Comments on: Not That Kind of Girl: Rejecting the Evangelical Narrative, But for What?

By: The Dane

The Dane — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:21:26 +0000

@Rebekah – Neat and tidy does not necessitate sweetness and light. It more has to do with good storytelling. My guess would be that most of the canned “testimonies” we hear ad nauseum are not that neat and tidy either. Formulaic, sure. But well-organized narratives? Not so much.

By: Goannatree

Goannatree — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:52:58 +0000

Fascinating review. Thanks.

By: Rebekah

Rebekah — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:05:21 +0000

I think her complaint is valid about conversion stories that seem so neat and tidy. Frankly, some of us just aren’t going to have a story chocked full of sweetness and light, but that doesn’t mean that God isn’t who He says He is or that He won’t work things out for our ultimate good.
I hear what you’re saying, though. In rejection of the cookie cutter conversion, it sounds like her story might be told in a discombobulated fashion.
There is a real need for Christians who can share an honest account of struggle in this life while still being able to reflect the Lord, His great care for us, and His magnificent provision for us.

By: Mink

Mink — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:22:50 +0000

Chapter 8. I *do* want to. Never thought you’d hear me say that, huh?

Good review, Otter.

By: The Dane

The Dane — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:54:08 +0000

Well, consider that the last review copy you’ll get for a while.
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I did like your point about how narrative naturally excises in order to be narrative. I would go so far as to say narrative rejoices in excising.

I was discussing Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s Shadow of the Wind the other night with some friends and one of the more interesting things we spoke of was how the narrator chooses to couch his history (as revealed across the novel’s length) and how his perceptions, desires, biases, and romanticism colour what is essentially his memoirs. I think Zafon’s narrator presents an excellent case study in exactly the kind of thing you’re talking about here.