Song of the Nightingale is the story of Helen Berhane, imprisoned for 3 years for being a Christian in Eritrea. Helen belonged to a pentecostal denomination of Christianity which isn’t recognised in Eritrea. As a result, her singing ministry and Bible study group activities led to several arrests and then […]
You know it’s going to be an exciting novel when it wins awards for fantasy, science fiction and horror all at once! American Gods is a modern-day mythic tale by Neil Gaiman. All I want to do here is take a look at the novel’s intriguing premise.
Year of Wonders is a story of the plague. It’s Geraldine Brooks’ first novel, written in 2001. It follows a small town in the seventeenth century which, when plague crops up in their community, decides that rather than run (and possibly spread it) they will quarantine themselves and wait it […]
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant was recommended by a friend who’s lived in the Middle East for many years and by Bei-En. It’s a fictional account of the life of Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob. I’m a bit suspicious of Bible stories re-told as fiction but I enjoyed […]
In 2 Samuel 13, Tamar, violated, shamed, manipulated, de-humanised, debilitated, grieved, isolated and humiliated by an act of sexual violence asks, “Where could I get rid of my disgrace?” The question appears to be unanswered. In Rid of My Disgrace, Justin and Lindsey Holcomb, who work with sexual assault victims […]
I’m mainly familiar with John Goldingay‘s work because he’s an Old Testament scholar but To The Usual Suspects, also published as Walk On, is a book of quite a different nature. More autobiographical, it’s a series of reflections on what it’s been like to live with his wife who was […]
A friend gave me Bus Stops and Bicycles: A handbook for Single Ladies after we chatted about this post. Written by a 20 something Christian girl from Melbourne, it’s about to become my top recommended book on singleness.
Meet Jesus at uni 