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“The Face of God”

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 03-25-25

Some feelings, some experiences, some notions defy words. Or rather they defy explicit, precise, and direct description.

But a story. A story.

This story approached me time and again unawares. Finding in me anew or reminding me again of feelings, experiences, and intuitions.

Contrasts. Joy and melancholy. Fulfillment and longing. Goodness and missed opportunity. Divine and human. Curious perhaps or upon reflection perhaps not.

It seems to me life’s greatest meaning is unutterable. It seems also to me a good story, like this story, may be one way to touch the edges of that meaning.

Might I like Woody Nickel see the face of God, see Good, see life’s meaning in the Edenic faces of Boy and Girl, and in the images of Old Man and Red. And of course in the character Woodrow Wilson Nickel?

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Content is Almost Self-evident from the Title Alone

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
3 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 02-26-25

Permission. That word captures the (for me) most relevant and uplifting notion put forward by the author (which of course requires awareness). Permission to let go.

I appreciate the energy of her presentation, the associated passion, and that she would share vulnerable experiences by way of illustration.

And choice … not to respond but rather to do and be. Very nice. Let them. Let me.

Less valuable (for me), the partitioning / sectioning of the book (and the application of the mindset in each. The marginal gain in insight decreased with each passing chapter which unfortunately allowed other light annoyances to become more, well, annoying.

For example, “theory.” Is it really a theory? In my opinion (I get to have one :)) theory suggests something more complex, i.e., a set of theorems that “deal with principles as distinct from practice.” This book is unarguably pragmatic. The author’s post-hoc research, her seeking to understand the psychological phenomenon underneath the practice is admirable; and, it also makes the point: what’s underneath the practice is properly thought of as the theory.

By the end I was actually a bit fatigued. Or weary. Again a little annoyance in the beginning had too little to keep it at bay as content grew repetitive and incremental insight decreased. Fatigued by what I earlier (above) noted as appreciable: energy, passion, and vulnerability.

Too much of an at one-point useful presentation approach eventually became self-ingratiating and optimized-to-sell-books marketing.

Worth reading. For sure. No regrets. And, perhaps some of what I’ve written re what was less desirable for me will serve to inoculate you against the same.

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Ironic Beauty in Dissonance

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 12-23-24

Likes:
1. The telling was descriptive and seemingly even-handed as compared / contrasted with an attempt to persuade.
2. The self-and-(attempt-at)-other-aware peace / tension associated with the friendship of the protagonists: Dhalia and Bashear.
3. Beauty which may be found in as-yet unresolved dissonance; it is relevant to so much I observe around me.
4. The symbol of the lemon and lemon tree.

Dislikes:
None

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Bi-directional Enrichment

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 12-19-24

How can I rate it anything other than 5 stars? I can’t. If you’ve contemplated reading it, it seems a reasonable inference you know what you’re getting into. And it’s a reasonable inference you already love Tolkien works. So it is with me.

What’s helpful to know? A couple of tidbits:
• It isn’t an end-to-end story. It is rather more of a compilation of related stories, most 1 chapter in length, a few 2 chapters in length.
• There are intersections with more familiar Tolkien works such as LOTR, and The Hobbit. IMO, it’s best not to expect them (they’re fewer than you might expect). Though once you experience one, I predict you’ll be delighted and want to reflect on it … to appreciate the richness it provides to both familiar and new stories.

Andy Serkus delivers a simply fantastic performance.

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Thorough. Necessarily long. Seemingly balanced.

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 12-07-24

On the challenge of balance: Absent an intentional review of sources, manuscripts, and editorial decisions eg, inclusion / exclusion, observational and summary word choices, it would be disingenuous to suggest I can adequately assess balance. Thus “seemingly” balanced. To whit much is included that seems both favorable and less favorable or unfavorable as to the man, his character, events, outcomes, and so forth. I appreciate that “seeming” balance. Greatly.

Regarding long: Reading / listening is an investment of time. Understanding requires yet more. And comprehension yet more. I’m certain I’ve at best understood a portion of the man and the history. The investment is in the end rewarding; it is at times enjoyable or even entertaining; and it is at times tedious. Contributing ever so slightly to the tedium is the narrator’s mispronunciation of place names such as Man-tī (not Man-tē).

Thus is it thorough. It seems few stones are left unturned, rolled (made effective use of as in gathered no moss), or thrown (as seemed fitting to author / editor).

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Imprecise. Loose. Barely additive.

Total
2 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
3 out of 5 stars
Historia
1 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-27-24

Likes:
• The title
• The distinction of the observed phenomena as compared to e.g., depression.

Dislikes:
• Hypothesis and conjecture laden.
• Short on testable and tested phenomenological relationships.
• The author’s continued disregard of the distinction between depression and languishing. This is most notable in his attempts to support his conjecture with curable research.
• Sloppy / imprecise use of language

The small amount of truly additive content (additive to literature on mental and emotional health) could be done with one blogpost.

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Informative and yet Overwrought

Total
2 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
2 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-24-24

Likes:
• The nod to history preceding Duterte hence some sense of characteristics of the people and context.
• Attention given to novel and less familiar word meanings eg, “salvage.”
• Generally descriptive style as contrasted with something intended to be rhetorical / persuasive. Done well, descriptive may be rather persuasive while respecting the reader’s sentience.

Dislikes:
• Could have had a similar impact (and remain sufficient to the gravity of the subject matter) in much less space / time.
• Chapters would benefit from more descriptive titles to enable a reader to select those portions most relevant to read. For example, a Philippino likely would not need historical background .

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Unmistakably Carefully Skillfully Assembled

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-22-24

Accurate history telling / writing. Philosophically and epistemologically it seems an unavoidable contradiction in terms.

Thus is a careful and sincere effort admirable and appreciated. Thus do I admire and appreciate this work by Benjamin Parker.

It seems carefully sourced and documented. And it seems to leverage and benefit greatly from access to previously unavailable sources.

Life (and human nature) is … well life (and human behavior) is messy. And delightful. And troublesome. And in some fundamental ways unchanging. And it (both) defy tidy too-oft imposed dichotomous classifications ie, good/bad, right/wrong, and so forth.

My compliments to the author whose work allows and invites understanding, sympathy, empathy, and self reflection.

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Historically Thorough

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-20-24

Likes:
• The story of unfolding understanding
• The passion for understanding
• The accounts of learning by intuition, inspiration, relentless inquiry, patient pondering, communal interests / intuitions
• The science itself
• Seeming universality of the science and explication of associated conditions
• The characters so to speak tho’ very real people

Dislikes:
• Just one. I’d devote less space / time on administrative troubles eg funding and leadership. Inclusion is important but the same degree of thoroughness wasn’t as interesting / useful (to me)




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Descriptive and Well Ordered

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-11-24

Likes:
• The thematic ordering (as opposed to strictly chronological) facilitated consumption and understanding.
• The authors’ approach was largely descriptive (ad opposed to interpretive and / or persuasive)
• It seems the primary source was extensive (thank you Claire); and it seems supplemental resources were also well researched and incorporated.
• So much insight packed into an economical package. Nicely done. Very.
• Seemingly no or low bias (is there really anything such as no bias)?
• Truth telling or perhaps rather fact and phenomenon as told by first hand witnesses.

Liked less:
• The occasional interpretive and summative remarks usually at the conclusion of a section. What is the need for or value of netting down the delightful complexity of human endeavor (even or especially in the setting religious organization)? What is the practical value or in contrast theoretical merit in assessing a net positive or net negative?

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