ejohnson82's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
ducky1918's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
josiahdegraaf's review against another edition
4.0
Before reading this book, I only kind-of knew about Klavan from seeing some clips on Facebook of him talking politics. I stumbled upon this book at a library book sale and decided to make an impulse buy built off of name-recognition. So I wasn't sure what to expect.
But it didn't take me long to be engrossed in this narrative. I had no idea Klavan was a fiction writer as well when I began reading this, but his love for storytelling shone through, making this an absolutely beautiful narrative. As a fellow fiction writer, a lot of the things that Klavan said connected with me on very deep levels. And while he, growing up as a secular Jew in a tenuous home situation, certainly had a different life experience than I have, this interplay between similarities and differences made this a really enjoyable book to me.
My one criticism would be about the fact that the story ends with Klavan's conversion. I know this is commonplace in these kinds of books, but I really would have liked to hear more about Klavan's life post-conversion. After all, conversion is only the beginning of a narrative, not the end of one, and I would have liked to see how Klavan's Christian perspective began to change other aspects of the way he viewed his life.
Nonetheless, that aside, I really enjoyed this biography. Klavan's life showed me a new perspective, and this new perspective combined with a view of life & story similar to mine made this an engaging story throughout. Definitely worth the read.
Rating: 4 Stars (Very Good).
But it didn't take me long to be engrossed in this narrative. I had no idea Klavan was a fiction writer as well when I began reading this, but his love for storytelling shone through, making this an absolutely beautiful narrative. As a fellow fiction writer, a lot of the things that Klavan said connected with me on very deep levels. And while he, growing up as a secular Jew in a tenuous home situation, certainly had a different life experience than I have, this interplay between similarities and differences made this a really enjoyable book to me.
My one criticism would be about the fact that the story ends with Klavan's conversion. I know this is commonplace in these kinds of books, but I really would have liked to hear more about Klavan's life post-conversion. After all, conversion is only the beginning of a narrative, not the end of one, and I would have liked to see how Klavan's Christian perspective began to change other aspects of the way he viewed his life.
Nonetheless, that aside, I really enjoyed this biography. Klavan's life showed me a new perspective, and this new perspective combined with a view of life & story similar to mine made this an engaging story throughout. Definitely worth the read.
Rating: 4 Stars (Very Good).
skigirl1689's review against another edition
5.0
I became familiar with Andrew Klavan listening to his hilarious and insightful political podcasts. I loved this memoir of his conversion to Christianity. I always find these accounts fascinating as someone who was raised in the Church and has had faith for as long as I can remember.
At times Klavan's recount of his life is utterly hilarious, reflective of his personality. One story that keeps coming to mind is:
"When my parents were married, the traditionalist side of my father’s family insisted my mother take a mikvah before the wedding. It’s a ritual Jewish bath for brides. It involves getting naked while other women wash you. My mother had never heard of the practice and—well!—she thought it absolutely barbaric. She flatly refused to have anything to do with such a thing. There is an entire wing of my extended family that apparently includes famous rabbis and Jewish theologians, but I’ve never met any of them because they never forgave my mother for blowing off the bath. They never spoke to us after that day.
"It wasn’t the religion that bothered her most, though. She could live with that. It was the cultural lines she wouldn’t cross. The mikvah did not offend her spiritual sense. It just struck her as uncivilized, that’s all. A civilized person takes her baths in private, thank you very much" (p. 15).
But he is also brutally honest about his family's struggles with their Jewish identity, his troubled relationship with his father, and his struggle with discontentment in his early adult life. I can only imagine how conflicted he must have been wanting nothing to do with his Jewish faith, even though his mother was an atheist, and his father only went through the motions of the Jewish traditions to please his own father.
His path to the faith is very unorthodox, but insightful. His conclusions that led him to be baptized I found fascinating:
"What were my five epiphanies if not tenets of Christian faith? The truth of suffering was the knowledge of the cross. The wisdom of joy was the soul’s realization through relationship with God. The reality of love was the personality of the Creator as only Jesus had ever revealed it. The possibility of clear perception was the sign that we were made in God’s image, that we had the ability to know his good as our good, even if only through a glass darkly" (p. 244).
