This was such a delightful book. I was actually a bit skeptical of it, but am so glad to have read it. A lot of soul searching about my own faith convictions (have I really fallen in love with a person the way Sima has, do I have the Hope that makes her unstoppable? When do I fall into the trap of the either/or God who listens/speaks? How do I practice charity-in a truly welcoming way, or in a grudging/off-putting way that reduces the dignity of the other even further?) the ending was just so heart-breaking in a lot of ways, because you get this taste of a happy ending with his father’s return, but the father chooses to leave again. He isn’t really willing to practice the self-sacrificial love of a parent, just the fun/exciting parts.
Yes! The dad coming into the present day of the story was so powerful. I’m so glad you liked the book. I love the storytelling so much and then it gets me to think deeper about my own life.
This was a lovely discussion on the book. I remember being surprised by Daniel’s uncharacteristic certainty in speaking about Christ.
“Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.” And he said it was absolutely true.
I love this thought, because, when we are drawn into memory of our own stories or even Christian conversion experiences, there is much to question. But the object of our faith is certain, so I think we can accept the uncertainty of our memory without being undone by it.
Like Annelise, I had so many thoughts that I *almost* wrote a post on it. It’s a very powerful book, and I think I’d wait until my daughter is at least 11 before she reads it. I’m curious how it might affect a particularly sensitive young person.
After asking this question I did let my 9 year old daughter listen to it and she says it is her favorite book now. But the caveat is that our kids don’t seem to be very sensitive. So it would definitely differ from kid to kid
This was such a delightful book. I was actually a bit skeptical of it, but am so glad to have read it. A lot of soul searching about my own faith convictions (have I really fallen in love with a person the way Sima has, do I have the Hope that makes her unstoppable? When do I fall into the trap of the either/or God who listens/speaks? How do I practice charity-in a truly welcoming way, or in a grudging/off-putting way that reduces the dignity of the other even further?) the ending was just so heart-breaking in a lot of ways, because you get this taste of a happy ending with his father’s return, but the father chooses to leave again. He isn’t really willing to practice the self-sacrificial love of a parent, just the fun/exciting parts.
Yes! The dad coming into the present day of the story was so powerful. I’m so glad you liked the book. I love the storytelling so much and then it gets me to think deeper about my own life.
Literally already contemplating a commonplace quote post about it
This was a lovely discussion on the book. I remember being surprised by Daniel’s uncharacteristic certainty in speaking about Christ.
“Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.” And he said it was absolutely true.
I love this thought, because, when we are drawn into memory of our own stories or even Christian conversion experiences, there is much to question. But the object of our faith is certain, so I think we can accept the uncertainty of our memory without being undone by it.
Like Annelise, I had so many thoughts that I *almost* wrote a post on it. It’s a very powerful book, and I think I’d wait until my daughter is at least 11 before she reads it. I’m curious how it might affect a particularly sensitive young person.
After asking this question I did let my 9 year old daughter listen to it and she says it is her favorite book now. But the caveat is that our kids don’t seem to be very sensitive. So it would definitely differ from kid to kid
I had so much to say I just wrote a whole post. Loved the book. Will be thinking about it for a long time.
I'm contemplating getting a hard copy, and I think that I might let my 11 year old read it... I'm curious to know how it would land for him vs. me.
My 9 year old is currently listening to it and loves it. I'm excited to chat with her about it when she finishes!