Customer Reviews

He Flew Too High

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He Flew Too High is the new novel by writer Ken Yoder Reed, set in the Pennsylvania Dutch country of the 1950's. As never before the 1950's saw the spread of a mass popular American culture that threatened to undermine the centuries old communitarian values of the Mennonite community. Into this maelstrom comes Saul McNamara, an outsider who marries a local bishop's daughter and thus gains access to the inner workings of Mennonite religious life. McNamara, however, is drawn to his own individual charismatic ministry thus setting himself at odds with the traditional mores of his host's community. There begins one of the trenchant paradoxes of which the book abounds. By seeking to protect the Mennonites from the deleterious effects of Modern American materialist culture, McNamara by his own overriding individualism and sense of personal purpose, actually becomes a far more potent threat to the their way of life. In a sense it is McNamara's own 'modernity' that sets him at odds with the Mennonites even as he attempts to 'save' them from the pervasive modernity that threatens them.
Beyond this ' He flew too high' is also an engaging family drama, filled with hope, tragedy, and ultimate redemption. I highly recommend he flew to high.
P.S. Please also note the engaging cover art by Michaela Rodriguez, which appropriately gives the book the look of the serious literature of the 50's and early 60's.

Ken Yoder pulls back the curtain of the closed Mennonite community where we see how the separatist religious community exists in modern times. But it is not just the Mennonites we see; we recognize universal human traits very like in other groups that have strong belief systems. What happens when these beliefs rub up against popular culture? What does the fervor of the group do to the individual who may be open to change? What happens when a new, prophetic voice is heard in a new generation? What happens behind the scenes and in relationships? These issues are explored with a fascinating, insider's perspective within an engaging story.