Thursday, December 28, 2017

Cover Her Face

Book:Cover Her Face
Basic Information : Synopsis : Characters : Thoughts : Evaluation :  New Words :  Good Quotes :  References

Basic Information:
Author: PD James
Edition: Paperback
Publisher: Touchstone - Simon&Schuester
ISBN: 978-0-7432-1957-0
Read: December 28, 2017

Reread: June 9, 2021
249 pages
Genre:  History, Fiction, Mystery
Language Warning:  None
Rated Overall: 3 ½  out of 5

Fiction-Tells a good story: 3 out of 5
Fiction-Character development: 5 out of 5



Synopsis (Caution: Spoiler Alert-Jump to Thoughts):

The story is told in nine numbered chapters. The story spends time developing who the characters are.through the first fifth of the book. But after the big annual village celebration/party/sale at the Maxie’s estate,  all of the main people are resting, except the house staff. But Sally makes a stir when she announces that Stephen Maxie has asked her to marry him.

The next morning, Sally is found dead, strangled. Dalgiesh is called in to investigate. The rest of the book concerns the investigation. Dalgiesh questioning people, suspects questioning others. Until the final chapter when Dalgiesh calls a meeting of all of the suspects and lays out the evidence, slowly eliminating each suspect. That is except one. But before we get to know the murdered, we find out through the sudden entrance of Sally’s husband that she was married.

There is plenty of hints throughout the book to allow one to figure out  who done it, or at least eliminate a lot of suspects. But other hints such as why did an unmarried girl have a trousseau? Who was in the barn arguing? Why did Sally receive a letter with a Venezuelan stamp? Where did some of the sleeping pills disappear to and are they connected to the murder? The list of clues goes on for a long time.

In this way, the book is written like a traditional who done it book. A book with a few surprises, but pretty traditional in its approach and its detective.


Cast of Characters:

  • Sally Jupp (Ritchie)  - Maid who was murdered
  • Mrs Eleanor Maxi - matron of Martingale
  • Stephen Maxie - Mrs. Maxie’s son, heir of Martingale, Sally Jupp’s fiance
  • Deborah Riscoe - Mrs. Maxie’s daughter
  • Catherine Bowers - Family friend, one time Stephen Maxie lover
  • Felix Hearne - friend of Deborah, who feels more for Deborah than she for him
  • Martha Bultitaft - Cook and house help
  • Dr. Charles Epps - village doctor and family friend
  • Mr. Bernard Hinks - vicar
  • Miss Alice Liddell - Warden of St Mary’s Refuge for Girls whee Sally Jupp had been before being a maid
  • Derek Pullen - friend of Sally Jupp’s, but not a lover.
  • James Ritchie - husband, not known by others
  • Mr. and Mrs. Proctor - Uncle and aunt who raised Sally Jupp
  • Adam Dalgliesh - detective
  • Sgt Martin - assistant to Dalgliesh

    Thoughts:
    According to Wikipedia, the titles comes  from John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi: "Cover her face. Mine eyes dazzle; she died young."

    Nothing profound in this book, at least how I read it. But there are some interesting quotes.

    humour was only a feeble attempt to denigrate fear. (6)

    Sally Ritchie obviously believed that we live in a society which salves its conscience more by helping the interesting unfortunate than the dull deserving and was in the position to put her theory to the test. (9)

    How do you recognize someone who is manipulative like Sally? How do you oppose her?

    Was what Mrs. Maxie did heroic? Moral?


    Evaluation:

    If you like reading, particularly mysteries, you need to read PD James! The question is, is Cover Her Face the book to read of hers?

    I like PD James’ writing. This is the fifth book of hers which I read and I am glad I did. But would I start with Cover Her Face? Probably not.  This is James’ first mystery book and I think she is trying to figure out her style of writing. The first three chapters are lead into the story. I confess, if it was not for the James’ as a writer, I would have put the book down. The start is slow. But as she gets more into the story, her writing picks up until you are engrossed in the storyline.

    So read it, enjoy it, but do not start with this book if you are starting with James.
     
