Epiphany Books

This is not for those looking to avoid breaking out of the their numbing day to day ruts. If you are looking for something to entertain you, to help you continue to avoid thinking or feeling then watching some extra television may be more what you need.

When openly read and considered the book has the power to get you to bring you back to center and possibly reawaken feelings that you may have thought dried up and dead. It simply yet vivid stories have an uncanny ability to cause you to remember that which is truly important. And help you find beauty in the simple things. Returning you to to your focus on the simply beauty of your breath, a walk, the space around you.

Now we can add Robert Prochaska's name to the likes of William Butler Yeats, Gertrude Stein, Carl Sandburg, R.D. Schrage, Conrad Aiken, Marianne Moore, Stephen Spender, Robert Graves, Edith Sitwell, Wallace Stevens, and T.S. Eliot. No library or teacher or lover of poetry should be without this fine compilation of poems.

"Epiphany in the Modern Novel" is a thoroughgoing literary study of the first order, replete with convincing arguments carefully and eloquently argued, quiet and balanced in tone and yet instilled with a legion of inspired insights. To the best of my knowledge, it's also quite innovative; other scholars had noted the novelist James Joyce's appropriation of the term "epiphany," of course, but Beja, while indeed making Joyce's articulation of this concept the core of his study, goes further and fully demonstrates its very real (but varying) significance for other modern novelists and its role in their novels, both as technique and theme. Much of the later work I've read on this subject (by Ashton Nichols and Robert Langbaum) in fact seems to trace back to this seminal book, making it a key source in this line of inquiry.

Unlike the later studies though, which for the most part focus on poetry, Beja here is very much intent on just what his helpfully straightforward title suggests, the modern novel. He's very much aware of the poetry connection, of course, and outlines this relationship succinctly in the first chapter (noting Wordsworth's importance in this regard), which traces the prehistory of the concept from Saint Paul's experience on the road to Damascus and Saint Augustine's conversion all the way to the Romantic poets of the 18th and 19th centuries and then earlier novelists like Henry James, Joseph Conrad, and (lest ye doubt) Marcel Proust. The bulk of the book though consists of four chapters, each one extensively treating one specific novelist and his or her novels in great detail: James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Thomas Wolfe, and William Faulkner. In the process, 20th century developments in psychology and philosophy, especially as these relate to the nature and subjective perception of time or the qualities and characteristics of aesthetic appreciation, are explored to the degree that they influence this phenomenon. For anyone interested in the philosophy of Henri Bergson, he figures prominently in these discussions, though others like William James, G.E. Moore, and D.T. Suzuki pop up as well.

These are complex matters definitely, but Beja writes in wonderfully clear and understandable prose, bringing a self-assured erudition to bear on the subject and, unlike so many literary critics nowadays, writing in order to be understood rather than to impress his peers. For anyone who takes modern literature seriously, for anyone who suspects it is (or can be) profoundly spiritual though not necessarily religious, for anyone who sees it as a possible (if less than perfect) key to meaning and significance in this mixed-up, modern, crazy world, this book's definitely for you. Highly recommended--reading this fine study is almost an epiphany in its own right.

So I have begun reading a two volume work by Martin Connell, to whose writing I have never had the pleasure of being introduced. I now have a great respect for Dr. Connell, for his book is hard to put down and the way that he has approached the calendar has brought me to the place where I am moved to think deeply about this topic. For he is not only talking about the calendar feasts, there history and meaning from what I would consider a normal academic perspective. Dr. Connell uses poetry and lyrics in his discussion; he talks first about time and how we mark time before he ever talks specifically or historically about a particular feast or season. He points out that how we mark time reveals what we value, and points to our social or religious identities. His work is simply fascinating, compelling and thought provoking. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to really understand how we can still today mark our time in movement of eternity and God's time.

Often times when you are feeling nervous about transitions in your life or when you are feeling like there is more possible for your life and work but you don't know how to access it, you may come across a book that inspires you to courageously move forward towards what you really want. This is a book that does that. Sharing insights based on actual client experiences and the author's journey, the reader benefits from coaching and stories that can shift you into seeing your life in new ways. If you are ready to move to the next phase in your life, read this book. Certainly, one of the essays will call to you and show you the key to open the door to new possibilities.

Reviews

Very powerful and eye opening. Unfortunately there
are many people who are not knowledgeable on such
happenings. Hopefully your book will be a revelation
among all people.

