Mystery, friendship, and the stories we tell

Philosophy of good and evil

The Kingdom of Cain

Andrew Klavan
Zondervan, 272 pages

Can darkness, evil, and pain teach us anything about God or about ourselves, the only creatures on this earth to have been made in His image? Crime novelist and political commentator Andrew Klavan believes they can. Klavan grounds this wide-ranging study in a Biblical account of fratricide (Cain and Abel), a Russian novel about a man who commits a heinous, remorseless act (Crime and Punishment), a nihilistic German philosopher (Nietzsche), three American films about psychotic killers (Rope, Psycho, and Halloween), and three shocking, era-defining murder cases that embody the very nature of evil (Pierre Lacenaire, Leopold and Loeb, and Ed Gein). He links these macabre tales together in a way that simultaneously exposes man’s depravity and his moral sense. Many reflections on the problem of pain highlight the fact that our perspective differs from that of God and that, as a result, we are unable to see the bigger picture. Klavan accepts that analysis, and then complicates it. The journey Klavan takes us on is at once thrilling and uncomfortable. It cuts very close and does not allow us to escape unscathed. Which of us can say that he has never felt the confusion and anger of Cain? That he has never wanted to silence that inner voice that accuses him for his lack of faith or joy or gratitude? That he has not wanted to put himself in the place of God? —Louis Markos

Read WORLD’s full review of this book here.

Church and state

Cross Purposes

Jonathan Rauch
Yale University Press, 168 pages

Jonathan Rauch, author and activist, begins this book with a confession: “The Dumbest Thing I Ever Wrote.” The confession is addressed to Mark, his roommate at Yale and the first to shake up his prejudice against Christians. Mark was consistently generous and long-suffering throughout their college years, remaining a good friend even after Rauch published a 2003 Atlantic article in which he “joyfully celebrated what I called apatheism”—the growing disregard of religion. He thought religion was nothing but a backward-looking source of contention. What a difference two decades can make. In Cross Purposes, Rauch recognizes that Christianity is the “load-­bearing wall of American civic life” and our democracy rests on three major Christian principles: (1) Don’t be afraid; (2) be like Jesus, especially in His concern for the lowly; and (3) forgive each other. These precepts made classical liberalism possible, which in turn guided our Founding Fathers. Despite his admiration for Christ, and for Christians like Tim Keller (to whom this book is dedicated), Rauch remains a gay, atheist Jew. From that perspective, he offers some useful critiques. His primary targets are “Thin Christianity,” or the mainstream church that, by embracing progressivism, has strangled its prophetic voice. On the other hand, “Sharp Christianity” has yoked itself to right-wing politics and projects a gospel of fear. Casting about for a more compatible model, Rauch settles on the Latter-day Saints. This isn’t as surprising as it may seem: Mormonism was made in the USA and incorporates American optimism and can-do spirit (seen in its reinterpretation of the Fall). Rauch admires the LDS’ structure, benevolence, and willingness to adapt to social change, while ignoring or not recognizing that Mormonism is not Christianity. Still, as an outsider, his observations are interesting, and at times constructive. —Janie B. Cheaney

Christian biography

Called To Be Friends, Called To Serve

Paul Marshall
Cascade Books, 156 pages

John Perkins grew up poor and black in a broken family in segregated Mississippi, and his older brother, a World War II veteran, was shot and killed by a cop outside a movie theater. Howard Ahmanson grew up as an only child in an influential and wealthy white family in Los Angeles. Soon after his father’s death, Howard was misdiagnosed and confined to a psychiatric facility. Later he came to faith in Christ through the Jesus Movement and reading C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. In this book, Paul Marshall tells the tale of Perkins and Ahmanson’s unlikely friendship. Each man’s story is fascinating for how Christ came into his life and brought remarkable transformation. Ahmanson was serving as a volunteer with the Orange County Rescue Mission in Southern California and called on Perkins for ­wisdom about effective ministry with people in need. In Christ, Perkins and Ahmanson have shown how friendships can transcend differences in race and nationality and conflict over opinions. This story is especially timely when our nation is torn apart by divisions around race, economics, and politics. —Russ Pulliam

