Book Review: Surprised by Laughter

Surprised by Laughter: The Comic World of C. S. Lewis by Terry Lindvall, Ph.D
ISBN: 978-1595554789
Paperback, 496 pages (includes notes, bibliography, etc)
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Retail: $16.99

From the back cover: For C. S. Lewis, merriment was serious business, and like no book before it, Surprised by Laughter explains why. Author Terry Lindvall takes readers on a highly amusing and deeply meaningful journey through the life and letters of one of the most beloved Christian thinkers and writers. As Lindvall shows, the unique magic of Lewis’s approach was his belief that explosive and infectious joy dwells deep in the heart of Christian faith. Readers can never fully understand Lewis, his life, or his legacy until they learn to laugh with him.

Personally, reading that description did not prepare me for this book. The scope of the book is somewhat touched on when it says “a highly amusing and deeply meaningful journey” but perhaps the sentence should have been in bold, italicized and perhaps in a larger font for emphasis. Lindvall mentions at the start that he hopes

“that in placing Lewis on the operating table we will not merely handle the organs, tissues, and entrails of the subject of laughter, but we will also see the risible body itself awaken and laugh and cause us to laugh with the surprise of encountering something so unexpectedly and wonderfully alive.”

The quote on the back, however, does capture quite well C. S. Lewis’s attitude toward laughter-

“[A] little comic relief in a discussion does no harm, however serious the topic may be.” –C. S. Lewis

This book was quite over my head in many places. I had to have a dictionary by my side while reading; I’m not used to that. The book is split into sections: 1) The Idea and the Legacy, 2) Joy, 3) Fun, 4) The Joke Proper, 5) Satire and Flippancy, and the 6) Conclusion: The Laughter of Love. In each of these sections Lindvall has fairly dissected the works of Lewis (and those that inspired him) and placed them into these categories. I cannot even begin to try to describe what is put into those chapters. It is something that I would suggest you read for yourself. My favorite chapter is #20 titled The Fun of Reading but I rather enjoyed the entire book (even somewhat the parts over my head).

Lindvall gives the readers a bit of Chesterton, Milton, Tolkien, Macdonald, More and many other authors, to help the reader understand the use of ‘laughter’ more in Lewis’s work and life, because all of these were influential to Lewis. Lewis commented on all of these and they can be seen in his own works. One thing that stood out to me above all else in this book is the understanding that Lewis knew that laughter “should function to reaffirm and establish what is good, right, and moral (page 311).” This is repeated in many places, albeit in different wording each time. (Such as on page 301, “One cannot keep human lungs from laughter. Yet one can seek to fill those lungs with clean, fresh comedy rather than polluted and poisonous air.”)

Like I said before, this book was way more than I expected but I’m glad I’ve read it. There were some chapters that I did not enjoy reading as much as the rest of the book; the following chapters: 22- Wit and Wordplay, 23- The Word Made Joke, 24- Comic Techniques and Topics, 28- Falling from Frauendienst, 29- Sex and Marriage, and 30-32, dealing with satire and flippancy (mostly because there were bits I just could not wrap my mind around).

I really think that someone with a literature background and possibly English could really appreciate this book. Reading it simply because it talks about C. S. Lewis may leave some readers scratching their heads, or worse, not interested to continue with the reading. It is deep; not a book for light reading.  I do not usually write in my books, not even a little tick mark, but this book now has notes in the margin and arrows throughout. It makes me want to read more of Lewis’s works as well as the other authors that he held in high esteem; especially Chesterton.

And it makes me want to see the joy and laughter in life. It also helped me to see why some people may find me amusing (when I don’t see myself as ‘amusing’ at all!) and I should think that anyone who reads this can find themselves in the cross-hairs of Lewis’s humor as well. And that isn’t a bad thing.

What I did not care for in this book is the scholarly tone (if that is the right description). Lindvall has a Ph.D and he writes like it! The inclusion of so much of Lewis’s own words helped me tremendously to understand some concepts that I would otherwise be completely lost if left to Lindvall’s words.

I end this review with words of Lewis:

“For he will read “in the same spirit that the author writ.” What is meant lightly he will take lightly; what is meant gravely, gravely. He will “laugh and shake in Rabelais’s” easy chair while he reads Chaucer’s faiblaux and respond with exquisite frivolity to The Rape of the Lock. He will enjoy a kickshaw as a kickshaw and a tragedy as a tragedy. He will never commit the error of trying to munch whipped cream as if it were venison (page 198)” –C. S. Lewis, Experiment in Criticism, pg 11

Or as Lindvall says it: “The right way to enjoy reading is not to approach it with preconceptions –particularly not solemn ones –but to see the author’s intention.” And I think Lindvall’s intentions were quite good in trying to help us see the humor, laughter, joy, and comedy of C. S. Lewis’s writings –and his life.