    Reread: June 9, 2021 - I picked up this book to read while camping. I am thinking that my initial evaluation is correction.

    New Words:
    • trousseau  (4): the clothes, household linen, and other belongings collected by a bride for her marriage.
    • insouciance (8): casual lack of concern; indifference
    • solecism (9): a grammatical mistake in speech or writing.
    • fete: a celebration or festival

    Good Quotes:
    • First Line: Exactly three months before the killing at Martingale Mrs. Maxie gave a dinner party.
    • Last Line: And when that happened the right words would be found.

    References:
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    Sunday, December 10, 2017

    The Name of God is Mercy

    Book: The Name of God is Mercy
    Basic Information : Thoughts : Evaluation :  New Words : Book References : Good Quotes : Table of Contents : References

    Basic Information: Author: Pope Francis, interviewed by Andrea Tornielli
    Edition: eBook on Overdrive from the Fresno County Library
    Publisher: Random House
    ISBN: 0399588647 (ISBN13: 9780399588648)
    Read: December 10,  2017
    176 pages
    Genre:  Christianity
    Language Warning:  None
    Rated Overall: 5 out of 5

    Religion: Christianity
    Religious Quality: 5 out of 5
    Christianity-Teaching Quality: 5 out of 5



    Thoughts:
    •   To the Reader: Francis’ Vision
      • Pope Francis says that mercy is the Lord’s strongest message. 
      • Expounds on John 8-the woman about to be stoned.
      • Pope Francis recognizes that many times, Christians like to condemn and reproach others than to become a party to mercy. 
      • The only requirement to obtain mercy from God is to acknowledge that we are in need of mercy.
      • Is there sins too big for God to forgive? Pope Francis’s answer is Even better! Go to Jesus: he likes to hear about these things. He forgets, he has a special knack for forgetting…. The Lord never tires of forgiving: never!
        • Wow! What a way to put it.
      • Also Pope Francis says: It is we who tire of asking him for forgiveness. We need to ask for grace not to get tired of asking for forgiveness, because he never gets tired of forgiving.
      • the mystery of the mercy of Jesus is that he goes beyond the Law. Such as in the stoning of the adulterous woman. He does not say she has not sin, but that he will not condemn her. Mercy does not erase the sin-that is forgiveness’ work-he says to sin no more. Not only does Jesus defends sinners, he defends the sinner from their own just condemnations.
        • This is not only for her, but for us.
      • Mercy is like when the night sky is overcome by the sun’s daytime. The stars are still there, they are overpowered by the sun. Mercy overpowers sin.
      • Like in To every Man a Penny, God looks for ways to forgive us, to extend mercy to us. 
    • A Time for Mercy 
      • Pope Francis notes that he never trusts his first reaction to an idea-usually is wrong. But waits, trusts, asks for help from the Lord to better discern the idea and get guidance.
        • Sounds wise, particularly in our day of speed and hurry.
      • this is the time for mercy...She [the Church] does not wait for the wounded to knock...she looks for them on the streets… she takes care of them, she makes them feel loved.
      • the Church lives an authentic life when it professes and proclaims mercy. Pope John Paul II
      • Mercy...it is the name of God.  Pope Benedict XVI
      • Mercy is opening one’s heart to wretchedness.
        • Cites Ezekiel 16 as an example of God’s mercy at work.
        • Mercy is connected to God’s faithfulness
      • Shame is a grace
      • Can you forgive too much? Pope Francis cites a priest which asked the question, am I forgiving too much? But in talking with the Lord, he says that if God did not want him to forgive as much, he should not have set such a bad example.
      • A merciful priest: someone who knew how to be close to people and treat their wounds by giving them mercy.
      • Today people try to find salvation wherever they can.
      • Is it better to say that you no longer have a problem, therefore you need to live with it? Or that you do have a problem and let's work through it?
    • The Gift of Confession
      • There is some difference in the Catholic and Protestant lines of thinking on a variety of this. Such as Catholics tend to think that things like John 20:19-23 refer to those in authority. While Protestants think more like the authority has been given to the Church or individual believers.
        • Consequently when Pope Francis talks about priests and bishops and so on have the authority to forgive sins, he loses Protestants.
      • If you are not capable of talking to your brother about your mistakes, you can be sure that you can’t talk about them with God.
        • This is something to think about. I usually feel too shy to do that, too self-conscious. But Pope Francis says that that is how we change.
        • Another Pope Francis point is that we are social beings. Forgiveness has social ramifications. So we need to talk with our spiritual siblings about our failings both to put them behind us, to raise up others and to allow for forgiveness to flow.
      • Pope Francis says that in the Eastern churches, the priest will put his stole over the heads of those who are confessing and an arm around his shoulder. He says this is the physical representation of acceptance and mercy
