Indoor Sojourner: religion

4:06 PM

The end of the month has arrived, which means it's time for me to summarize all the books I've finished in May! In the past month, I took a Maymester class and transitioned into a new job, neither of which left me with much time to read. Two out of the three books I read were in e-book form, so unfortunately, I can't take a cute picture of all of them stacked together with an artsy filter...I'll give you a moment to grieve...XD

I plan on making this a monthly occurrence here on Indoor Sojourner, so make sure to be on the lookout at the end of each month!

Books Read in May

My attempt at the aforementioned picture...

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Rating: 5/5 stars

What I Thought: Jane Eyre such a classic, timeless romance; I loved this book from start to finish! Jane is quite possibly one of my favorite female protagonists to date because she displays such a quiet, humble strength throughout the book. I could go on and on about Jane (and Mr. Rochester, of course), but I'll just say that even though it's a bit of a time consuming read, it's definitely worth it!

2. The Heir by Kiera Cass

Thoughts: 3.5/5 stars

What I Thought: Honestly, there wasn't much about this book that was very surprising or out of the ordinary; I even had a few complaints about it here and there. However, it's great if you're looking for an easy guilty pleasure read for the summer!

3. The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

Rating: 5/5 stars

Thoughts: The Great Divorce is only 160 pages or so, but it presents a detailed allegory about the nature of Heaven and Hell from Lewis' perspective. Surprisingly, it took me four or five days to finish because I was busy with other things, but if you're a fast reader, it could easily be read in a sitting.

Average Rating for May: 4.5

Let me know of your favorite May reads in the comments!

Thanks for reading,

Annie
Indoor Sojourner

Leave a Comment books, classics, may wrap up, religion, wrap up, ya, young adult

Book Review: The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

11:00 AM

Rating: 5/5 stars

Published: 1945

Synopsis: In "The Great Divorce," C.S. Lewis's classic vision of the Afterworld, the narrator boards a bus on a drizzly English afternoon and embarks on an incredible voyage through Heaven and Hell. He meets a host of supernatural beings far removed from his expectations, and comes to some significant realizations about the nature of good and evil.

Even though it’s quite short, The Great Divorce tackles lofty subject matter in a refreshing way. In this text, Hell isn’t the realm of fire and brimstone depicted in scripture; it’s a dull, gray city featuring average souls with very human problems. While a few lucky souls get to venture to Heaven for a time, they still have a degree of separation from all that it offers.

When the narrator initially arrives in Heaven, he describes himself and the other visitors as “Ghosts” since they are transparent and unable to change the environment around them. Most of the book consists of the narrator listening to the permanent residents of Heaven (called “Spirits”) attempting to convince the Ghosts to turn away from Hell and accept the Gospel into their lives.

Although it seems as though this text is implying that souls in Hell have a chance of redemption, I interpreted the stories within this book to be allegories of how we on Earth tend to struggle with the battle of our will versus God’s. As a Christian, I found The Great Divorce to be a poignant way of reiterating that God’s love is always available to us, even when we are blind to it. Lewis does a phenomenal job of taking difficult, abstract concepts of Christianity and describing them in a concrete (but not necessarily simple) way. If you’re looking to dip your toes in religion and philosophy, this book is definitely necessary to add on your reading list!

Thanks for reading,

Annie

Indoor Sojourner