Screen Door Jesus & Other Stories (English Edition) [Kindle-editie] beoordelingen het boek quotes

“…a lyric voice that sings itself raw.” —The New York Times “…a master of setting, characterization, dialogue and narrative.” —The Dallas Morning NewsBlaise Pascal said, “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” And the Apostle Paul wrote, “We are fools for Christ’s sake.”So what happens when people apply their religion to life’s hard choices in the small East Texas town of Bethlehem, where churches of various denominations are located on almost every block?First comes a mysterious apparition of Jesus. Or is it? And is it a blessing or a curse? Then a woman turns into a snake. A wealthy banker confuses prudence with greed, with dire consequences. A woman has her grandchildren secretly baptized at a Holiness Tabernacle. A man is torn between his “sinful” TV watching and his fundamentalist wife. And an ethical young woman boldly confronts her rich father’s ambition…These are among the characters who appear in this entertaining and superbly written collection of 10 stories exploring small town religion and the human quest for dignity and meaning. Sometimes funny, often tragic, the resulting conflicts are deeply personal yet have social repercussions. In the end, one wonders if organized religion truly helps anyone on a spiritual journey.But one thing is certain. Award-winning author Christopher Cook profoundly understands the aspirations we all hold and the pitfalls endured as we try to live by our ideals while reconciling ourselves with the competing beliefs of others.And though the setting is richly specific—the culture of the Deep South—the stories engage us in universal truths as well as universal deceptions.