December 7th, 2007
I’ve just posted a review of 2007’s biggest book phenomenon, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, over at Catholicfiction.net. It’s a thorough (read: lengthy) account of my mixed reaction to the final volume of the epic fantasy series. If you want the short version, it’s this: Rowling’s handling of the Snape subplot sucked.
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale
Joan of Arc: A Life (Penguin Lives) by Mary Gordon
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There is a sense of insignificance which is trying and discouraging and leads to envy of the rich and great. It leads also to a certain selfishness even amid poverty and absolute want. The absence of the ideal of the self as potentially great and capable of great deeds keeps it small and self-centred….The greatness of the Church, coupled with a true sense of the dignity of the individual human soul, if looked at as a Christian should look at it, is the true antidote.
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Kelly Hatzenbihler on 