At times Klavan's recount of his life is utterly hilarious, reflective of his personality. One story that keeps coming to mind is:
"When my parents were married, the traditionalist side of my father’s family insisted my mother take a mikvah before the wedding. It’s a ritual Jewish bath for brides. It involves getting naked while other women wash you. My mother had never heard of the practice and—well!—she thought it absolutely barbaric. She flatly refused to have anything to do with such a thing. There is an entire wing of my extended family that apparently includes famous rabbis and Jewish theologians, but I’ve never met any of them because they never forgave my mother for blowing off the bath. They never spoke to us after that day.
"It wasn’t the religion that bothered her most, though. She could live with that. It was the cultural lines she wouldn’t cross. The mikvah did not offend her spiritual sense. It just struck her as uncivilized, that’s all. A civilized person takes her baths in private, thank you very much" (p. 15).
But he is also brutally honest about his family's struggles with their Jewish identity, his troubled relationship with his father, and his struggle with discontentment in his early adult life. I can only imagine how conflicted he must have been wanting nothing to do with his Jewish faith, even though his mother was an atheist, and his father only went through the motions of the Jewish traditions to please his own father.
His path to the faith is very unorthodox, but insightful. His conclusions that led him to be baptized I found fascinating:
"What were my five epiphanies if not tenets of Christian faith? The truth of suffering was the knowledge of the cross. The wisdom of joy was the soul’s realization through relationship with God. The reality of love was the personality of the Creator as only Jesus had ever revealed it. The possibility of clear perception was the sign that we were made in God’s image, that we had the ability to know his good as our good, even if only through a glass darkly" (p. 244).
dandelionking's review against another edition
5.0
This book was very powerful. If you have ever wanted to create stories, write a book, or see in the mind of a popular author than this is your chance. Mr. Klavan delves honestly into hard topics about his life and then rises above them triumphantly.
This book roams from Klavan's earliest memories to present day. But it doesn't read like a biography. Though it flows well, it jumps from important event to important event. It illustrates his struggles as a child. His devout Jewish father's struggles. He lists thoughts on Western Culture. And ultimately reveals his long road to Jesus Christ.
In my own life, this book felt very honest and enlightening. As a writer myself, I had felt lonely as a teen. For whatever reason, I was surrounded by fellow writers that happened to be girls. I was so thankful for their friendship and encouragement, but it did seem like I was the only boy writer in the universe sometimes. But hearing Mr. Klavan delve in to his own struggles and passions, makes that figurative little boy inside me realize that he's not alone after all.
I learned so much about you, Mr. Klavan, and the faith that drives us both. But most poignantly, I began to understand myself. Thank you, Andrew Klavan.
This book roams from Klavan's earliest memories to present day. But it doesn't read like a biography. Though it flows well, it jumps from important event to important event. It illustrates his struggles as a child. His devout Jewish father's struggles. He lists thoughts on Western Culture. And ultimately reveals his long road to Jesus Christ.
In my own life, this book felt very honest and enlightening. As a writer myself, I had felt lonely as a teen. For whatever reason, I was surrounded by fellow writers that happened to be girls. I was so thankful for their friendship and encouragement, but it did seem like I was the only boy writer in the universe sometimes. But hearing Mr. Klavan delve in to his own struggles and passions, makes that figurative little boy inside me realize that he's not alone after all.
I learned so much about you, Mr. Klavan, and the faith that drives us both. But most poignantly, I began to understand myself. Thank you, Andrew Klavan.
zachismith's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
Great narrative following Klavan's conversion. Not only is his journey interesting, he tells it as a novelist. This keeps the story moving at a perfect pace.
After reading this I can see parallels in his life that he has brought into his other works.
His story is inspiring and intriguing and this was a pleasure to read.
Great book.
After reading this I can see parallels in his life that he has brought into his other works.
His story is inspiring and intriguing and this was a pleasure to read.
Great book.