We plot. We plan. We assume things are going to go a certain way. And when they don't, we find ourselves in a new place---a place we haven't been before, a place we never would have imagined on our own. It is the difficult and the unexpected, and maybe even the tragic, that opens us up and frees us to see things in new ways. Many of the most significant moments in our lives come not because it all went right but because it all fell apart. Suffering does that. It hurts, but it also creates. This book is an exploration of the complex relationship between suffering and creativity, driven by the belief that there is art in the agony.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
While Bell's books Velvet Elvis and Sex God received generally strong reviews, this effort to understand the relationship between suffering and creativity feels superficial and overly self-conscious. Few readers will dispute Bell's gentle assertions: that life can be extremely difficult and capricious, that it is often difficult to find God amid suffering, that suffering has a great potential to unify disparate people, and that great bursts of creative energy can arise from pain. Bell explores these issues not by covert biblical exegesis—which was a surprising and welcome highlight of Velvet Elvis—but new-fashioned storytelling. Bell weaves inspiring stories of people who turned their suffering into something transformative, and many of these stories are memorable. They are certainly accessible: Bell draws from fiction, movies, real-life situations and his own life. These anecdotes do not make a book, however, and Bell's spare prose lacks original insights into age-old theodicy questions. Although the design and layout are first-rate, $35 is a lot of money for a 160-page book that is mostly white space. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
While Bell's books Velvet Elvis and Sex God received generally strong reviews, this effort to understand the relationship between suffering and creativity feels superficial and overly self-conscious. Few readers will dispute Bell's gentle assertions: that life can be extremely difficult and capricious, that it is often difficult to find God amid suffering, that suffering has a great potential to unify disparate people, and that great bursts of creative energy can arise from pain. Bell explores these issues not by covert biblical exegesis---which was a surprising and welcome highlight of Velvet Elvis ---but new-fashioned storytelling. Bell weaves inspiring stories of people who turned their suffering into something transformative, and many of these stories are memorable. They are certainly accessible: Bell draws from fiction, movies, real-life situations and his own life. These anecdotes do not make a book, however, and Bell's spare prose lacks original insights into age-old theodicy questions. Although the design and layout are first-rate, $35 is a lot of money for a 160-page book that is mostly white space. (Aug.) -- Publisher's Weekly <br><br>
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More About the Author
Rob Bell is a bestselling author, international teacher, and highly sought after public speaker. His books include The New York Times bestseller Love Wins, along with Velvet Elvis, Sex God, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, and Drops Like Stars. At age 28 he founded Mars Hill Bible Church in Michigan, and under his leadership it was one of the fastest-growing churches in America. In 2011 he was profi led inTime Magazine as one of the 100 most in uential people. Rob is also the featured speaker in a series of spiritual short lms called NOOMA. Currently, he is working with former LOST producer Carlton Cuse on a television series and will be releasing a new book in 2013. He and his wife Kristen have three children and live in Los Angeles.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
55 of 60 people found the following review helpful
By Rawim
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Before getting this book I was really surprised by many of the comments and reviews I had read about it. It seemed like people were completely surprised by what this book was, what it contained and what it was about. It seemed like people didn't research or read the product description of the book before purchasing it, or that they expected something completely normal from Rob Bell.
For me, this book met my expectations and really presented some ideas that made me think. First, this is not a small little hardback book like Rob's previous works (Velvet Elvis, Sex God, and Jesus Wants to Save Christians). This is a larger hardback, 12 inch by 10 inch; basically the size of a good coffee table book. True to what others have said the book does not contain a ton of writing but rather is full of colored pages and photos/portraits of objects and scenes. The writing is interspersed in the same parsed style of short sentences and fragments that are Rob Bell's style. As far as the book and artwork go they are quite nice and do a good job of helping Rob make his points, but everything is in a matte finish, I feel the book could have benefitted from glossy sheets, but I can only guess that would have raised the price of the book significantly. Oh and no, you can't read through this book in 10 minutes as I have read some people say. If you work your way through this book in ten minutes you miss the point and I recommend you return the book, because you will get nothing more out of it.
As far as content goes, I think Rob came up with the idea of this being an "Art Book" hence the chapter's titles: "The Art of Disruption", "The Art of Honesty", "The Art of the Ache", "The Art of Solidarity", "The Art of Elimination" and "The Art of Failure". And I think by reading those chapter titles you can get an idea of where Rob is taking the reader. And an interesting note the table of contents is at the rear of the book rather than the front, an interesting idea that gets the reader right into the book without any presuppositions.