Literary criticism

Hemingway’s Faith

Mary Claire Kendall
Rowman & Littlefield, 256 pages

Even a cursory examination of Ernest Hemingway’s greatest novels and his spare, plainly spoken, dialogue-heavy short stories will find them rife with references direct and indirect to Roman Catholicism. It is not subtle, and it is, if not ubiquitous, pervasive. Even so, most Hemingway biographers and scholars have paid it little attention. Mary Claire Kendall, however, in this rich, well-­researched, but somewhat clumsily constructed biography, has attempted to present the life of the author as a distinctly Catholic one. In his stories and novels, Ernest Hemingway depicted people who have been through the horrors of war or the disappointments of life and somehow arrived at a code of stoic dignity, self-restraint, and honor despite the inevitable brutality of experience and the tragic emptiness of the world. He showed a whole generation how to act like a man despite life’s tragedies, and he became a father figure of sorts: It was not only his children who called him “Papa.” Numerous testimonies indicate that he practiced the faith somewhat consistently over many years, but sometimes Kendall seems to make Catholicism as central to Hemingway’s life as it is to her own, interpolating her own devotion into moments of the author’s life where his is not evident. Even so, Kendall’s case is substantial and finally convincing. —James Matthew Wilson

Read WORLD’s full review of this book here.

Theology and storytelling

On Magic & Miracles

Marian A. Jacobs
B&H Books, 320 pages

The subtitle of this book is A Theological Guide To Discerning Fictional Magic, but the author does more than take a deep dive into modern works of fantasy. She devotes half of her book to surveying what the Bible actually has to say about angels and demons, magic and miracles, the spiritual realm and the occult. Though readers eager to hear what she has to say about Harry Potter may want to skip the first half of her book, I would encourage them, as Jacobs does herself in her introduction, to be patient and work alongside her as she builds a foundation for assessing the dangers, real or imagined, of the ever-expanding fantasy genre. After surveying the supernatural worldview of the Bible, Jacobs establishes a vocabulary and a methodology for assessing fantasy. She proposes five questions to help readers discern whether a work is appropriate for Christian consumption or should be avoided: (1) What is the source of the magic? (2) What is the goal of the magic user? (3) What is the heart posture of the magic user? (4) What is the setting of the magic? 5) What magical methodology is used? —L.M.

Read WORLD’s full review of this book here.

Parenting

The Tech Exit

Clare Morell
Forum Books, 256 pages

Clare Morell offers compelling advice for parenting kids in a screen-saturated world: Don’t. Her book provides a framework for limiting technology use and thriving while doing it. She punctuates her research with stories of real-life parents protecting their kids from digital overload. Morell interviews a child psychiatrist who saw a 50% reduction of symptoms in 80% of her patients after a screen fast and an optometrist treating 8-year-olds for dry eyes, a condition normally found in seniors. She debunks assumptions about the effectiveness of moderate screen usage and parental control apps. Her research builds to a “tech exit” recommendation: Use the FEAST model to Find other families, Explain why we avoid screens, Adopt alternatives, Set up digital accountability, and Trade screens for responsibilities. According to Morell, instead of letting screens facilitate a child’s relationships inside and outside school, home life should provide a counter pressure for building real-life friendships, channeling entertainment, and inviting responsibility. Outside of the home, she argues, churches, schools, and the legislature can do more to protect against digital costs. Regardless of parents’ smartphone convictions, Morell’s practical advice starts simple: Take a break. —Addalai Bouchoc

Biography

The Boys in the Light

Nina Willner
Dutton, 384 pages

Three boys came of age at the onset of World War II in vastly different worlds. When America entered the war, Elmer Hovland, a Minnesota farming boy, and Sammy DeCola, an Italian restaurateur-in-training from Massachusetts, landed in the same Army unit. Across the ocean, Eddie Willner’s world is upended as his German Jewish family flees for their lives under the rise of Nazism. Eddie finds himself fighting for survival in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. For author Nina Willner, a former U.S. Army intelligence officer, the story is personal, since Eddie is her father and many of the characters in her book became like uncles. This personal connection lends to rich detail as the book oscillates between the boys’ parallel experiences and the historical context of Nazi Germany and America’s role in the war. When the boys’ destinies merge, Elmer and Sammy witness the depth of evil they fought against. It’s a heroic story and a compelling picture of humble men from different walks whose faith, sacrifice, and perseverance helped them push back against one of the darkest regimes of history. —Mary Jackson