Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by cartoonmicah
Vipers' Tangle by François Mauriac, Robert Coles, Warre B. Wells
5.0
In my experience, the French have become notorious for novels in which next to nothing happens. This might be the first one of that class which I can wholeheartedly endorse to every reader.
I first heard about Francois Mauriac reading James K.A. Smith on the evolution of secular society and I have quickly learns that when Smith makes any sort of pop culture or art reference, it should be taken action upon immediately. I quickly learned that Mauriac was the Nobel Prize winning Catholic counterpart to the popular philosophizing of Camus and Sartre in post-war Paris. For whatever reason, his brand of aggressively philosophical religious self-examination has fallen to the wayside in every circle I have ever heard from. It is to our great loss that things are this way and I look forward to reading and recommending more of his work in the future.
Is the the tangle of Vipers surrounding us, or is it within us? That is the question that slowly becomes more relevant to an elderly man on his deathbed, surrounding by family members of all sorts who are eager to secure their family fortunes. He is a profound atheist and a man who tries to be honest about his own short-comings and deceptions while always remaining assured that he saw been more severely abused by his so-called "Christian" wife and children than he has been abusive. Now he needs to find a way to dispose of his hard earned millions before he kicks the bucket, all while recording a life time of slights and avoiding thinking of those beautiful moments of grace that haunt the encroaching shuffling of moral coil.
This book is as deeply and personal spiritual as an could endeavor to be, but it rarely mentions God or eternity or meaning. It is a story of an unrepentant Scrooge on Ivan Ilyich's deathbed, surrounded by the family from the Twilght Zone episode The Masks. The book is mainly deathbed reminiscences and the revelation of all the hiding one man can do within a lifetime. It is an incredibly introspective read that sheds light on the hypocrisy of cultural religion and the true spiritual experiences at the core of every individual existence. Originally, Mauriac's own Roman Catholic Church was uncomfortable with the depths of exposure he called to light in the complacent middle class experiences of French Catholics, but this is a book that needs to be read, by those who are religiously content and those who are truly searching.
I first heard about Francois Mauriac reading James K.A. Smith on the evolution of secular society and I have quickly learns that when Smith makes any sort of pop culture or art reference, it should be taken action upon immediately. I quickly learned that Mauriac was the Nobel Prize winning Catholic counterpart to the popular philosophizing of Camus and Sartre in post-war Paris. For whatever reason, his brand of aggressively philosophical religious self-examination has fallen to the wayside in every circle I have ever heard from. It is to our great loss that things are this way and I look forward to reading and recommending more of his work in the future.
Is the the tangle of Vipers surrounding us, or is it within us? That is the question that slowly becomes more relevant to an elderly man on his deathbed, surrounding by family members of all sorts who are eager to secure their family fortunes. He is a profound atheist and a man who tries to be honest about his own short-comings and deceptions while always remaining assured that he saw been more severely abused by his so-called "Christian" wife and children than he has been abusive. Now he needs to find a way to dispose of his hard earned millions before he kicks the bucket, all while recording a life time of slights and avoiding thinking of those beautiful moments of grace that haunt the encroaching shuffling of moral coil.
This book is as deeply and personal spiritual as an could endeavor to be, but it rarely mentions God or eternity or meaning. It is a story of an unrepentant Scrooge on Ivan Ilyich's deathbed, surrounded by the family from the Twilght Zone episode The Masks. The book is mainly deathbed reminiscences and the revelation of all the hiding one man can do within a lifetime. It is an incredibly introspective read that sheds light on the hypocrisy of cultural religion and the true spiritual experiences at the core of every individual existence. Originally, Mauriac's own Roman Catholic Church was uncomfortable with the depths of exposure he called to light in the complacent middle class experiences of French Catholics, but this is a book that needs to be read, by those who are religiously content and those who are truly searching.