God Laughs & Plays; Churchless Sermons in Response to the Preachments of the Fundamentalist Right by David James Duncan Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of God Laughs & Plays; Churchless Sermons in Response to the Preachments of the Fundamentalist Right
Book Review: A David Duncan Appetizer Sampler
Summary: 4 Stars
God Laughs and Plays is a collection of essays, interviews, rants and musings by David James Duncan. They are scattered over a time span between October 2002 and the present.
I'm not sure I like the subtitle, because Duncan has issues with lots of different parts of Christendom; the Seventh-Day Adventists in his family for their unwillingness to believe anyone is going to heaven but them, the Catholics for excommunicating Origen and not canonizing Duncan's hero Meister Eckhart, the Protestants for dividing the body of Christ into a large number of small denominations, the evangelicals for enlisting God as a foot soldier in their political battles, the charismatics for using God as a way to get rich, and any Christian not already mentioned for not fully appreciating the other religions of the world.
What rocks about God Laughs & Plays? Duncan has a great wonder at nature, which he expresses unabashedly, unashamedly and beautifully. He slips in unexpected words at unexpected moments, as when he referred to a mystical experience as a detonation. He overlooks the censoring of one of his books. He helps angry environmentalists get over themselves. He seeks to love people with whom he's passionately angry. He admits that he has had environmental complaints with other administrations besides the G. W. Bush administration.
What stinks about God Laughs & Plays? Species self-loathing issues. He is fully persuaded that man is a plague, a cancer on the planet. Everywhere man has entered wilderness he has wrecked it. As I read this book, I remembered the Robert Heinlein quote...
There are hidden contradictions in the minds of people who "love Nature" while deploring the "artificialities" with which "Man has spoiled 'Nature.'" The obvious contradiction lies in their choice of words, which imply that Man and his artifacts are not part of "Nature" -- but beavers and their dams are. But the contradictions go deeper than this prima-facie absurdity. In declaring his love for a beaver dam (erected by beavers for beavers' purposes) and his hatred for dams erected by men (for the purposes of men) the Naturist reveals his hatred for his own race -- i.e., his own self-hatred.
What else stinks about God Laughs & Plays? Not giving his targets a chance to defend themselves. He seems to be clearly on the pacifist side of the pacifist/just war fence, but he doesn't address the possibility of either Operation Desert Storm or Operation Iraqi Freedom being just wars. He doesn't mention how Saddam Hussein gamed the Oil-for-Food program, or the corruption of the United Nations. So you should take the rants against U. S. military involvement with a grain of salt.
You may not like everything in God Laughs and Plays, but on the other hand, you may find some things you really like. I did, hence the four stars even with the negative comments
Book Review: Taking God out of the box
Summary: 4 Stars
Duncan takes God out of denominational straight jackets by emphasizing God's all encompassing nature. "Church" for Duncan is fly fishing for salmon and trout. His love of nature provides the metaphors supporting the Christian message of resurrection. But Duncan's broad base of knowledge of other religions allows him to see the common aspects of all spiritual journeys. An excellent writer, Duncan is able to articulate his deep spirituality.
If the reader is locked into a particular denominational belief system and political agenda, you'll be in for a wild ride.
Book Review: Kierkegaardian Conceits
Summary: 5 Stars
For those of you familiar with David Duncan, who've been waiting for his next novel for the past decade and a half, this is another appetizer in the strain of "River Teeth" and "My Story As Told By Water."
Yes. This is a political book by David James Duncan.
Duncan waxes angrily eloquent about current American events in this small quaint, quilt of a book. He nearly always sticks to opinion, leaving sustained argument to others. It should be noted that this book is, as he calls it, "an occasional book." It's sort of pieced together to make a whole. At moments he is bursting with anger, others with love, sometimes he is bursting with both emotions at once. It is paradoxical. This book is opinionated and drives those opinions mainly on good writing and emotion.
Further, and much more truly, it is a spiritual book. Perhaps the one foundation of this book as spiritual is set in the Kierkegaardian conceits in regards to reverencing the Catholic monastic life, sometimes at cost to Protestant exegesis of the Bible, though never in full-on war with it.
If you love David James Duncan, are primarily an emotional individual, and agree with the premise of his statements then you will love this book. If you are none of the above, or only one of the above, you will have some problems soaking in the meat of his undeniably superb creative writing.
Book Review: A Churchless Review in Response to the Preachments of David James Duncan...
Summary: 3 Stars
I have been a fan of David James Duncan for many years. I read The River Why and fell in love with his writing. I read The Brothers K and River Teeth after that and enjoyed them as well. I was very excited when this book came out, and was very pleased as I read through the first few chapters. However, I soon found the book harder and harder to pick up, and it ended up taking quite a long time for me to finish. The book deteriorates into political rants and ravings, which are far from the original loving acceptance that allowed me to fall in love with his writings to begin with. I was thrilled with the first few chapters of this book, and some of the sections in it made it worth the cover price to me. However, if you are hoping for something similar to his novels, I'm afraid that you will soon be disappointed with this book. Book Review: Interesting, but not Duncan's best work
Summary: 3 Stars
I should start by saying that David James Duncan is one of my favorite authors. I have read everything he's written, even taking the time to find back-issues of the Sun to read some of his more obscure essays. I find him inspiring, insightful, and generally a master of prose. On the time I had the opportunity to meet Duncan, I found him as likable in person as he is on the page.
That said, I have been disappointed in this latest collection of essays. The first problem I found is that the majority of these pieces have appeared elsewhere. While it is convenient to have them grouped together, I found the book to be a bit short on original work.
The second disappointment I faced is that while I agree with nearly all the sentiments Duncan puts forth, I find most of the book to be too didactic. Duncan's "sermons" in his past work have always been effective because, like all good sermons, they imparted their ideals through stories. God Laughs and Plays is more of a rant than a story. Even if, like me, you agree with the purpose of the rant, it lacks the essential "Duncan'ness" that his readers expect.
That said, there are some true previously unpublished gems in this work. When I heard Duncan talk, he recounted the story of how fly-fisherman aren't haters of fish, but really mayfly preservationists. It is a beautiful and clever anecdote, and I'm glad it's finally made it into print.
God Laughs & Plays falls a bit outside of what his fans have come to expect, and leads Duncan into a genre where he hasn't quite become an expert. But, for lovers of Duncan, and those interested in the politics of fundamentalism, it contains enough gems to justify a read.