Review of The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton By PAUL D. MILLER Why does Newland Archer walk away? That is the parting question of this powerful story. This novel is a fascinating and minute observation of broken relationships, the power of convention, and the tempting pull of vain dreams. It is almost mournful and yearning in posing, but not answering, troubling questions. The book traces the story of Newland Archer, who pursues but never consummates an affair with Ellen... Read more
Review of The Flowers of War, Directed by Zhang Yimou By KENDRICK KUO [Warning: The review below contains mature themes] The Rape of Nanjing is a historical event that continues to play a role in Sino-Japanese relations. Whenever the Japanese government reviews or changes its educational curriculum, its treatment of the sacking of Nanjing (or Nanking as it was spelled then) is heavily scrutinized, as well as its account of the way Japanese soldiers treated the women of Korea during... Read more
Review of Lit!: A Christian Guide to Reading Books by Tony Reinke By ALEXIS NEAL Fact: I love to read. I like books. I even like books about books. So when I heard that there was a new book on the market, a Christian book about books and reading, I was pretty stoked. And when, upon further inquiry, I learned that the author, Tony Reinke, had worked as a research assistant for C.J. Mahaney (of Sovereign Grace) and now works... Read more
Review of The Whisperer in Darkness, Directed by Sean Brannery By COYLE NEAL The writings of H.P. Lovecraft are forgotten gems of American Literature. Despite the best efforts of his fans (including the good folks over at the H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast), Lovecraft remains mostly known by gamers and devotees of alternative metal. So when a movie is made from a Lovecraft book, I generally get pretty excited about it, even if it’s as mediocre a movie as The Whisperer... Read more
Review of American Gods by Neil Gaiman By JULIA POLESE Neil Gaiman’s American Gods hit all the right buttons. Gaiman himself described it as an “American phantasmagoria,” an extraordinarily apt descriptor (See the interview with Gaiman in the 10th anniversary edition). It’s a fantasy novel with deep philosophical underpinnings, a healthy dollop of whimsy, and a satisfying amount of Americana. The book follows Shadow, an ex-con who is let out of prison early for good behavior upon the event of... Read more
Review of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain By PAUL D. MILLER Great books are great because of their depth and because of how they teach great truths about human life. But because most great books are very old, they require the reader to do some heavy lifting to get to the good stuff. You have to have a good set of notes to understand the historical context and the allusions of, say, Homer or Virgil. The less... Read more
Review of The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook: Slaying the Living Dead Within by Jeff Kinley By ALEXIS NEAL Coyle Neal recently discussed the relationship of zombie myths to Christianity. In The Christian Zombie Killer’s Handbook, I encountered another intersection between Christianity and everyone’s favorite mindless monster. The book is, sad to say, a rather meandering, directionless, and ultimately discouraging discussion of the Christian’s fight against the ‘living dead’ sin nature, interspersed with scenes from a rather underwhelming, uninspired, and largely unrelated fictional tale... Read more
Review of Mao’s Great Famine, Directed by Patrick Cabouat and Philippe Grangereau (film can be viewed here for free) By KENDRICK KUO In recent years, the famine accompanying Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward has achieved the title of “The Great Famine.” Previously, it had been known as the “Three Years of Natural Disasters,” which shifted the blame to the neutral forces of nature rather than to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), or to Mao personally. The topic has been a... Read more
Review of The Big Sky by A.B. Guthrie, Jr. By COYLE NEAL The Big Sky is the story of Boone Caudill, who just wants to be left alone. Left alone by his parents, left alone by society, and left alone by every other human being. So he moves West, where he learns the ways of the Indians and lives as a Mountain Man. And… that’s pretty much the plot. Unlike most Westerns, this isn’t a book that you read for... Read more
Review of The Song of Roland By PAUL D. MILLER The Song of Roland is the medieval French Catholic Crusader abridged version of the Iliad. It tells the story of the rearguard of Charlemagne’s army, led by the eponymous Roland, fighting against overwhelming numbers at the Battle of Roncesvalles in 778. Imagine the armies of Agamemnon, dressed in Renaissance finery, spouting Scripture as they slay hordes, not of Trojans, but Saracens. It is a story full of bravura, gore, and... Read more
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