The books we love

[BrianLindenmuth]

Did you ever read a book that completely grabbed you in every way then haunted you for days afterwards? Of course you have because we all have. After reading a book like this you want to talk about it with someone, then, much to your dismay, no one has read it or, in some cases, has even heard of it.

This is just shocking really.

How could they not have heard of the best book ever written?

A few days ago Patti floated an idea out there. Seeing that some books seemed to get a lot of attention while others weren’t talked about as much she wanted to get some people to recommend books that wowed them. So every Friday each one of us will talk about a book that stunned us in some way, that doesn’t seem to be getting the attention that it deserves.

Today's book is The God File by Frank Turner Hollon.

This is one of the most powerful books that I have read in years. I still find myself talking about it, thinking about it, re-reading pages. The God File is a deeply thought provoking novel that asks tough philosophical questions. It’s about a man in jail for a murder he didn’t commit who sets out to prove that God exists.

So what kind of novel is The God File? Is it a crime novel? A philosophical novel? A theological novel? A deconstruction of the crime novel? An existential novel? Yes ,The God File is, at times, all of these. Hollon breaks open the crime novel and reassembles the pieces into something new. The result is a stunning work of fiction.

I think that an excerpt from the books opening provides the best defense to read it.

"So you say you believe in God? So you say that you see evidence God exists, and not only does God exist, He cares about you? Spend almost twenty-two years in a maximum security Alabama penitentiary for a murder you didn’t commit, and then tell me God exists. I have, and I'm still looking.

They walked my skinny ass through the front door twenty-two years ago. I was in here three months before my mind would let me read, then I started reading everything. Anything with words. Anything. I read a book about a man with cancer. His cancer was cured. He was a doctor with a supportive wife and blue-eyed kids. He wrote about his evidence and proof, both historical and personal, of the existence of God. He wrote about dreams of Jesus and signs of that the Lord had cured his cancer. I thought it must be pretty fuckin' easy to see signs of God's existence when you're a rich doctor, with a wonderful wife and children, cured of cancer, sitting around in your country house with your fat dog on the floor by your feet and writing stories about pretty visions. I thought it would really be a test, it would really be worthwhile, to be able to find this evidence in a nasty-ass place like this, with no real freedoms, surrounded everyday with fear, hopelessness, and people who live like rats.

So does God exist? I set out to collect the evidence, to put together a file, to look for God in the tiny details, the corners of my days in this place, to find out for myself. All I have is time, and this file. I have added to the ideas through the years, like building my own house on a solid foundation, brick by brick."

And it only gets better from there.


Check out other recommendations here:

http://billcrider.blogspot.com/
http://bofexler.blogspot.com/
http://anthonyneilsmith.typepad.com/crimedog_one_the_internet/
http://sandrascoppettone.blogspot.com/
http://patrickshawnbagley.blogspot.com/
http://sandrablabber.blogspot.com/
http://josephinedamian.blogspot.com/
http://traviserwin.blogspot.com/
http://randomactsofunkindness.blogspot.com/
http://eudaemoniaforall.blogspot.com/
http://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianL

[Patricia Abbott]

Wow. This one sounds really interesting. I think my husband will love it. Such interesting choices today. And thanks for playing along from your perch here. Maybe it will catch on. maybe reading will be the new craze.