[easyazon-image align=”left” asin=”0692014543″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41tMNxsg%2BWL._SL160_.jpg” width=”104″]Page 2: Karen Swallow Prior – Booked
Having made the case for reading a multitude of voices and views, Prior presents a different book with each new chapter that illustrates how good literature takes root in a person, helping a person develop into a holistic human being. Prior is a teacher of literature, and each story is handled masterfully in the way she connects important themes from each work to everyday life. In her chapter on Charlotte’s Web, for example, she illustrates the power that words, spoken and written, have when it comes to shaping both who we are and how others see us. She shows how the right words—in this case, Charlotte’s words—can give life. This is an apt metaphor for the overall theme of Prior’s work.
Reading each chapter seemed to me like attending a new gathering of a book club, discussing the book we had read prior to the meeting. Prior heightens this sense by showcasing intimate stories from her life that illustrate perfectly how each story helped her find a path through different and very specific issues that she faced growing up. Though I had not actually read all of the books she highlights, I found myself remembering a book or two that opened up similar insights for me. I had the overwhelming urge to connect with the author in some way so I too could share my stories with her. It seems the author or the publisher had hoped for this effect, as a discussion guide is included in the book for each chapter, with questions that essentially ask the reader to do just that—to share his or her story with a group.
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Each chapter outlines multiple themes from each work, but zeroes in on one specific theme that resonates with Prior and her life. From the chapter on Great Expectations, for example, she talks about a character from the book who lives his life segmented and compartmentalized, much the way we often do. But it is the power of a good story that is the ultimate life lesson for Prior. In the chapter on Gulliver’s Travels, she highlights the power and purpose of good satire, but ultimately lands on the message of symbols and sexuality found throughout the work. Her other chapters include a look at the work of Gerard Manley Hopkins, the poetry of John Donne, and fantastic treatments of Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Jane Eyre, among others.
Prior does a phenomenal job weaving her story in and out of the plot and themes from each story, and in so doing, does not simply paint a glamorous portrait of her life, but willingly shows us the flaws, scars, and bruises of her life. As she mentioned at the outset of her work, arriving at truth is a process, one that requires filtering through the good and bad, and this is not simply the way of reading but of life, period. Thankfully, Karen Swallow Prior does not shield us, her readers, from that which might be questionable in terms of her own decisions in life, but chooses to let us see the beauty and truth, now made strong by the struggle, that has risen up over time and through the reading of much great literature.
C. Christopher Smith is the founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is also author of a number of books, including most recently How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church (Brazos Press, 2019). Connect with him online at: C-Christopher-Smith.com
 Reading for the Common Good From ERB Editor Christopher Smith "This book will inspire, motivate and challenge anyone who cares a whit about the written word, the world of ideas, the shape of our communities and the life of the church." -Karen Swallow Prior Enter your email below to sign up for our weekly newsletter & download your FREE copy of this ebook! |
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