      • Pope Francis also talks about an old lady who came to him for confession. Pope Francis wondered what did she have to confess-we all are sinful. She also said, If the Lord didn’t forgive everything, our world would not exist.
        • Profound.
      • Sin is a wound, not just a stain. A stain can be cleaned, a wound must be healed.
      • Anyone who confesses does well to feel shame for his sins: shame is a grace we ask for...ot makes us humble.
      • When the Pope hears confession, he thinks about himself, his own sin and about his need for mercy. It causes us to forgive better.
    • Looking for the Smallest Opening
      • God who is our everything, and presenting him our selves, which are our nothing. … what we need to ask for is truly an act of grace.
      • Ambrosian Rite: “You bent down over our wounds and healed us, giving us a medicine stronger than our afflictions, a mercy greater than our fault. In this way even sin, by virtue of your invincible love, served to elevate us to the divine life” Sunday xvi
    • Too Much Mercy?
      • What is our response to the parable to the Prodigal Son? Pope Francis says that many of time, the Church sides with the elder son saying, “Too Much Mercy!” This is a natural reaction-One I fall into. But Pope Francis points out that while the elder son is human, it is the mercy of God that is divine.
      • The concept of the feast expresses God’s joy at forgiving.
      • To say that a sin can prevail over God’s mercy! That would say that our sin is more powerful than God’s ability to supply mercy.
      • The Church does not exist to condemn people, but to bring people to encounter God’s love through his mercy.
    • Shepherds, Not Scholars of the Law
      • None of us should speak of injustice without thinking of all the injustice we have committed before God.
        • Isn’t this a variation of the adulteress about to be stoned where Jesus asks, who is without sin?
      • Pope Francis points out that if there is repetitiveness of confessing the same sin, the person is not growing, they are only learning how to say the words. This is different than committing the same sin and trying to move away from that sin. It is important in that case not to wallow, but to pick up again and try to live under God’s grace.
      •  It is better that a homosexual person continues to try to seek God and stay close to him, than to be ostracized. Pope Francis does not say that homosexuality is ok. But that God loves us all in our sin.
      • When it comes to bestowing grace, Christ is present; when it comes to exercising rigor, only the ministers of the Church are present, but Christ is absent. From St Ambrose’ De Abraham.
      • When awe wears off, we think we can do everything alone. Pope Francis thinks that it might be better if we slip a little so that we are more humble.This way, he shows off His mercy.
        • I think the first statement is true. I am not sure about permitting sinning. I got to think it would be better to live in a state of dependence on Him. I have not learned that lesson very well.
      • Small gestures are large in God’s eyes.
    • Living the Holy Year of Mercy
      • Works of Mercy. According to Wikipedia, they fall under two categories:
        • Corporeal-tending to the physical needs of others-see Matthew 25:31-46
          • To feed the hungry.
          • To give water to the thirsty.
          • To clothe the naked.
          • To shelter the homeless.
          • To visit the sick.
          • To visit the imprisoned, or ransom the captive.
          • To bury the dead.
        • Spiritual-tending to their spiritual needs-Ezekiel 33, Deuteronomy 16 and Maccabees 2
          • To instruct the ignorant.
          • To counsel the doubtful.
          • To admonish the sinners.
          • To bear patiently those who wrong us.
          • To forgive offenses.
          • To comfort the afflicted.
          • To pray for the living and the dead.
      • A fitting end to the main part of the book: “In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.” St John of the Cross,
    • Appendix: Misericordiae Vultus: Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy
      • This is the text of Pope Francis’s declaration of a Jubilee Year of Mercy. It is broken into 25 segments.
      • God’s mercy, rather than a sign of weakness, is the mark of his omnipotence. (Section 6) Strength comes from us allowing to show weakness. 
      • We are to be pilgrims, traveling along the road. It is a sign that mercy is our goal.-to embrace God’s mercy and to show the Father’s mercy to others.
      • In the Catholic Church, what is the role of the confessor? Sounds like it is a separate office from priest. See the Catholic Encyclopedia
      • Pope Francis points out that faith in the power of money is a trap-it is an illusion.
      • Corruption prevents us from looking to the future with hope.
      • Relationship between justice and mercy-same reality, two dimensions.  Justice is a civil construct. It is what we rightly deserve. It is living fully according to God’s Law. But not as legalism. Definition of justice: faithful abandonment of oneself to God’s will.
      • Justice only is the road to destruction. Pope Francis says that those who commit an offense should pay for it-that is not the end of the conversation, but the beginning.
      • Pope Francis talks about granting indulgences. What are these? The forgiveness of sins if I understand the basics of what the Catholic Encyclopedia says.


