Ron’s #2: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

“Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time.”

Slaughterhouse-Five has one of those memorable opening lines. I heard it referenced recently, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It’s one of those that is both familiar and distant both at once. After a few days of thinking about it, I decided to read the novel. I discovered that, like Billy himself, the novel is unstuck and does not follow a regular chronological narrative.

A difficult book to summarize, Slaughterhouse-Five is a fractured timeline about Billy and the narrator (most likely Vonnegut himself) trying to piece together fragments of a life affected by the Dresden bombings in 1945. As the narrator tries to compile information about Dresden for a book he is writing, Billy Pilgrim flashes from moment to moment throughout his life. Billy is a type of time-traveler, although he cannot change anything, just experience it over and live through it once again. We snap to Billy as a boy, then to war, then in college, then to his captivity by the alien race, the Tralfamadorians, to his middle-aged career as an optometrist, and all back again. As Billy passes in and out of his own existence, he attempts to come to terms with life, death, and the role of fate over all. Since he has popped in all areas of life, he knows the exact place and time of his death, and he accepts it calmly, “like bugs trapped in amber.” In these snapshots of life, we piece together a mind trying to make sense out of the atrocities of war, death, and evil, both for Billy and for the narrator attempting to write a book. The subtext of why God and men allowed Dresden to occur reigns throughout the story. True to Billy’s story, there is no complete ending to the novel. It, too, is unstuck.

This is one of the books that we should have read in college, and for good reason. It will be a completely different story than most of the novels you’ve read before, and it may be a refreshing change. I especially liked the philosophical nature to asking why terrible events occur, the seemingly meaninglessness of life, and, of course, time travel. While I cannot guarentee that you’ll enjoy Slaughterhouse-Five, and do think that you’ll be glad you gave it a read.

“Poo-tee-weet?”

My friend Charlie Cooley has Slaughterhouse-Five as one of his favorite books, and he even painted a picture of Vonnegut (now that’s devotion!). See it here.

Ron's #1: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

** Insert witty opening line about being the best of times and the worst of times here **

As I prepared to teach this novel to my classes of Honors 10th graders, I approached reading this book as a chore, one likened to when my teacher assigned it to me in the 10th grade. Like so many others, I didn’t read it, and then I complained how much I hated the book for years after. I not only criticized this work, but the entire Charles Dickens canon, all based on my failure to read the book. Fortunately, things have changed.

I read A Christmas Carol in 2010, and I noticed that I enjoyed how Dickens wrote sentences. They were complex and descriptive and funny. After that, I had a better attitude about reading A Tale of Two Cities, and I was glad that I did.

It’s a great story of love, war, mistaken identity, and freedom. More than that, there is Madame Defarge, unquestionable the meanest, cruelest, ugliest woman in literature. Can you think of a woman in literature that is her equal? If so, please add it to the comments. I cannot think of any. There’s my favorite scene with her exchanging her dainty knitting needles for an ax to chop off the governor’s head. That oughta wake you up!

On a more serious note, I love the theme of resurrection and redemption in this book. We see it several times, most notably with Sydney Carlton. Throughout the novel, I kept seeing a metaphor of our life in Christ, redeemed and alive because of the work of another.

I’m on a roll with Charlie Boy, and I’ve added Great Expectations to my 2011 list. I may like this guy after all. I certainly recommend A Tale of Two Cities for you to read this year. If like me you had a bad taste of it from high school, I suggest that you give it another try as an adult. You may see it differently and enjoy it now.

Oprah recently selected this book as her 65th pick for her book club, but that had nothing to do with my choice to read it. Honest. If I could, I would introduce Madame Defarge to Oprah. It is a far, far better thing for this to happen.

Ron's Top Picks of 2010

A few people asked which is my favorite book of the year. The easy answer to that is, “I don’t know.” I like different books for different reasons. Here are a few of the winners in my mind: Top Five

1. The Shallows by Nicholas Carr This was the book that affected me the most this year, mainly by pointing out how much time I spend/waste on the computer. After reading this book, I made some drastic changes, ones that I continue to put into practice today to limit my Internet use. It DOES affect us in how we think and focus. There are some critics (including one on this very site) who quickly scoff at Carr’s premise, and foolishly blame it on Carr’s aging process. Silly. In the words of Shakespeare, thou “protesth too much.”            [read my review]

2. Adopted for Life by Russell Moore I cannot understand the impact this book had on my view of adoption, and on us beginning the pursuit. It is not only about protecting to orphans and widows, but also how we are those orphans and widows that need protecting. Whether or not you are a Christian, this is a good look at what Christianity teaches about what the gospel is.  [read my review]

3. Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey This is easily one of the best books that I’ve read in how to develop a Christian mind. Pearcey is direct, demanding, and entertaining. This is a must-read for every Christian. Her follow-up, Saving Leonardo, will certainly be on my 2011 list. [read my review]

4. Radical by David Platt I see that Mark picked this as one of his best as well. I liked this best out of the other like-minded books on this subject. This book made me examine what I am doing and/or what I could do to live out the gospel. I hope that reading this continues to yield much fruit in the years to come. Thanks, Buddy, for recommending this.  [read my review]

5. Columbine by Dave Cullen I still find myself thinking about how well this book filled in so many gaps of the event in 1999. Some say that they would rather not have the gaps filled in, but I thought that this account is an important addition to a pivotal day in modern American history. It shows the darkness that lies in men’s hearts, and the light that shines around them. [read my review]

Top Reviewed

While they may not be on my list of top books, I did like writing about these.

1. Candide by Voltaire As I prepared to teach this book to students, I wanted to think on the problem of pain that Voltaire satirizes in the book. Writing this helped me to see the worldview clearer. [read my review]

2. Home Sweet Rome by Scott and Kimberly Hahn I enjoyed addressing the concerns about Catholic theology in this lengthy review. I posted this on Amazon, and I have received many critical attacks (some from non-native English speakers) on my faulty knowledge of “The Church.” Go to the book an Amazon to see the fun.  [read my review]

Ron’s #52: The Bible, English Standard Version

It is fitting that this is the final addition to this list. Of all the books I have read or will ever hope to read in my lifetime, this book ought to be the ultimately source of joy, hope, wisdom, and instruction.

This is my second yearly read-through, and I hope to continue it throughout my life. It is a book that offers unlimited insight into God and man. Whether I read 52 books or 2 books a year, may this always be one of them.

Knowing this Book and the Author deeper will enable me to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10).

Ron’s #51: The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis

If you want to see the power that authors have to make readers sympathize and despise literary characters, read the first few pages of The Last Battle. Lewis needs only two or three pages to help you formulate your views of Shift and Puzzle, the two “friends” in Narnia whose actions lead to the end of Narnia. This is powerful, interesting writing that will make you hate the ape and pity the donkey.

Aside from the exciting battle scenes and feeling that all will be lost with the Narnians, The Last Battle is one of the best expositions of heaven. Aslan’s Country and his call for us to go “further up and further in” highlights how heaven contains hints of our world, only so much better. The Narnians and humans all run through the new Narnia—a Narnia how it should be—without hunger, without getting tired, and without sorrow.

“There was a real railway accident,” said Aslan softly. “Your father and mother and all of you are—as you used to call it in the Shadowlands—dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.

“And as He spoke, He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at least they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."

It is simply stunning how a fictional book, one supposedly written for children, can make me long for my true home. When was the last time you read through this series? I think it is time to start it again.