Mennonite Meets Mr. Right
A Memoir of Faith, Hope, and Love
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- نقد و بررسی
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نقد و بررسی
October 8, 2012
Author of the improbable bestseller Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, Janzen continues her quirky tales of finding faith in unlikely places in this dotty, squeaky-clean postdivorce sequel in which she describes life with a new boyfriend and the courage to battle breast cancer. Having fallen out of her conservative Mennonite community in California—“abgefallen” is how she is referred by her church folk—now an English professor in Holland, Mich., Janzen meets and falls for a Pentecostal born-again “Jesus-nail-necklace-wearing manly man” shortly before she is diagnosed with massive, inoperable breast cancer. With Mitch standing firmly by her, along with her resilient mom and sister, Janzen was determined to face her condition with optimism, and in startlingly breezy prose, considering the gravity of her condition, pokes fun at her professorial distractedness in contrast to Mitch’s literal groundedness. She plunges into activities at his Pentecostal church, as wildly improvisational and “kooky” as her Mennonite church had been sober and dignified, with enthusiasm, embracing their particular rituals of healing and even tithing. However, underneath her limpid facetiousness (one inspired simile compares Mitch’s gloomy aged father’s boredom to “a stretch of wet cement that he protected with cones and tape”) run serious concerns about her faith, spiritual growth, and the meaning of prayer and humility. “I had unfinished business with God,” Janzen writes, sharing in this vibrant, charming narrative her own “fruits of the spirit.”
Starred review from June 24, 2013
Following up on the success of her previous memoir (Mennonite in a Little Black Dress), Janzen tackles her next set of difficult and joyful experiences with humor and gratitude. Once again single, the book begins with Janzen questioning her intellect after she develops an unlikely crush: “So when I found myself falling for a Jesus-nail-necklace wearing manly man, the kind whose hands were so huge they ripped his jeans pockets, I thought my common sense was all a-pother.” Janzen’s new love, a devoted Pentecostal, rekindles her lackluster feeling about religion and she delights in comparing her Mennonite faith to the brash style of Pentecostals. She also has to contend with a cancer diagnosis, her relationship with her new partner’s family, and arguments about premarital abstinence. With her usual sense of candidness and jest, Janzen worries about integrating a religious transformation into your social life: “How do you tell your Ph.D. friends, far-flung across the world at their various academic postings, that you are attending church on purpose?” She weaves her reevaluation of her belief system throughout the memoir. This is a joyful trek through one woman’s spiritual journey into a new life as a wife, stepmother, and believer.
September 1, 2013
In her highly anticipated follow-up to her New York Times best-selling memoir, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress (2009), Janzen shares her realization that love is not always what one envisions as she recounts her experiences falling in love, fighting cancer, and working out her newfound faith. Janzen is candid about her struggles, but she never expresses self-pity. Instead, she holds her bald head high, continuing to be fabulous even during chemo treatments. She had a great life before she found her husband, Mitch, and his strange breed of Christianity, but her life becomes even better with him, despite very real challenges. Janzen reveals why in a hilarious account of the small details that make a life. From friendship rings to ugly wallpaper and thrift stores, Janzen pokes fun at things ripe for humor even as she gently reveals what matters most to her. Though her journey leads to a specific form of Christianity, readers from all backgrounds will be inspired by Janzen's tale of love and faith told with her trademark wit and honesty.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)
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