A Visit to Vanity Fair, by Alan Jacobs
Because of his uncommonly fine use of language and the gracious character which emerges from his work, Alan Jacobs, who teaches English at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, has always struck me as someone who could be both entertaining and enlightening on almost any subject. This book certainly supports that evaluation.
On topics ranging from the life and times of Bob Dylan to the comparative value of "Bible dowsing" (seeking spiritual direction from a Bible haphazardly opened), Jacobs wanders through ideas drawn from a number of recently published books, and along the way creates engaging digressions of his own.
Most of these essays were originally book reviews, which may be the reason for the book's most significant weakness. Too often an essay's range seems circumscribed by the requirements of evaluating the book, or books, Jacobs has read. At best, however, the work he reviews (many of these review essays were originally published in First Things) becomes the occasion for his own novel ramblings on related issues of our time and culture.