My prayer to you and your family.
Tanya (Indiana)



This story brought tears to my eyes. It was difficult to stop reading it.
Vanessa (Illinois)

I Am You is the perfect supplemental reading to Chad Christopher Cobb's novel The Sea of Milk. Expounding on the direct experience of knowing divinity discovered in his captivating novel, I Am You continues to share and express this beautiful insight that exists within each of us. "I am you" is the modern equivalent to Moses saying, "I am that I am."

Necessary Larceny is a heart warming story about seniors, friendship and adventure.
After a group of seniors lose their savings in a scam, they embark on a fantastic journey to scam the scammers.
This story keeps your attention and has an unexpected twist at the end that you will enjoy. I recommend this book for anyone to read.

Muto calls the lay person to a life of holiness. To be a witness for Christ one must integrate the basics of Christian spirituality to the routine of life. She says, "The call to holiness beckons us to return to the basics, that is, to those conditions for fostering single-hearted, awe-filled, grateful abandonment to God's will, revealed in the midst of our life in the everyday world." The aim of the Christian is to place into practice the foundations of spiritual formation through silence, listening to God's word, reflection, prayer, contemplation and service to God. The author examines Jesus' desert experience and relates that to the way of true discipleship. She speaks of the desert and discipleship by stating, "To follow Christ means that we must let go of excessive attachments to passing pleasures and possessions, to ploys of autonomous power, to tangible goods as if they were ultimate. Christ asks us to abandon our idols, whatever they may be, and to love him with our entire being." Basically, we are stripped of our ego, pride and attachments in the desert and freed to follow Christ. Muto suggests that the way to love Christ in discipleship be found in our spiritual formation. Once we have abandoned self, we are liberated to follow Christ through silence, being quiet in our noisy world; through formative reading, the art of listening to God's word; through meditation, chewing on God's word; and through contemplation, being in the total presence of the Transcendent. The fruits of these disciplines will find themselves in the awareness and service of God in occupation, family, neighborhood and daily routine. This is discipleship according to Muto, We want to help others see his face in every person, event, and thing. This is what it means as Christians to be missioned. Missionary duty is not limited to evangelizing work in foreign lands. It is what we are to do every day in our homes and professions. Whether we are involved in teaching, law, nursing, medicine, or social work, whatever our position or profession, we have to remain faithful disciples despite daily pressures. An excellent work on the spiritual disciplines.

Reviewed by Nina Larson for Reader Views (6/06)

From the first word, the voice in Louis Masson's book, "The Play of Light" is gentle, yet emotional. Outwardly a memoir of his 60 + year life, this book transcends a simple narrative of the author's life and inspired memories and emotions in me. Masson's life has had the usual triumphs and tribulations of a white, middle-class, Catholic American, and his telling outwardly wandered like his old "associative" professor. Yet reading this book brought up recollections I knew I had, but hadn't thought of in years, or realized the depth of impact; the smell of fall, winter, spring, and summer; my first memory; the feel of story-time at bedtime.

Memories and experiences we all have, yet take for granted during our day to day lives.
However, unlike most of us, Masson has accepted what has gone before and what will come. And through sharing his memories, and his emotions bound up in those memories, my memories and the feelings attached to those memories took on a fresh and peaceful aspect. This book and Masson are a light shining into the darkness of forgetfulness. The dedication is a well written symbol of this book; memories and help from the past, inspiring hope and best wishes for the future.

Masson is writing to leave a record of himself, his family, his faith. A `remember me, I was once here' urge that strikes us all, from ancient and modern graffiti artists to classical artists such as Rodin. Death and life are examined, from the stages of funerals and puddle-jumping. Clearly, it is the present moment that matters. "It is in the sketching, not the sketch, that we truly cherish something of each day." pp.28.

I actually reread this book, searching for what made it so powerful. I am still not quite sure. It might be the connections I find between his questions and life and my life. But that does not explain why the prologue moved me to tears, when the entire chapter is explicitly a situation entirely alien to me.

Masson has provided the world with a wonderful book. Frankly, I would recommend it to anyone. Age range is immaterial. The reading level is relatively easy, the writing incredibly descriptive and lyrical, and the sentiment; classless. However, this is a reflective memoir, a book that inspires self-reflection and emotion. Expect tears and change.