fiction worth reading

i'm finally settling in to read life of pi by yann martel. i've seen it at border's for a year it seems and have had it on hold at the library for several weeks. (yes the library, they let you read their books for free...nice huh?) anyway... so far it is really good. without getting too much into what it's about (you can click the link to read a synopsis), the main character is a boy in india. part of his journey is his search for faith through three of the major world religions. he is "born" a hindu, then adds christianity to that and then adds islam to that. he is deeply devout in all three and sees no problem with mixing the three. "I just want to love God" is his heart.
i know that lots of people could get freaked out about the pluralism (please remember it is a novel), but the young man has some great insight into the nature of religion and the search that all people seem to be on to find faith.

some great quotes

on agnosticism

it is not atheists who get stuck in my craw, but agnostics. doubt is useful for a while. we must all pass through the garden of gethsemane. if Christ played with doubt, so must we. If Christ spent an anguished night in prayer, if he burst out from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" then surely we are also permitted doubt. But we must move on. To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation.
(emphasis mine)

on Christianity

I knew very little about the religion. it had a reputation for few gods and great violence. But good schools.

on Jesus

I couldn't get him out of my head. Still can't. I spent three solid days thinking about Him. the more He bothered me, the less I could forget Him. And the more I learned about Him, the less I wanted to leave Him.

one more

The presence of God is the finest of rewards.

it really is a wonderful book so far and i understand things get more interesting as the story develops. looking forward to that.

off to watch the Perseids.
j