Recent Readings: Gracism and Ghosts

A new year means new goals for reading. The books are coming in the mail faster than I can meditate upon them, but I have managed to knock off a couple volumes so far in 2018.

David A. Anderson's Gracism blends personal experience with a phrase-by-phrase navigation through I Corinthians 12. The result--in treating people with greater honor--comes from determination to be a "gracist", one who seeks radical inclusion for the marginalized and excluded. Anderson, pastor at Bridgeway Community Church in Columbia, Maryland, frames his positive urgings around several "I will" statements flowing from Paul's letter.

Some might find a bit of Anderson's style hard to track. While the focus begins on racism--which Anderson defines, and thus I instantly respect his approach more than racial discussions that never clarify the word--Anderson does drift to lifting up a variety of people on the margins. This is helpful, but it can become hard to track the discussion. Is it about racism? Is it broader than that? Some readers will have these questions. Anderson should be commended for two primary areas of excellence: (1) He illustrates his findings from I Corinthians 12 with practical ideas and illustrative experiences, and (2) he exhibits special grace to whites who desire to be part of the discussion but may have differing ideas about how to be part of a reconciling community. He really shows a lot of class in his writing.

From racial questions to streets that dripped with the blood of the Troubles, I found that Stuart Neville's debut novel, The Ghosts of Belfast, is a serious page-turner. Excellence in crime fiction with a decidedly earthy Ulster flavor is on the platter that Neville serves up for a delicious feast. Gerry Fegan is haunted by the "followers" plaguing his memories and denying him sleep now that hostilities have cooled since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. In a dark tale of redemption and forgiveness-seeking, Fegan must take on the sinister former IRA allies who fought alongside him in the 70s and 80s. Alcohol wracks his body and guilt buffets his soul as he resolves to kill those who ordered him in years past. 

Neville's pacing is fluid while maintaining a psychologically arresting storyline. If you don't have a working knowledge of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, you might want to brush up on the clashes between Catholic Loyalists and Protestant Unionists. The dialogue is rugged and unmistakably Irish, as demonstrated by the consistent (though not gratuitous) use of f-bombs and typical peppering of some sexual and scatological terms, and the dialogue is character-establishing in a way that respects the reader and asks much of him. The cliffhanger brings much satisfaction, although the realism of the flawed Fegan's travails brings about a bittersweet ending. The reader can both root for Fegan while maintaining sadness for his deep and abiding flaws, and that is how it should be coming from the pen of Neville. I'll definitely be checking out his other works in the Belfast Novels, and so should you.