Nevermore: Paleo Living, Bible Culture, Angel's Game, and more

The Cultural Handbook to the Bible by John J. Pilch prompted some lively discussion at the Nevermore Book Club.  The basic premise is that the Bible is often read and interpreted without an historical/social context of the time. Our modern understanding of some concepts is very different.  Even some physical observations of events would have a different meaning for us than it would for those living at the time the ancient texts were recorded.  The writing is lively and accessible.

Similarly, Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us About Sex, Diet, and How We Live by Marlene Zuk examines the currently popular notion that many human problems can be resolved by returning to the ways of our distant ancestors.  Zuk points out that many of the assertions of how humans are meant to live are based on the idea that humans haven’t evolved in thousands of years, but offers evidence to the contrary.  For example, in earlier humans the ability to digest milk was limited to unweaned children.  Adults were all lactose intolerant until changes in a gene enabled adult humans to continue to consume dairy products.  This trait has spread rapidly through the human population. The book will be of special interest to those interested in some of the changes humans have undergone, and who want to read about same in an entertaining way.

Cruel Harvest by Fran Elizabeth Grubb is a heart-breaking memoir of growing up as the abused daughter of a migrant farm worker.  She tells her story in simple terms, but the themes of surviving, overcoming and ultimately forgiving are powerful. Our reviewer found it painful to read but ultimately uplifting.

Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth is another memoir, this one of a young woman’s work as a midwife in London’s East End in the 1950s.  She was one of a group of midwives who worked with the nuns of the area to provide medical and social services to a disadvantaged population.  Worth has a gift for bringing characters and events to life. Our reviewer raved about book, finding it both moving and humorous.  She highly recommended it.  (Note: the book was so successful in the UK that Worth produced several sequels.  It has since been dramatized as a TV series which ran on PBS here.)

Finally, one member wanted to recommend a book she found light and fun:  The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Daniel is a young writer in Barcelona in the 1920s who makes a bargain with a mysterious publisher who wants him to write “a book which will change hearts and minds.”  Before long, he begins to believe that he has made the most dangerous deal of his life.  The book is a gothic fantasy, darker than his first, Shadow of the Wind, to which Angel’s Game is a sort of prequel.