Pastorlenore's Blog

Okay, I know I have been away for awhile, too. Things are crazy over the holidays. I am so glad that we picked a much lighter read for this month. I’m not sure who all has a copy, so please post so that we can chat. I’d love to hear your input about this one. I’d like to hear your take on Jones.

I know that many of you are in the midst of our Beah book right now, but I am trying to give everyone a head’s up a few weeks early about our upcoming book. Some of you have requested this so that you have time to locate a copy of the next month’s book. As promised, we are going a bit lighter for December since the last two months have been a bit heart-wrenching. This next book is an easy read, but it is both enjoyable and thought-provoking. I think everyone can benefit from this one, especially in this holiday season. It will make you think a bit more about what it means to be in relationship. Just as God chose to be in relationship with us as He came to Earth in the form of a little baby, we too are created to be in relationship with Him and with one another. Enjoy this next one folks!!!  We will be reading Andy Andrews’  The Noticer.  I found a few copies at Wal-mart and will have them available at church while supplies last.  Let me know if you want one, and I’ll set it aside for you.  For now, happy reading!

Despite the disturbing nature of this book, it has encouraged some really great discussion, both online and in my conversations with many of you. Every one of you has told me at some point that it was very difficult for you to read, but I have not talked to anyone yet who has not been absolutely moved by Ishmael’s testimony. Some have had to hurry through the book in order to get to some sense of closure and to find out Beah’s ultimate fate. Others have had to take it a lot slower because it is such a hard book to read and has to be digested in smaller doses. I understand all of you. I read with very mixed emotions myself. It is hard to believe that humans can do such horrible things to one another, much less innocent children. It certainly gave me a much more human, but certainly not humane, understanding of the political struggles in that region of the world. To realize that there are never just two sides but MANY sides. It is hard to comprehend who is on what side and supportive of what government and dealing with what issues. It is just not as easy as we in the US try to make it. Ishmael has certainly given a face to the terror that is in Sierra Leone.

So I am hearing from a number of you that this is a tough one. I agree. It seems so unjust that young people would have to experience such things in this world. The last book was hard to digest, but at least we knew it was fiction (although historically and culturallly accurate). This is tough when you consider it is a first-hand experience. Keep posting! We will get through this one.

Okay, so here we are at the start of a new month and the anticipation of a new book.  We are starting up with A Long Way Gone for November.  My daughter and I read it earlier this year and were really impacted.  I apologize that I chose another hard book, but I assure you it is very good.  (One of our group picked it up and finished it already…hard to put down, she said.)  It is about one of the boy soldiers from Sierra Leone and his experiences in an attempt to survive—true story, but not for the squeamish.  I have a few copies of it at the church, and I just saw today that our local Target has a few copies.  Hope some of you are able to join in.  I’ll see you here on our blog!

I know some of you are still reading.  A Thousand Splendid Suns is not an easy book to read.  Please keep reading and post if you would like.   I’m not going to remove any of the old posts yet.

Not sure how far everyone is, but I was wondering what everyone’s take was on Mariam’s final retaliation against Rasheed??  I certainly do not advocate murder, but there was some part of me that did not ethically protest Mariam’s defense of her friend in such an extreme manner, especially as she was willing to take full responsibility for her actions in the end.  An interesting turn of events, I would say.

It has been interesting as I read this book how the author follows along with not just the story through the eyes of the many characters, but he also includes much historical information.  While I have watched the plight of Afghanistan on the news over these many years, I never really grasped the challenges or the rotating door in the leadership of this nation.  While I wish it were not so, my understanding is that many of the accounts of torture and violence to the citizens as recorded in the story are quite realistic.  Can you imagine living (especially as a woman) in a country with so much persecution?  We tend to lose the “faces” of the people as we watch from afar….they all become just nameless masses that deserve this or that because of the decisions made by those in power.  Anyone have any thoughts?

Okay, so many of you have now read about Laila’s children.  The expectation of the pregnancy, and the disappointment of a newborn girl to a tyrant husband (born under suspicious circumstances).  The horrible medical situation to which Laila’s son was born….C-section without medication and deplorable conditions in the Afghani hosptial.  The favoritism of a son over a daughter.  The bonding of two women through the lives of these two children.  The heartbreak of a mother having to make hard decisions to protect the lives of her young.  It was so sad to read about the conditions at the orphange and the idea that any mother would have to choose that over her child starving to death.  One has to question which was worse–the horrible situation of an abusive husband or the deterioration of a society through the pain and suffering of war and violence?

It looks like everyone has been busy reading.  That’s awesome!  By now most of you have been introduced to our newer character, Laila.  I have seen firsthand the importance of sons in certain cultures of the world, but it was sad to read about this young lady being almost invisible in the eyes of her mother, especially after the death of her brothers.  When Laila came into the Miriam’s home, I can’t even begin to understand how the tension must have held to these two women, both seeking security and affirmation.  We tend to this that polygamy is a thing of the past and of extremist religious cults, but it is apparently alive and well in many parts of the world.  How would you like that!? Keep posting bloggers!  I really enjoy reading your comments.