The Morning Watch

THE MORNING WATCH

by James Agee

 

Nomination: National Book Award Finalist 1952

 

Date Read: September 5, 2021

 

I have never understood why humans believe devotion to God requires suffering and deprivation. I don’t believe this is God’s intention for us. And to read about kids of 12 believing they need to suffer for God’s favor is heart-wrenching.

 

During prayer, Richard realizes that an entire half hour has gone by while his mind wandered and was absorbed with other things than his own salvation. As a mother to a twelve-year-old, the discipline with which this child lives his life is astounding. My son could never sit still, focus on his own sainthood and attempt to reach Christ through prayer. The level of focus and dedication this requires slays me; while at the same time, I realize how undisciplined we all are in modern times. Then again, I don’t want my son focusing his time on trying to appease a God whose mind we can never begin to comprehend. 

 

Also incredible is the timeline Richard works through in his head as the day of Christ’s crucifixion unfolds. He is able, with a specificity lacking in even the most devout, to know what was happening to Christ depending on the time of day. Now He would have the crown of thorns shoved on his head. Now he would be spit upon by the crowds. 

 

Towards the end, I was relieved when the boys went off to be boys, disregarding their instructions to head back to bed but instead went swimming and freezing their balls off. Even killing the snake, a pretty blatant metaphor, was the act of children. At least there is some childhood to be had.

 

For such a short novel (novella?), Agee certainly packs a punch.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Gentleman In Moscow

Image
A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2018, Goodreads Finalist 2016, Kirkus Finalist 2016   Date Read: February 24, 2017   From Kirkus Reviews:   “Sentenced to house arrest in Moscow's Metropol Hotel by a Bolshevik tribunal for writing a poem deemed to encourage revolt, Count Alexander Rostov nonetheless lives the fullest of lives, discovering the depths of his humanity.   Inside the elegant Metropol, located near the Kremlin and the Bolshoi, the Count slowly adjusts to circumstances as a "Former Person." He makes do with the attic room, to which he is banished after residing for years in a posh third-floor suite. A man of refined taste in wine, food, and literature, he strives to maintain a daily routine, exploring the nooks and crannies of the hotel, bonding with staff, accepting the advances of attractive women, and forming what proves to be a deeply meaningful relationship with a spirited young girl, Nina. "We are bound to find comfo
Read more

An Island

Image
AN ISLAND by Karen Jennings   Nomination: Booker Longlist 2021   Date Read: December 10, 2022   A short but mighty novel, An Island explores the concept of home, family, identity, the impact of political upheaval and the immigrant experience, when one’s suffering is so intense they move from one shitty country to the next. Samuel has finally found a peaceful home on an island somewhere off the coast of Africa. He was hired as a lighthouse keeper and after a tumultuous life, most of which was spent in prison as a political prisoner, he has carved out a life for himself on this island, enjoying a tranquil existence that basks in the quiet tasks of daily living.   Only after exploring Samuel’s life does the reader understand why such an isolated, spare and lonely existence satisfy him, with no desire to escape but only to grow deeper roots. His life witnessed the end of the British occupation, the installation of a brutal dictator and yet another dictator after the first was poisoned. Sam
Read more

The Changeling

Image
THE CHANGELING by Victor LaValle   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2019, LA Times Finalist 2017, PEN/Jean Stein Finalist 2018   Date Read: July 21, 2024   From Kirkus Reviews: “A  tragedy thrusts a mourning father into peculiar, otherworldly corners of New York City. When Apollo and Emma have their baby, Brian, it feels like both reward and challenge for the new dad. Apollo, the son of a single mother, had been scraping by as a bookseller who hunts estate and garage sales for rare first editions, so even the unusual circumstance of Brian's birth (in a stalled subway train) seems like a blessing, as does the way Apollo stumbles across a first edition of  To Kill a Mockingbird  (inscribed by Harper Lee to Truman Capote, no less) shortly after. But after some young-parent squabbles and inexplicable images on their smartphones foreshadow trouble, the story turns nightmarish: Apollo finds himself tied up and beaten by Emma, then forced to listen to the sounds of Brian’s murder. LaValle has
Read more