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Girl_Meets_God
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From: Meg Rothstein <811.52>
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 14:45:14 -0600
Hi all,
I have a recommendation for older readers. I really enjoyed Girl_Meets_God by Lauren Winner, and I think it would appeal to young adults in high school.
The central theme (conversion) can be pretty controversial, even offensive so I suggest reading it (not only reviews) before sharing the book, if at all possible.
It could be a great choice for an intergenerational book group and/or an interfaith book group.
When I first heard about Girl_Meets_God, I felt VERY cautious. Conversion seemed to be the central point. I didn't want to read a book about why someone thinks one religion is better than another. I picked it back up, though, when a friend of mine recommended it to me after she'd finished it over a weekend. She told me that it wasn't "just a Christian book" and that it remained not only respectful of Judaism but dependent on Judaism and Christianity. I was intrigued. I wanted to know what my friend meant. I prejudged this book, that's for sure.
Girl_Meets_God is a spiritual coming of age story. The author, Lauren, is an engaging, intelligent, well read young woman who documents her search for her personal religious home. The daughter of a Jewish father and a nonpracticing Southern Baptist mom, Lauren was originally a convert to Orthodox Judaism-- a very difficult task and one she was devoted to accomplishing. Winner worked to "master" faith and became a student of religion in many ways. She deeply loves many aspects of Judaism, but found herself increasingly drawn to Christianity. The effects are not simple.
Confounded by this, Winner did a lot of personal searching and study and developed ways to articluate her system of beliefs. Gradually, she decided to convert to Christianity-- and the decision was not without problems or pain.
(Note: Winner's next book talks extensively about what she misses about Judaism.)
In fact, Winner writes, when a person converts, a person loses all sorts of things. There is both joy in finding a place and grief. There are also pieces of things that will always be with a person. For example, Winner discovered that she naturally moves through her days and months in the rhythms of Jewish holidays. The Christian liturgical calendar is a frustration! Eventually, Winner experienced a kind of personal symbiosis: Her experiences and faith in both religions continue to shape how she reads, perceives the world, prays, treats people and thinks things through.
I appreciated that Winner is "real". Her voice is authentic and multifaceted. She articulates longing, skepticism, and faith so well. She "checks herself", always. She is profoundly curious and respectful-- a true thinker. Her respect extends itself to the younger reader, and she's able to talk about texts readers may or may not be familiar with in just the right way, with a light touch.
I would have appreciated this book as a young person, say 15 to 18 years old.
Sincerely, Meg Rothstein, Madison WI
Received on Fri 19 Nov 2004 02:45:14 PM CST
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 14:45:14 -0600
Hi all,
I have a recommendation for older readers. I really enjoyed Girl_Meets_God by Lauren Winner, and I think it would appeal to young adults in high school.
The central theme (conversion) can be pretty controversial, even offensive so I suggest reading it (not only reviews) before sharing the book, if at all possible.
It could be a great choice for an intergenerational book group and/or an interfaith book group.
When I first heard about Girl_Meets_God, I felt VERY cautious. Conversion seemed to be the central point. I didn't want to read a book about why someone thinks one religion is better than another. I picked it back up, though, when a friend of mine recommended it to me after she'd finished it over a weekend. She told me that it wasn't "just a Christian book" and that it remained not only respectful of Judaism but dependent on Judaism and Christianity. I was intrigued. I wanted to know what my friend meant. I prejudged this book, that's for sure.
Girl_Meets_God is a spiritual coming of age story. The author, Lauren, is an engaging, intelligent, well read young woman who documents her search for her personal religious home. The daughter of a Jewish father and a nonpracticing Southern Baptist mom, Lauren was originally a convert to Orthodox Judaism-- a very difficult task and one she was devoted to accomplishing. Winner worked to "master" faith and became a student of religion in many ways. She deeply loves many aspects of Judaism, but found herself increasingly drawn to Christianity. The effects are not simple.
Confounded by this, Winner did a lot of personal searching and study and developed ways to articluate her system of beliefs. Gradually, she decided to convert to Christianity-- and the decision was not without problems or pain.
(Note: Winner's next book talks extensively about what she misses about Judaism.)
In fact, Winner writes, when a person converts, a person loses all sorts of things. There is both joy in finding a place and grief. There are also pieces of things that will always be with a person. For example, Winner discovered that she naturally moves through her days and months in the rhythms of Jewish holidays. The Christian liturgical calendar is a frustration! Eventually, Winner experienced a kind of personal symbiosis: Her experiences and faith in both religions continue to shape how she reads, perceives the world, prays, treats people and thinks things through.
I appreciated that Winner is "real". Her voice is authentic and multifaceted. She articulates longing, skepticism, and faith so well. She "checks herself", always. She is profoundly curious and respectful-- a true thinker. Her respect extends itself to the younger reader, and she's able to talk about texts readers may or may not be familiar with in just the right way, with a light touch.
I would have appreciated this book as a young person, say 15 to 18 years old.
Sincerely, Meg Rothstein, Madison WI
Received on Fri 19 Nov 2004 02:45:14 PM CST
