Monday, March 17, 2008

the table analogy and Anne Rice


I finished reading the latest Anne Rice book last week. "The Road to Cana" is the second in her Christ the Lord series. I don't want to spend a lot of time recapping the story, most people know it, but the book begins just prior to Jesus' public ministry and ends with the wedding at Cana.

What is so striking about this novel and its predecessor is the voice Rice uses. I'm a big Anne Rice fan and have read almost all of her novels. She writes with intricate detail, the imagery is lush and opulent. If we are talking tables, think of the most ornate, carved glossy wood piece you have ever seen. In these last two books, her voice draws to mind a Shaker style. Spare, concise and beautiful in its simplicity.

Some of the passages in "The Road to Cana" are breathtaking in their insight, not because she tries to 'wow' the reader with incredible theological truths, but because she employs such simple and common words to create profound beauty.

After I read the first book, I fired off an email to Anne Rice and she was kind enough to respond in short order. I explained how I felt everything she had written before enabled her to write this story simply and clearly. We exchanged thoughts on our shared Catholic faith. Her writing journey and indeed her faith journey are interesting to study. She will leave a unique legacy for writers and Christians.

My blogging may be a bit sparse this week. The offspring are on spring break and the middle one is having her tonsils out today.

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