Fans of Norah Lofts discussion
Touches the Heart
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Books that Make you Cry?
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Yes, Barbara, Balthazar's hurt when he is ready to give his whole heart to the new religion and then rejected for something that was beyond his control--heartwrenching.And the poor little pig and his hopeful squeals for food.
Yes, she was one of the three virgins sacrificed yearly to the N'Zana , the Crocodile God . NL uses it to show his first disappointment at the failure of religions to save the believer, as when the Arab slave traders come to take him away, where was N'Zana after being fed all those virgins etc.
Barbatra wrote, " Baltahazar, who has been seaching for spiritual solace and believes he has found it in Judaism, is told that he can never enter the congregation. He asks 'but why - is it because I am black? Or is it because I am a slave ?' and is told no, it is because you are a eunuch...."And Peggy added, "Balthazar's hurt when he is ready to give his whole heart to the new religion and then rejected for something that was beyond his control--heartwrenching."
But remember the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts, who asked Philip, "What is there to keep me from begin baptised?" and is told, "Nothing."
Anyway, I like all the vignettes people have posted , especially perhaps the Isabella and her 'bad legs' part.
Also, in How Far to Bethlehem, the little pig that Senya slaughters for Melchior to take as meat on his journey. NL writes of the poor little creature's short, lonely hungry life and daily despair and final slaughtering ( I can never read that bit ) and it makes me cry every time .
On a more elevated note, from the same book, the moment when Baltahazar, who has been seaching for spiritual solace and believes he has found it in Judaism, is told that he can never enter the congregation. He asks "but why - is it because I am black? Or is it because I am a slave ? and is told no, it is because you are a eunuch..........