When I Was A Child I Read Books (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
I expected to read a sweet story of her life since the book says "when I was a child…." but no. These were essays that I tried to so hard to make sense out of. It wasn't easy read. On page 6, she says, for instance, that William Tyndale created one of the undoubted masterpieces of the English language when he provided much of the most beautiful language in what is called by us the King James Bible. First, why isn't the style smoother? why the "in what is called by us …blah blah"? Then she adds, "Now we seem to feel feel beauty is an affectation of some sort…" What does she mean by "affectation" here in relation the the KJV? Then she continues, "The Bible, Christianity, should have inoculated us against this kind of disrespect for ourselves and one another. Clearly it has not. Again, which "disrespect" is she referring to? Why is she vague? What has respect to do with beauty found in KJV translation of the Bible? A set of good essays, but "Open Wide Thy Hand: Moses and the Origins of American Liberalism" outshone the rest. "Open Wide Thy Hand" showed the mercy and generosity implicit even in the (generally regarded as punitive and barbaric) laws of ancient Israel, and by comparison: how far American secular capitalism has become a substitute, and much inferior morality. Required reading for anyone on either side of the debate on how best to "deal" with poverty.
What do You think about When I Was A Child I Read Books (2012)?
Rough sledding, but with lots of good bits.
—nick18200