Overall I found the book to be thought provoking and it made me think about subjects like disruption, ache, and failure in ways I had not before. This book doesn't delve into deep theology, hermeneutics, or psychology but rather it explores what it means to be human and what we all experience. I benefited from reading this book and I pray you may too.
For me, this book met my expectations and really presented some ideas that made me think. First, this is not a small little hardback book like Rob's previous works (Velvet Elvis, Sex God, and Jesus Wants to Save Christians). This is a larger hardback, 12 inch by 10 inch; basically the size of a good coffee table book. True to what others have said the book does not contain a ton of writing but rather is full of colored pages and photos/portraits of objects and scenes. The writing is interspersed in the same parsed style of short sentences and fragments that are Rob Bell's style. As far as the book and artwork go they are quite nice and do a good job of helping Rob make his points, but everything is in a matte finish, I feel the book could have benefitted from glossy sheets, but I can only guess that would have raised the price of the book significantly. Oh and no, you can't read through this book in 10 minutes as I have read some people say. If you work your way through this book in ten minutes you miss the point and I recommend you return the book, because you will get nothing more out of it.
As far as content goes, I think Rob came up with the idea of this being an "Art Book" hence the chapter's titles: "The Art of Disruption", "The Art of Honesty", "The Art of the Ache", "The Art of Solidarity", "The Art of Elimination" and "The Art of Failure". And I think by reading those chapter titles you can get an idea of where Rob is taking the reader. And an interesting note the table of contents is at the rear of the book rather than the front, an interesting idea that gets the reader right into the book without any presuppositions.
Overall I found the book to be thought provoking and it made me think about subjects like disruption, ache, and failure in ways I had not before. This book doesn't delve into deep theology, hermeneutics, or psychology but rather it explores what it means to be human and what we all experience. I benefited from reading this book and I pray you may too.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Confession: Love Rob Bell's improv teaching style, love the cadence of his voice and the way he is able to so frequently make a person THINK creatively.
Confession: Never have cared much for the NOOMA DVDs because they feel so contrived in their design to capture their target audience (however, I believe he actually does a great job at capturing that audience and growing their faith).
With those confessions out of the way I can say that I love/hate this book. I love the feel of the paper (good quality), love the artwork, love the free-flowing prose, love that it isn't heavy, love that for me the "white spaces" (the blank pages) easily lead me to reflect on what I've read. I hate that the paper that I love is so incredibly wasteful (especially in the book of a man who is so supportive of good stewardship of the earth's resources), hate that ths book on suffering would probably be thrown in the trash by a street-weary, worn-out, addicted homeless person (and they should be considered the experts, the ultimate target audience on suffering). I hate that this book feels even more contrived than the NOOMA videos and most contemporary worship services at the churches made up of this target audience. I hate the waste of the blank pages. Lastly, I REALLY hate the price!
This wasn't a life-changing book. I happen to be in the midst of loss and suffering and this is not even on the top 20 list of books I'd turn to for comfort, enlightenment, or spiritual direction.
Still love Bell, still think he's a man with a mission and message.
Confession: Never have cared much for the NOOMA DVDs because they feel so contrived in their design to capture their target audience (however, I believe he actually does a great job at capturing that audience and growing their faith).
With those confessions out of the way I can say that I love/hate this book. I love the feel of the paper (good quality), love the artwork, love the free-flowing prose, love that it isn't heavy, love that for me the "white spaces" (the blank pages) easily lead me to reflect on what I've read. I hate that the paper that I love is so incredibly wasteful (especially in the book of a man who is so supportive of good stewardship of the earth's resources), hate that ths book on suffering would probably be thrown in the trash by a street-weary, worn-out, addicted homeless person (and they should be considered the experts, the ultimate target audience on suffering). I hate that this book feels even more contrived than the NOOMA videos and most contemporary worship services at the churches made up of this target audience. I hate the waste of the blank pages. Lastly, I REALLY hate the price!
This wasn't a life-changing book. I happen to be in the midst of loss and suffering and this is not even on the top 20 list of books I'd turn to for comfort, enlightenment, or spiritual direction.
Still love Bell, still think he's a man with a mission and message.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
When I first picked up this book I was very disappointed. I thought that Rob Bell had let fame go to his head, that he was trying to be uberhip. It appeared that he had spread a 12-page book over about 150 pages. The format was as simple as a child's picture book. I skimmed through it and thought it was an over-priced waste of paper. So I set the book aside.
