A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken is one of those books I’ve always heard great things about and never read. It’s of particular importance to a couple I know, which only served to deepen its mystique. I finally read it last week and it certainly met my expectations. I appreciated the integration of both the romantic and spiritual elements of the story, and enjoyed it far more than most autobiographies because the prose was better than most in that classification.
The beauty of the relationship remembered is breathtaking. Sometimes I wondered if everything really happened just that way, but we all reconstruct memories from time to time and even if it is partly fiction and partly fact, it’s nothing but the truth, as Pierce Pettis so aptly sang. The conversion story is also interesting as it captures the classic pattern of the modern coming-to-faith. I think it will help people in the future to understand the classic evangelism of the past.
A quick but thoughtful read. (8.5/10, from the bookshelf, acquired on paperbackswap)
loved severe mercy. if I ever get off my duff and read the second one- under the mercy, which is sitting on my shelf, I will be happy to loan it to you.
a severe mercy is an incredible book i agree. i just finished reading vanauken’s little lost marion which he explains his search for davy’s daughter, marion. he also exclaims his surprise at the overwhelming interest of young people in his book a severe mercy. little lost marion is a beautiful prose and so worth the read. the book defines lines that christians draw and why. he talks about difference in freedom vs. equality, so good. i’ll send it to you if you’re interested…
it’s a lovely book…..M. and I have adopted sheldon and davy’s practice of putting a ding in everything they buy so those things don’t become too precious. :) Well, okay, we don’t actually take a hammer to things, but I am always secretly pleased with the first scratch on things, and M. agrees…maybe this is another reason I like to buy used things….I don’t hold as tightly to things that way. :)
i read that book when eric and i first starting dating and i loved it, but now it is lost in the memories of the past, and i only remember bits and pieces. i want to know what you think of silence.
I had a hard time wtih it. I struggled with whether that was because I am so cynical that I couldn’t take how earnest they were or whether it was because they had these unrealistic expectations about their relationship. I think it was maybe a little bit of both.
awwww….thanks for the shout out :) i need to make a trip back to st. stephens (and the ‘burg in general) to relive some of the mystery and beauty of my wedding day there :)
I have this book on my shelf (got it for 50 cents at my library’s used book sale), but haven’t gotten to it yet. I’ll have to move it up on the priority list now. :-)
hello, I love C.S Lewis and I’ve heard about this book so many times, but I have not read it. I live in Cu.ba where I have stupid restriction so I can not buy that book, I have no way of acquire it. if any of you have it in digital format I will appreciate you send it to me. (shtorrent00@gmail.com)
thanks