Customer Reviews

The Lilies of the Field

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

There is a young legend developing on the west side of the mountains. It will, inevitably, grow with the years. Like all legends, it is composed of falsehood and fact. In this case, the truth is more compelling than the trappings of imagination with which it has been invested. The man who has become a legendary figure was, perhaps, of greater stature in simple reality than he will ever be in the oft-repeated, and expanded, tales which commemorate his deeds. Here, before the whole matter gets out of hand, is how it was...

His name was Homer Smith. -The Lilies of the Field

And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you- you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the gentiles who strive for all these things. But strive first for the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 'So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today. -Matthew 6:28-34

It's maddening to see so many references to The Lilies of the Field, both book and movie, as "minor." Sure, it's a short book. Yes, the characters and situation are so idealized that it's nearly a fable. No, it does not accurately reflect the state of race relations in America in the early 1960s, nor at any other time anywhere, for that matter. But ask yourself this : how many books have you read in your life that actually made you feel more optimistic about the prospects of the species ? If it's really that easy to create sympathetic characters and write a story that uplifts the spirits, why haven't more authors written them ? Isn't it fair to conclude that the paucity of such stories, and the memorable nature of this one, indicate just how major an occurrence it is when one gets written ?

At any rate, hopefully everyone knows the tale, either from the great film or from a required reading in High School. As the opening lines above indicate, Homer Smith is a nearly mythological figure, a kind of John Henry, Paul Bunyan, or Shane. In an unlikely turn of events, this black Baptist former Army sergeant ends up helping some Catholic nuns, refugees from East Germany, to build a chapel in the New Mexico desert, despite a lack of help, tools, and materials.

Homer Smith brings an invaluable set of qualities to his task, chief among them : self confidence, self reliance, a puritan work ethic, and a healthy amount of pride. Mother Maria Marthe, the Teutonic leader of the tiny band of nuns, brings one great gift, faith :

Faith. It is a word for what is unreasonable. If a man believes in an unreasonable thing, that is faith.

Mother genuinely believes that God will provide, even that Homer has been sent by God, and that He will see to it that the chapel is built. The powerful combination of this mismatched pair's inner strengths serves as an inspiration to the entire community. Hispanic, Anglo, and Black; Catholic and Protestant; wealthy and poor; German, Mexican, and American; they come together to create a unique house of worship. And as the legend of Homer Smith grows in the desert, Mother Maria Marthe says of him :

'That is the chapel of Saint Benedict the Moor. ... That painting of the saint is the work of Sister Albertine. The model was a man named Schmidt who came to us under the direction of God. He built this chapel with his two hands under great difficulties. It is all from him.'

She pauses then and her voice drops. 'He was not of our faith, nor of our skin,' she says, 'but he was a man of greatness, of an utter devotion.'

Just as Homer's devotion to his task and Mother's faith give them a certain greatness, the aspirational beauty of this book gives it too a greatness that defies that parsimonious "minor" classification.

GRADE : A+

Im' so glad I finally was able to read this book . It is about Homer Smith, an ex-GI who is drifting from place to place until God decides to use him to build a church for some German-born nuns who have come to America with the dream of working with troubled boys from the inner city. It is a powerful book that tells of Homer's resistance to God's plan and his ultimate surrender and devotion to it. And it is also the story of Sister Marthe Maria and her faith in God's provision. When God touches one heart, and that heart responds, a whole community can change regardless of race or religious denomination. When I finished the book I understood the freedom that comes from knowing that God takes care of us like he takes care of the "Lillies of the Field."

I loved this book. It is one of the few books ever written about TRUE goodness of the human heart. Though only a 1-hour read, it is worth every minute. You'll come away from this book with a feeling of peace and happiness that you don't feel every day. So please, take an hour out of your busy schedule, and let this book capture you.