    Evaluation:
    Pope Francis declared that 2016 was the Jubilee Year of Mercy (actually late 2015 through late 2016).  Vatican journalist Andrea Tornielli interviews the Pope concerning mercy: what is it, what relevance is it in today’s world, and how Christians can practice it.

    This is a short book, but packed with profound thought. It is a book which Christians of all walks should read to deepen their understanding of how to act in our world.



    New Words:
    • eponymous (To The reader): giving their name to something.
    Book References:
      • To Every Man a Penny by Bruce Marshall
      • Dies in Miserocordia by Pope John Paul II
      • The Dialectic of the “Spiritual Exercises” of St Ignatius by Father Gaston Fessard
      • De Abraham by St Ambrose
      • The Way of Humility: Corruption and Sin by Pope Francis before becoming Pope

      Good Quotes:
      • First Line: On the morning of Sunday, March 17, 2013, Frances celebrated his first Mass after his election as Bishop of Rome, which took place the previous Wednesday evening.
      • Last Line: Given in Rome at Saint Peter’s, on 11 April, the Vigil of the Second Sunday of Easter, or the Sunday of Divine Mercy, in the year of our Lord 2015, the third of my Pontificate.
      • Today people try to find salvation wherever they can. Chp A Time for Mercy
      • If you are not capable of talking to your brother about your mistakes, you can be sure that you can’t talk about them with God. Chp The Gift of Confession
      • God who is our everything, and presenting him our selves, which are our nothing. … what we need to ask for is truly an act of grace. Chp Looking for the Smallest Opening
      • None of us should speak of injustice without thinking of all the injustice we have committed before God. Chp Shepherds, Not Scholars of the Law
      • When awe wears off, we think we can do everything alone…. Chp Shepherds, Not Scholars of the Law
      • “In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.” St John of the Cross,
      • When faced with the gravity of sin, God responds with the fullness of mercy. Mercy will always be greater than sin, and no one can place limits on the love of God who is ever ready to forgive. Chp Misericordiae Vultus
      • wherever there are Christians, everyone should find an oasis of mercy. Chp Misericordiae Vultus, Section 12
      • It is easier for God to hold back anger than mercy, St Augustine, Homilies on the Psalms, Psalm 77:10
      Table of Contents:
      • To the Reader: Francis’ Vision
      • A Time for Mercy
      • The Gift of Confession
      • Looking for the Smallest Opening
      • A Sinner, Like Simon Peter
      • Too Much Mercy?
      • Shepherds, Not Scholars of the Law
      • Sinners Yes, Corrupt No
      • Mercy and Compassion
      • Living the Holy Year of Mercy
      • Appendix: Misericordiae Vultus: Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy

      References:

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