‘Cursed Bunny’ is an anthology of horror short stories by Bora Chung. This anthology was recently nominated for the Booker Prize. I picked it up because it was the chosen book ‘Sword and Laser Bookclub’ podcast in July/August.
I very rarely DNF books, but I DNFed this one. This is not a bad book, but this book was too creepy for me. I read the first two stories. They dealt with themes of motherhood, abortion and miscarriage in a disturbing way. I’m not a father, but this crossed a line for me.
This is a book about how to be more productive. The main thesis is: don’t multitask, make sure to relax, pursue excellence. It’s not bad advice.
I enjoyed how it focuses on historical figures like Jane Austin and uses them as examples.
The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory
This is an analysis/tell all about the American Evangelical movement’s present condition of being suborned to the Republican party at the expense of the Christian message. Told by an Evangelical, it frequently cites gospel and uses a pro-Christian lens to analyze malfunctions going on at a state and local level. A particular focus is on ‘Liberty University,’ an Evangelical university. This is a book about how people can stoke populist fears, and use the authority of the divine to force people to believe.
This is not a hit piece. The author went out of his way to speak with Evangelical Republicans who’ve ‘drunk the kool-aid’ and quoted them verbatum so they have the chance to speak their own mind. Both sides are presented reasonably dispassionately.
I particularly enjoyed how the author masterfully used an understanding of Christianity to interpret events. For example, he cited the gospel phrase Matthew 6:24 ‘No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.’ And then he explained how Republicans will use fears of a growing liberal world to fleece worried everyday Evangelicals for campaign dollars. Even if you earnestly believe that a secular world is genuinely evil, you must admit that after a certain point the ends do not justify the means. What begins today as an earnest attempt to fix the excesses of a secular world, will tomorrow become a corrupt attempt to gain money for money’s sake. (No doubt the same dynamics happen on the opposite side of the political fence.)
But it’s not all negative. The author was careful to show how some (if not most) pastors try to remain nonpartisan as best they can. The author mentions how various churches try to do good works. The author shows how Evangelicals are trying to address the various sex-scandals. There is hope here.
Overall, a sobering and well-thought out examination of different aspects of the Evangelical movement.
John Mendez- Book Reviews and More 