*I received this book free in exchange for an honest review- no compensation was given.*

Book Review: Begin

Begin: a journey through scriptures for seekers and new believers, Compiled and edited by Ken Ham and Bodie Hodge
ISBN: 978-0-89051-630-0
Publisher: Master Books
Retail: $12.99

Begin presents foundational and relevant portions of Scripture from the ESV version of the Bible, along with a powerful mix of commentary, historical information, and helpful detail that gives you an easy overview of the structure and focus of the Bible. from the back cover.

I chose to review this book through New Leaf Publishing Group from Master Books. Originally, I had chosen it because I wanted to see if it would be a good answer to skeptics of the Bible. I didn’t really find that in this book but the authors don’t say that is their goal.

The book takes the ‘seeker’ through specific books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, John, Romans and Revelation. Before each section of Bible being put in the book is a commentary relevant to the section. At the end of each chapter of the book of the Bible that is presented in ESV version of the Bible are questions geared to make one think about what is being said in the Bible. Some of the questions are quite simple (yes/no) but most are open-ended, requiring reflection.

The one thing I appreciated the most about this book is the option to ‘journal’ through the study. On almost every page the margins are lined to allow for note taking. Also at the end of each chapter, where the questions are located, is ample room for writing down the answers. There are also footnotes for the scriptures in case a word or phrase may be confusing.

Some of the reasoning put forth to try to help explain an aspect, concept, situation, etc., in the Bible is not very clear in the author’s words and personally I would find it to confuse more than enlighten. I did find it a little amusing where Paul wrote “brothers” the footnote says, “Or brothers and sisters…” I find that to be a little silly but do understand that some new believers may have trouble with the prominence of males in the Bible {or lack of prominence of women}. That is just one instance and just a personal view of it.

Another issue I have with the book is the focus of creation and a young earth. But again, I do understand that it is not a commonly held belief and coming into Christianity may challenge previously held beliefs. I just get tired of hearing about it, I guess.

I use the KJV Bible but I think that ESV may be my next choice of Bible so this book wasn’t too difficult to adjust to in that respect. If you are adamant that one version of the Bible is the ‘correct’ one then this book may not sit so well with you. Also, if you are adverse to Ken Ham’s view points, you may not like this book either.

Overall, I found the book to be okay. It would be good to have beside your Bible while you read the chosen parts discussed in this book.

***Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from NLPG in exchange for an honest review. A positive review was not required. See Disclosure/Policies.***

Christians and Sustainability- What Do We Do? And Does It Matter?

Recently, I've become more interested in living 'greener'. 'Living green' is an almost too used phrase to describe living in a way that is healthier for first ourselves but secondly for the environment. Perhaps 'sustainable living' is more appropriate. But as Christians should the second part of living green, or sustainable, concern us? 

Windmills in WY

I believe this is a controversial topic. There are those who feel that because God will create a new heavens and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17) that we do not need to worry about this earth, now. Granted that does not mean that we should litter (that is against the law of man and therefore is wrong to start with), nor does it mean that we should purposely pollute or trash our world. But do we need to change our lives to be able to care for the environment- even though God will cleanse it according to His Will?

Because of the first part of living sustainably, I believe that yes, we do need to change our lives. God commands for us to treat our bodies as a temple (1 Corinthians 6:19)- to care for it and keep it well (as best as we can). Living 'green' helps in this. As a secondary benefit, it also cares for the environment- and others who inhabit this planet as well. I believe it is a Christian's duty to live a life that is 'green' because it helps to keep God's commandments of taking care of our bodies, for Him, as well as caring for others. We wouldn't go out of our way to pour chemicals on a neighbors yard, or in their water supply. Why would we use such things in our houses or everyday living that will in effect do just that? 

When we use chemicals (to kill weeds, bugs, whiten our clothes, etc) they seep into the water supply. The water ends up on our neighbors lawn and/or in their water supply that they ingest. And not just our neighbors. The water on this planet is recycled constantly. The process allows water from New York City, New York, to fall in Nigeria, Africa. The water from Australia can make it to Anchorage, Alaska. And the chemicals that are used in those locations go with the rain. The water is filtered in a sense- but not thoroughly- and the residual chemicals are dropped onto our 'neighbors'.

Or how about plastic? Plastic never goes away! Never. It is a man-made product revered for its long life. However, it is causing serious problems with the earth and the inhabitants. I don't just mean animals (although the first problem can be seen readily when looking at the animals). Plastic is in our water and our food- in our bodies. There are food-grade plastics that are 'safe' for us. But really, plastic is not safe.

So that leads to the question: What do we do and does it really matter?  

What do you think?