Reading with Deeper Eyes
Reading with Deeper Eyes: The Love of Literature and the Life of Faith.
By William H. Willimon. Upper Room Books, 125 pp.
One of the best things about William Willimon's new book is that he introduces us to serious, spiritually significant works of fiction and makes us want to read them. One of the worst is that we might be tempted to take Willimon's book as a shortcut, using his summaries of great novels as a substitute for reading them. The book's format—short chapters followed by study questions—suggests it is intended to be used in adult classes or for private study. But what six-to-nine-page summary and analysis can do justice to Homer's Odyssey, Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Walker Percy's Love in the Ruins or Peter De Vries's The Blood of the Lamb?
Willimon's selection of books is excellent, leaning heavily on the contemporary. Among classical narratives, he discusses only the Book of Job in addition to Homer and Dostoevsky. Among contemporary works, he includes novels by Oscar Hijuelos, Anne Tyler and Ron Hansen, along with the obligatory Flannery O'Connor and John Updike.
