stories

Been reading some Hemmingway over the last week or so, and also read The Catcher in the Rye by Salinger.

To be honest, I'm not sure what the fuss is about Catcher, but I have been blown away by Hemmingway. I borrowed a book of his short stories, and am astounded that in 2-3 short pages, he can tell a story so rich and engaging. At the same time, I'm also reading The Old Man and The Sea, and am loving the simplicity of the way in which he tells that story.

Catcher, on the other hand, I just found to go nowhere - partly because I felt it had too much detail at times, plus I didn't really enjoy the style of writing - personal preference. Possible also that reading it for the first time when teenage angst seems some time ago causes some loss of power...

Got me thinking, though - as I've mentioned before, one of the reasons comics are so powerful is because we have to engage our minds to read them. Reading Hemmingway's short stories is a similar experience - his ability to engage the mind in a few short pages is nothing short of brilliant.

That then led me to ponder about how we read and unpack The Story - God's story. Too often, I think we explain everything away, every last detail, and then wonder why people don't engage with it. We need to get better at allowing the space in the story to breathe, allowing the Spirit to engage our minds and challenge, inspire, encourage us. Or do we not trust that the stories are powerful enough...?