It's very hard to rate a short story collection because there will always be ones I don't like. In fact, the very first story in this book (UnderseaboIt's very hard to rate a short story collection because there will always be ones I don't like. In fact, the very first story in this book (Underseaboat Doktor) I absolutely hated. However...as Ray Bradbury always does, his depth of writing and lyricism in metaphors that no one would expect is what makes me love his writing. Even the more unsettling stories really make you feel transported into a different world. I would highly recommend this short story collection on merit of the following stories: Hopscotch The Finnegan (deliciously creepy, and what an ending!) Once More, Legato Exchange (sentimental and longing...so sweet) Free Dirt (could not figure out the ending and that's what made me intrigued) Last Rites (great concept) The Other Highway (BY FAR my favorite, reminiscient of Dandelion Wine with one paragraph that made me teary)
I will leave you with that paragraph: "I remember,thought Clarence Traver. This is Fox Hill. A thousand people lived here. I was a kid, we passed through on summer nights. We used to stop here late late, and me sleeping in the backseat in the moonlight. My granomother and grandfather in back with me. It's nice to sleep in a car driving late and the road all white, watching the stars turn as you take the curves, listening to the grown-ups voices underwater, remote, talking, talking, laughing, murmuring, whispering. My father driving, so stolid. Just to be driving in the summer dark, up along the lake to the Dunes, where the poison ivy grew out of the lonely beach and the wind stayed all the time and never went away. And us driving by that lonely graveyeard place of sand and moonlight and poison ivy and the waves tumbling in like dusty ash on the shore, the lake pounding like a locomotive on the sand, coming and going. And me crumpled down and smelling Grandmother's wind-cooled coat and the voices comforting and blanketing me with their solidity and their always-will-be-here sounds that would go on forever, myself always young and us always riding on a summer night in our old Kissel with the side flaps down. And stopping here at nine or ten for Pistachio and Tutti-Frutti ice cream that tasted faintly, beautifully, of gasoline. All of us licking and biting the cones and smelling the gasoline and driving on, sleeply and snug,toward home, Green Town, thirty years ago." ...more
4.5 stars. I didn't rate it 5 becuase at a few points it assumed that women wouldn't feel the same lusts/struggles a man would, or it only addressed m4.5 stars. I didn't rate it 5 becuase at a few points it assumed that women wouldn't feel the same lusts/struggles a man would, or it only addressed men for certain sins. I picked up this thin little book out of curiousity, and because I knew it would probably be very helpful to myself and others I knew. This book was certainly aimed more at men, as most books on purity are, but there were enough mentions of struggles women face that I felt it could be helpful to both genders. It also helps women understand the male mind a little more. My own purity journey has beeen a long road, and by the grace of God He has freed me from the lust that used to plague my mind frequently. Simply being a virgin does not mean you are pure, and that's what Alcorn's book does so well; points out that sins of the mind are just as dangerous and repulsive to God. For any woman struggling with these issues but feeling like they are never addressed or represented in literature like this, or that they are "freaks" because women shouldn't have sexual urges like men: I hear you and I know your struggle. Sin is not limited to one gender, and sexual sins are especially shameful to own up to and talk about. That's why I wish I had read this book when I was going through tempation, and maybe my struggle with lust would've been conquered that much quicker if I had just handed it over to God. This book was written in 2003, which means that all the temptations Alcorn speaks about (access to the internet, lack of accountabilty) has multiplied tenfold with access to personal smartphones and very little accountability. I am single, but I thought the chapter on couples and the struggles they face in "how far is too far" and remaining pure were really well written. I'm going to list some of the best points I took away from this book.
"How many of us Christians hope God will guard us from calamity and misery, while every day we make small, seemingly inconsequential immoral chocies that inch us toward bigger immoralities?" "Purity is always smart; impurity is always stupid." -This may seem like dumbing the issue down, but at the end of the day the fact remains. We think if we give in to impurity we do it because it is best for us, or because it's what we want. The thing is, God KNOWS what's best for us in every way, which is why these parameters are set in place; for our protection. "We will not consistently choose God's way until we come to understand that His way is always best for us." "The fear of God shouldn't scare us out of our wits; it should scare us into them. Those who've succumbed to sexual temptation did not do so in their own self interest. Rather, they pursued what they imagined was their self interest, what Satan decieved them into. Had they pursued true self interest they would have run from temptation as from a live grenade." "God's guardrails are His moral laws. They stand between us and destruction. They are not there to punish or deprive us, but to protect us."
Alcorn also speaks about pride being a slippery slope. We think far too highly of our own willpower, when realistically small compromises can easily lead to life destroying sins for many of us, even pastors and church leaders. If we don't think it could ever happen to us, that's exactly when it will. How? Alcorn gives this excellent point: "The truth is, sexual sin NEVER comes out of the blue. It is the predictable result of natural processes. Relationships are neglected and a mind gets exposed to impurity. Tomorrow's character is made of today's thoughts." "We become what we think. We forge our sexual morality through an ongoing series of choices and actions, including tiny indulgences and miniscule compromises." He then goes on to give practical advice to anyone trying to remain or make a new commitment to purity. "Our minds are not vacuums. They will be filled with SOMETHING. Impure thoughts are pushed out by pure thoughts (Philippians 4:8). It's difficult to delete bad files in our brain's hard drive, but we can restrict the number of NEW bad files. Then we can open many good files. THe more we fill our minds with purity and less with impurity, the greater our purity and resistance to temptation." The last part of the book is the practical ways to flee from temptation and mortify lust in your life. "We should learn that sincere intentions and even prayers are not enough. To have victory over temptation, we must have clear goals and sound strategies, and we must diligently carry them out." If the line is drawn somewhere, we should stay 20 feet away from it, not two inches. "It's always easier to AVOID temptation than to RESIST it." Alcorn says, BE A COWARD when it comes to sexual sin; don't go near it, don't test how strong you are; just flee from what triggers or tempts you all together. "We are often brought to our knees after losing a battle; but we need to fall to our knees before the battle begins."
Overall, an excellent little book that anyone should read. Never declare a truce with sin. Alcorn also makes great points about what kind of media, music, literature and entertainment we consume. "When we're being entertained by eveil, how can we hate it? How can we be pure when we amuse ourselves with impurity?" Following God's decree for purity will always, always be worth it. I can testify to this: there is healing from years of struggles and sin. God makes all people new and cleanses sinful hearts to conform to His good design. It is possible, and trust in Him; and He WILL save you..