins to believe that he can be empowered to change his situation. He eliminates soda from his diet. Slowly he adds a few extra vegetables. Maybe he starts taking a walk in the evenings. Not enough to make a huge difference… but he finds he has more energy. He learns strategies about taking personal responsibility, and discovers that his marriage deepens and romance flourishes again. He starts to set goals for his career, and little by little he begins to spend time on them — maybe 30 minutes a day that he otherwise might have been watching a TV program. In twenty four months, he’s 30 lbs lighter than the guy who bought the big screen, he’s earned a promotion at work, and he’s happy and energized.
That’s the message of the book in a nutshell — there’s no instant gratification from making little changes for the better, but those little changes consistently applied over time will eventually yield big results.
Totally inspiring, and very practical. Love it.
My rating: *****
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The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
Today’s podcast review comes from this blog review of The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy.
The post The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy appeared first on C.A. Gray.
February 1, 2023
The Druid by Jeff Wheeler
This week’s podcast comes from this blog review of The Druid.
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Let It Snow by Beth Moran
This week’s podcast comes from this blog review of Let It Snow.
The post Let It Snow by Beth Moran appeared first on C.A. Gray.
