Note: This review is based on an
Advanced Reading Copy from Zondervan Books.
Tables in the Wilderness: A Memoir of God Found, Lost and Found Again by Preston Yancey was one of
the coolest books I've read in a while. I was in the mood for
fiction, but didn't find anything that looked appealing at the time.
So I chose the non-fiction story of Preston Yancey's journey of
coming to grips with his own faith and how that may or may not fit
with the faith in which he was raised.
The book is a reflection of his journey
that mostly took place during his college years at Baylor University
in Texas.
At first I found myself wondering how
deep a book this could be because of his young age, but I was wrong.
The issues he struggles with – doubt, the ability to hear God, the
sacraments, religious arrogance, etc. - are issues that are not
age-specific, but more a function of a person who is very serious and
thoughtful about his faith. It was an engaging read that I enjoyed
far more than I thought I would.
There are several highlights of this
book, one of which is Yancey's writing style. Tables in the Wilderness reads very much like you are being invited to hear the
confession of a friend. It is written in a way that makes you feel
for the author and want to know how everything turns out for him.
Another highlight is the “Suggested
Reading” list he includes in the back of the book. I've already
spent some time looking through to see what looks interesting to me
and making a list of some I'd like to read. There is also a list of
questions at the back of the book that would make this useful for a
reading group.
One of the drawbacks, which may just be
particular to me, was the little bit of difficulty I had in keeping
track of all the other people in the book. For the most part he calls
them only by their first names, and aside from the “main players,”
I had a hard time remembering who was who. Truthfully, it was not
that much of a hinderance, but I figured it would be worth
mentioning.
While I started my book search looking
for fiction, what I found was a non-fiction story with every bit the
narrative satisfaction I was searching for.
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