Catholic Book Club

Marilynne Robinson is best known for her first two novels, Housekeeping and Gilead, which appeared 20 years apart. Reviews of Gilead (2004) were rapturous, yet readers sometimes wondered: what took so long? Robinson’s latest collection of essays, When I Was a Child I Read Books, offers a satisfying answer. The book reveals an agile mind formed by decades of deep reading. A committed Christian and American, Robinson calls upon believers and citizens alike to live up to their highest ideals.

When I Was a Child takes up a number of disparate subjects. Robinson writes about Thomas More, Cicero, Jack Miles, Moses, cosmology and Johann Friedrich Oberlin with equal enthusiasm. The essays are surprisingly, and refreshingly, political. Robinson admits to being an unabashed liberal, and offers an extended critique of capitalism, a word, she notes, which never appears in America’s founding documents despite its widespread invocation today. Citing Walt Whitman, she writes that as a country “we have never fully achieved democracy,” and that we must recommit ourselves to its flourishing and not be distracted by the pursuit of “power and wealth.”

Robinson makes an erudite case for the good of public institutions. She revisits influential but misunderstood figures in support of her argument. It is often said, for example, that we live in a Calvinist society, which prizes an individual work ethic. Yet John Calvin was by no means neglectful of the common good, Robinson writes; he emphasized that we must do “good to our neighbors” and not “seclude them from our abundance.” A similar ethic can be found in the law of Moses, which has often been erroneously contrasted with the law of Christ. “The law of Moses puts liberation theology to shame in its passionate loyalty to the poor,” Robinson tartly notes. “Why do we not know this yet?”

Readers of Robinson’s novels may be surprised by her essay style. Compared to the concise prose of Gilead, the writing of When I Was I Child can seem labyrinthine. Robinson acknowledges this plain fact: “I think anyone can see that my style is considerably more indebted to Cicero than to Hemingway.” Readers daunted by her prose may wish to start with the more accessible essays, like “Wondrous Love” and the title selection, a lovely reflection on the elusive spirit of the West.

But by all means, read the whole book, slowly if need be. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself underlining furiously:

“Science can give us knowledge, but it cannot give us wisdom.”

As the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council unfolds over the next four years the struggle over its legacy and meaning will intensify It is a struggle that began almost as soon as the Council concluded in December 1965 In Vatican II The Battle for Meaning Massimo Fa

Nefas literally ldquo unspeakable rdquo is a Latin word for evil It is a heavy word weightier than malum the term for a garden-variety moral wrongdoing It is an offense against the sacred sacrilege in the sense of a ritual violation but even more in the sense of a violation of the divine

This month we feature two selections Prophets In Their Own Country is an historical and theological overview of the relationship between America rsquo s women religious and the Vatican after Rome rsquo s investigation of various communities congregations Some of the chapters originated as part o

A professor of the history of Christianity the popular author and distinguished broadcaster commentator Eamon Duffy has written this slim but fascinating history mdash based on a series on BBC mdash of nbsp the ten pontiffs he deems the most influential Many of the church s powerful spiritual lea

From the popular religious commentator and best-selling author of The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything mdash which was the book club selection for March 2010 mdash comes this new work on the importance of a joy-filled spiritual life As Fr Martin culture editor at America reminds readers the

Published in time for the 10th anniversary observances of the Sept 11 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center Pennsylvania and the Pentagon this book shows the common ground and quest for peace shared by Christians and Muslims in America Based on 30 interviews with abbots nuns and mon

This month we thought we would bring something special to the armchair traveler whose budget may preclude a flight to California It is a treasured classic by the acclaimed naturalist John Muir 1838-1914 brought to wonderful new light by the stunning often breathtaking full-color photographs by S

This is a follow-up to ldquo Soul Searching rdquo a major sociological report about the beliefs of America rsquo s teenagers based on more than 3 000 interviews In a review in America Sept 19 2005 of the book by the same title Tom Beaudoin called the study ldquo illuminating and essential

This is a substantially revised and expanded edition of Love Is the Measure originally published 15 years ago Paulist Press 166p Founder of the Catholic Worker movement Dorothy Day is one of this century rsquo s most prophetic voices and has recently been proposed as a candidate for sainthood