Book Critique "There is a young legend developing on the west side of the mountains." From the first line of the book I was grabbed into it due to curiosity. `A legend?,' I thought. `Sounds interesting.' As I read along I began to enjoy the book, The Lilies of the Field, more and more. I had heard about the book from my step father, he had read it when he was a young man as myself . I learned that the author, William Edmund Barrett writes about books pertaining to religion. He has been writing since the sixties and has written a total of twenty-six books, all of which pertaining to religion. I learned quickly that the book was about a nice young African-American man that had stopped one day as he was driving to help some nuns. The book described the relationship and friendship that developed between the man and the nuns as the story progressed. The main plot of the story is that of a young African-American man that has just come out of Vietnam and is driving along a lonely stretch of road in Piedras one day when he sees a group of nuns working on a fence. He sees if there is anything he can do to help because he sees no men around. He works with the nuns the whole day and is invited to have dinner with them. Although he wasn't planning on staying, he is asked to by the superior nun, Mother Maria Marthe and he sleeps in the bed he has in his station wagon. He and the nuns start to build a strong relationship and Homer, the African- American, starts giving English lessons to the German nuns and sings to them at night while playing his guitar. He also helps provide food for them with the little money he has. He decides he needs a job so when he is not working for the nuns, he works at Livingston Construction Co. Also, while he is with the nuns, he is asked to build them a church. At first he doesn't want to do it and he goes with the nuns one Sunday to see the church in Piedras. It is made of adobe bricks which he doesn't know how to lay, but he accepts the task and the help of the Mexican inhabitants of the town, he builds the nuns their church and eventually goes off on his own way. The nuns believed that he was sent from God to help them build their church and although they cannot pay him, they thank him profusely and he accepts the thanks gratefully. After his disappearance, the church he made became very famous and all of the Spanish-Americans in the region claimed to have known Homer Smith. The story was told in a narrative form like a recollection of thoughts or actions. It takes place in a small, poor town called Piedras during the seventies. I believe that the central idea or purpose of this book is to demonstrate God's will and how he puts the right people in the right place at the right time. The nuns needed and prayed for Homer and he was delivered to them. The protagonist in this book was obviously Homer Smith. He was twenty-four years of age and stood a towering six feet two inches tall. His skin was a deep warm black and he had large, strong features with widely spaced eyes. He was a nice and pleasant fellow and seemed very outgoing. He did have a short temper, but he never went to extremes. The antagonist of the book was Mother Maria Marthe, a German woman that spoke broken English and was very commanding. She was a short, squat woman with a weather beaten face. She also had a harsh sounding voice and was very straight forward. `Old Mother,' as Homer called her, was sort of bossy, but she appreciated very much the work that Homer did for her. She seemed to be on his back about everything, but that was just how she was. The minor characters of the story included the nuns, Father Gomez and Mr. Livingston. Sister Elizabeth was a young, sturdy, broad-faced woman with brown eyes. Sister Gertrude was short, had a long nose and had a harsh voice. Sister Agnes, like Sister Elizabeth was a sturdy woman and had a broad face. Sister Albertine had a good voice and looked very nice. All of them shared the following qualities: German and did not speak good English. Father Gomez was a short, thin little Spanish man that was the Father of the Catholic church in Piedras, although he was quiet and looked half sad. Orivile Livingston on the other hand was a short, firm-jawed, gray-haired politician that owned a construction company called Livingston Construction Company. All of these characters affected Homer one way or another through the story.

This book is mostly teaching you to be helpful and to always respect someone who you just met. In this book Homer Smith is on the road and meets up with nuns who need help with everything. They wanted to build a church but needed help so Homer decided to help out. As the story went on they all got closer and freindly. But sometimes with their accent they sounded as if they were mad. At the end they build the church and Homer made new freinds. I think this book teaches a lesson to the young and is a very exciting book.

I thought that this was a truly wonderful book. It was a down-to-earth book with a down-to-earth character. I loved this book. It was heart warming and inspiring. It again restored my faith in the human race and mankind. If you are feeling kinda low and down, this is just the book to cheer you up.

This is a touching novel. It is easy to read and very enjoyable. The characters are well discribed and easy to associate with even if they are of very different backgrounds than most, and make a very unlikely group of friends in the novel. I would recommend this novel to any, especially younger readers. It has a lot to teach people of all ages, and is entertaining at the same time.

I read this book very quickly and think that the message it gives of helping your fellow man is very inspiring. Most of my friends have also read this book and most of them enjoyed it. I like this book, but most of the time, i am a reader of Lord of the Rings and war type books. I think everyone should read this book no matter what their taste.

Silver L.

This is the book on which the Academy award winning movie was based. Listed as for "young adults," I still found it to be a delightful read for summer's train ride to work. The movie, by the way, is rather loyal to the book's story, but improves it in some areas. The book, though, gives the reader more background on Homer Smith (the protagonist) and the subtleties of his character. The author also better explains the reasons for Sister Marthe's obsession with building the church and her effect on the community. The writing flows smoothly and the author does not use the religious characters for proselytizing. I would recommend this book for any secular or non-secular reader of middle grade age and higher.

This book was ok. I read it with plaesure as I laughed at the accents of the German nuns and how demanding yet leniant they were. The book gives a strong feeling of how faith in god can put up a church as Homer Smith did in this story.

The one thing that estonished me about this book was how the man Homer Smith kept working even after he found out the nuns weren't going to pay him for his work and that god sent him to help the nuns. I really thaught that Homer would have left the farm when he went back in the thaughts of being owned like a slave.

This book shows a great sense of how much faith people put into the beliefs of god even though they don't base the book on it .

I think this book could be read by anyone. It's an easy to read, short and educational story. If I was anyone I would sit down read it and grab a box of cockies to spare.