Lily answers “The book sounds intriguing. Is there...”

A Goodreads user asked this question about Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood:

The book sounds intriguing. Is there anything in it that might make it inappropriate for a mainline church library that does not limit itself to books on religion?

Lily If your church and congregation cannot read this book, they ought to question their role as a Christian Church in the United States in this century, a…moreIf your church and congregation cannot read this book, they ought to question their role as a Christian Church in the United States in this century, at least your adult members. Even if subsequent reviewers brand the story as exaggeration or cause doubt of the truthfulness of some of Trevor's memories, the story is too powerful a look at justice and the needs for kindness and civility (and the institutions and laws to support those) in our lives and our world. I have listened to this in parallel with reading and studying Plato's Republic. Noah addresses issues of morality and justice in 21st century language and quandaries as deep as those posed by Socrates for ancient Greece, whether at the family or community level, or as institutional entities. Yes, it can be trumped by the Bible and its stories. But may the leaders and members of the congregation do just that in fervent exploration of God's intent for his people. (And read/listen to the book all the way to its end -- I almost missed the humor and the faith expressed in those final pages.)

Not a book to necessarily "like." (less)

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