September 18, 2009 6:22 PM
Barbara's Book Club: The Power of the Powerless
While I've finished my Les Miserables commentary, please feel free to add your comments as you finish up yourselves - even if it's next year :) or after your children are all grown up :) :)
Now we're on to a very small, unique and quietly transformative book I think everyone will love. At 151 pages, The Power of the Powerless can be read in less than 2 hours, but if you're like me, you will want to read it a morsel at a time, like a rich dessert.
My plan is to discuss the book in one entry on October 1 - followed hopefully by a lot of insights from all of you. So you still have time to get a copy and read it before then.
You definitely want to read this book. I will tease you with part of the Introduction, written by Henri J. M. Nouwen, following his meeting with the author, Christopher De Vinck:
I had become aware of a way of seeing the world that IO had not experienced for a long time. Chris's eyes and ears were seeing and hearing what many people do not see and hear.When I read The Power of the Powerless in which he tells the story of his brother Oliver and the stories of Lauren, Anthony and Paul, I immediately recognized that only Chris could have written it. It is so full of wonderment, amazement, gratitude, joy, peace and renewal of life that nobody but a person with a special eye and a special ear could have written it.
Because he writes about four very handicapped people, people who suffered from several physical and mental deformations, people who by many are considered misfits, vegetables, tragic flaws of nature, people about whom many feel it would have been better if they had not been born. But for Chris these people are God;'s messengers, they are the divine instruments of God's healing presence, they are the ones who bring truth to a society full of lies, light into the darkness, and life into a death-oriented world. . . .
The Power of the Powerless breaks with all human logic, all intelligent predictions, all normal norms of success and satisfaction. It turns everything upside down, It speaks not only about the power of the powerless, but also about love offered by those who suffer grievously, hope given by those whose lives are complete failures, courage enkindled by those who cannot make the slightest move on their own. In a world that so much wants to control life and decides what is good, healthy , important, valuable and worthwhile, this book makes the shocking observation that what is hidden from "the learned and the clever" is revealed to "mere children." (Matthew 11:25)
Henri Nouwen, by the way, is a priest who achieved some level of public acclaim as a writer and speaker. Shortly after he wrote this, he became pastor of L'Arche in Toronto, a community/home to people with mental disabilities.
My next book club offering is The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen, so if you are buying at Amazon (no copie sof either at Paperback Swap), you might want to buy the two at the same time and something else you need so you can get free shipping:
Comments
My copy was delivered on Friday. Looking forward to joining the discussion.
Posted by: Donica | September 20, 2009 8:50 AM
