Oh, new books. I forgot.

My mom lent me Left to Tell by Imaculee Ilibagiza and I finished it the other day. Compelling and horrific story. Imaculee was a young college student in Rwanda when the genocide of the Tutsi people by the Hutus began. I remember the horror I felt when I would hear on the radio the number of people being killed each day in Rwanda, yet our government did nothing to intervene. Left to Tell fills in the blanks of the background of the genocide for me, so I understand how the situation came about, but that only makes the U.S. refusal to get involved more pitiful, and points to our neglect of today's situation in Darfur.

While Left to Tell shares an important history, Ilibagiza's main point is that we must all find God's forgiveness and allow it to transform us. I always find it difficult to read people's individual testaments of faith because our language dulls incredibly emotional experiences and turns them into cliches. Ilibagiza suffers from this as well (C.S. Lewis is the sole exception I've found), but her conviction is still inspiring.

Now I'm reading The Book of Flying by Keith Miller. Chris' sister gave it to me, raving that it is the best book she has ever read. Out of respect to her, I'm going to stick through it to the end, but so far, I'm having trouble with it. The premise of a young librarian in love with a girl with wings, and who embarks on a journey to earn wings of his own, isn't my usual genre, and the writing is quirky, to say the least. Lots of lengthy and laborious alliteration, not limited to lists and their ilk. A little bit of that goes a long way.....and Miller stretches and stretches. Pico, the librarian, isn't a compelling character yet, and the next main character we meet, the Robber Queen, is fun to read but discarded quickly. Like I said, I'll keep going, but reluctantly.

Next up: The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Christina, it had better be good! And after that, I'm going to find some really juicy, good historical fiction and wallow in it.