James Yerkes is the editor of a wonderful collection of essays dealing with the topic of faith in a delightfully down-to-earth manner. John Updike and Religion: The Sense of the Sacred and the Motions of Grace (Eerdmans, $24). That longwinded title may scare away Updike admirers who fear wading in the dark waters of academic posturing. They need not worry, for the book is a relatively breezy read, with only a semi-occasional wandering into verbosity. For instance, Yerkes (who teaches religion at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa.) writes about Updike in the light of having watched and enjoyed the Jack Nicholson film, As Good As It Gets. Nothing stuffy here.
James A. Schiff writes that for Updike, "God permeates every aspect of human life so that his presence is felt in and around households. Updike doesn't state his beliefs in so many words, preferring--as most artists--to "suggest that the possibility of there being something greater beneath the physical surface." As Updike wrote in Assorted Prose, "Blankness is not emptiness; we may skate upon an intense radiance we do not see because we see nothing else."
Schiff sees God presence in Updike's writing, although "beneath the surface, pushing through, as well as above the world, providing light and hope."
If you share an enthusiasm for Updike, be sure to check out editor Yerkes' excellent Web page called "The Centaurian" devoted to Updike.
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A richly rewarding novel about family bonds, the power of words, and the resilience of mothers and daughters in 1930s Appalachia. | Learn more