Then, a couple days ago, I had an evening with no urgent priorities, so I sat down with the book and started going through it page by page. I found that the fact that Rob spread things out caused me to slow down and take time with the concepts, letting the words evoke thoughts, feelings, and memories from my own life. I began to read it experientially rather than intellectually. Of course my staunch Calvinist friends would immediately decry this approach as a total waste of time, but I found myself immersed in a time of serious reflection before God. As one who almost turned his back on his faith because of the pain of addiction, a brain tumor, cancer, unemployment, injustice, and death in my immediate world, this book touched me. In the book, Rob says that suffering makes us bitter or better. I've spent time on both paths. When I was on the former path I would have merely sneered at this book. Now I rejoice that God brought this reminder of His presence and His character into my life at this point. God can redeem our pain. The description of God in the book is perfectly apropos: "The God who wastes nothing."
Others may or may not find this book to be of value. From my perspective, it's a matter of expectations. It all depends on how you approach it. It is certainly very different from his previous books. The reason I give it four stars is because I believe the appeal of this book is very narrow. I suspect it might have been designed to be a catalyst for a meaningful spiritual experience, hence the unusual pace of delivery. When I approached it with an open, contemplative spirit, I found this this book to be a thoughtful, heartfelt gift from a sensitive writer. If I had insisted on another book with Rob's brand of theology, or even some sort of quasi-missional manifesto, it would have remained a mere overpriced, uberhip piece of crap.
Then, a couple days ago, I had an evening with no urgent priorities, so I sat down with the book and started going through it page by page. I found that the fact that Rob spread things out caused me to slow down and take time with the concepts, letting the words evoke thoughts, feelings, and memories from my own life. I began to read it experientially rather than intellectually. Of course my staunch Calvinist friends would immediately decry this approach as a total waste of time, but I found myself immersed in a time of serious reflection before God. As one who almost turned his back on his faith because of the pain of addiction, a brain tumor, cancer, unemployment, injustice, and death in my immediate world, this book touched me. In the book, Rob says that suffering makes us bitter or better. I've spent time on both paths. When I was on the former path I would have merely sneered at this book. Now I rejoice that God brought this reminder of His presence and His character into my life at this point. God can redeem our pain. The description of God in the book is perfectly apropos: "The God who wastes nothing."
Others may or may not find this book to be of value. From my perspective, it's a matter of expectations. It all depends on how you approach it. It is certainly very different from his previous books. The reason I give it four stars is because I believe the appeal of this book is very narrow. I suspect it might have been designed to be a catalyst for a meaningful spiritual experience, hence the unusual pace of delivery. When I approached it with an open, contemplative spirit, I found this this book to be a thoughtful, heartfelt gift from a sensitive writer. If I had insisted on another book with Rob's brand of theology, or even some sort of quasi-missional manifesto, it would have remained a mere overpriced, uberhip piece of crap.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good but short
Really just a power point type presentation, but good none the less I have to write 8 more words here
Published 1 month ago by Charles P. Hohner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rob Bell hits it out of the park...again
Rob Bell has quickly become one of my favorite spiritual writers. I have the smaller version of this book, and so I thought having a coffee-table sized one would be nice. Read more
Published 6 months ago by New Englander
5.0 out of 5 stars
A unique approach to theodicy
A fascinating and unique book that is hard to describe. It's a book that has more art and pictures than it does words, and if you're not familiar with or appreciative of the... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Corey
2.0 out of 5 stars
Just didn't move me.
I get what Rob Bell is doing here. It's kind of like a poem in book form - with pictures, short anecdotes, Bible stories, pages without words, pages without pictures, lots of... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Bethany McKinney
1.0 out of 5 stars
"Christianity" With No Need of Jesus
A collection of anecdotes, personal stories, and film illustrations with a dash of Scripture, Drops Like Stars is the fourth publication by the rock-star preacher Rob Bell of Mars... Read more
Published on April 8, 2011 by Aaron Gardner
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not Bell's Best
I own most of Rob Bell's books. I have always been inspired and intrigued by his knowledge and ability to present a different view on many subjects, not so with this book. Read more
Published on March 26, 2011 by Steven
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love, love, loved it
I was in a bookstore yesterday and found this beautiful little book on the shelf. I've never heard of Rob before, but the title and cover of the book caught my eye. Read more
Published on March 14, 2011 by Patricia A. Coons
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good but not up to par of other Bell books
I thought this book had some good insights. But one of the reasons I read Bell's books is he has an incredible ability to relate Biblical history to our current situations. Read more
Published on January 30, 2011 by H. Donaho
2.0 out of 5 stars
Artistic, though not very helpful
In order to understand others and culture in general, I believe it is important to be well-rounded in what I choose to read. Read more
Published on January 18, 2011 by Rachel
5.0 out of 5 stars
Got me thinking...
Having read books by Rob Bell for a few years, I knew what to expect when I read this book. I also knew that he would challenge me in ways I never expected. Read more
Published on December 27, 2010 by D. Kinney
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