Reviews - November 25

While the kids and I were down South, I had the chance to do some reading, and we all saw some DVDs and even went to a movie in the theater. So, here are my reviews.

Dancing Under the Red Star by Karl Tobien
This is the true story of Margaret Werner, the only American woman to survive Stalin's Gulag. I picked this book up off the shelf at the library and figured it might be an interesting read. It turned out to be more than just a good story.

Margaret Werner and her family moved to Gorky in the 1930s so that her father could work in the Ford auto factory there. In the late 1930's, her father was convicted (wrongly) as a traitor and sentenced to the Gulag, where he died. Margaret and her mother continued to live in Gorky, hoping to hear word of her father. They survived the horrors of World War 2 in the USSR. In the 1940's, Margaret was falsely accused of being a traitor and sentenced to ten years of hard labor. Much of the story is about Margaret's survival in the camps.

During this time, Margaret's mother prayed for her, and Margaret had a strong belief in God, although it appears that she knew little about the Bible and Christianity (except that it was banned in the USSR). Margaret was physically and emotionally strong, which helped her to survive her ten year sentence. She was able to participate in dance and drama groups that were allowed in the camps.

After Margaret was released from the labor camp, she married and had a son. Her family was permitted to emigrate to East Germany and then they escapted to West Germany (before the Wall). Her husband became abusive and left her, so she divorced him. She eventually moved to the US with her mother and raised her son.

The book was written by her son, Karl. He tells us that Margaret became a believer in Jesus in 1994. She died in 1997. The Epilogue of the book is Karl Tobien's plea for this country to turn back to Christ so that we can avoid the godless hell that was the USSR. I very strongly recommend this book. I had no idea that there would be a Christian message, but it was a wonderful surprise.

Hitler's Cross by Erwin Lutzer
Lutzer writes this book to show the role of the church in advancing the Nazi regime. It is also a cautionary tale for the church in the United State. Lutzer shows how Hitler tried to co-opt the Church in Germany. Hitler knew that most Germans were Christians, but they were generally culturally Christian. The Christians were, unfortunately, quite willing to distance themselves from the anti-Jewish activities of the Third Reich. The Church became very pro-Germany, even to the point of rejecting Christ. There were a lot of politics discussed, but this is the essence. Churches at first would have a swastica along with the cross in the church, but many of them eventually replaced the cross by the swastica.

Lest we think that we, in this country, are immune to this sort of thing, Lutzer ends his book with an exhortation for the Church in America to stand for Christ. There are two primary dangers for us: 1. Retreat from cultural and spiritual battles to be true to the supremacy of the cross. 2. Become so overburdened with sociopolitical agendas that the Gospel gets lost. Lutzer makes the point that we need to be concerned with reaching people with the Gospel, but also to be active in the cultural arena to make positive change.

This is an excellent book for anyone with any interest in history. I would encourage others to read it as well, although it may be a little heavy on history for some people. In any case, Lutzer sounds a timely warning for our country.

Innocent Traitor by Allison Weir
This is a historical fiction book about the Lady Jane Grey, who reigns as Queen of England for 9 days after the death of King Edward and before Queen Mary (Bloody Mary) takes the throne. In this telling of the story, Lady Jane is a young woman who is brought to the throne by the powerful adults around her. She does have a claim to the throne after King Edward (her cousin) decrees that Mary and Elizabeth, who should be next for the throne according to their father Henry VIII, may not succeed him because of their status as bastards. This decree was not done with the consent of Parliament. Lady Jane is brought to the throne because she is Protestant and Mary is Catholic (she is called Bloody Mary because she executed so many people for refusing to convert back to Catholicism). In this telling of the story, Mary takes back the throne by force, but plans to spare Lady Jane's life. Mary tries to get Jane to convert to Catholicism but Jane refuses to do so and is beheaded.

This is a very interesting book that is appropriate for older teens and adults. There are some rather explicit scenes, but they are not inappropriate to the story. The book is written as episodes from different people's points of view, which I thought was quite effective.

"The Bee Movie"
We saw this movie in the theater. The kids and I really enjoyed it. The storyline is interesting. The animation is excellent. I appreciated that it was a rather sophisticated story, but could be enjoyed by kids. Jerry Seinfeld is truly entertaining. There was nothing objectionable in the movie, so I would recommend it for about age 6 or 7 and up.

"Nanny McPhee"
I wasn't real sure what to make of this movie before we saw it. I had heard rather mixed things about it. The kids and I enjoyed it. I absolutely love Colin Firth as an actor, and he did a wonderful job as a harried father in this movie. Emma Thompson as Nanny McPhee was also great. The set and costumes were quite colorful and fanciful. It was fun to watch. I think this is a good movie for kids over the age of about 7.