Reviews
As a boy and later a young man, my bookshelf was filled with books to which I would return time and again. I must have read my book fair biographies of JFK and Ben Franklin at least 20 times. My name filled the checkout list of our school’s copy of Guadalcanal Dairy along with others that rarely left my possession.
I was also an avid reader of short stories. To this day, Jack London’s “The Mexican” and Jack Finney’s “Of Missing Persons” are stories to which I return more than forty years after first reading them.
A collection of ten short stories, Burdens encompasses all my youthful literary loves. Given the time, I shall return to it again and again. The stories are intriguing and faith-building. The collection does not follow the story of any particular Bible character, though they hearken back to the time of ancient Israel.
Burdens is not Christian Fiction or Fantasy, though there are elements of the supernatural in the stories. One might consider the stories a mixture of Aesop’s Fables (concerning their moral nature) and Grimm’s Fairy Tales (concerning their element of spirituality and the supernatural). The book is overtly religious and moral; the book is fiction, so I shall describe it as Religious and Moral Fiction. A literary genre’ is born!
Burdens may not affect you as it did me. As I read, my mind kept going to Bible accounts of characters in similar situations or accounts of similar moral guidance. One need not be conversant with the Bible to see the value of the stories, but I am hopeful this review will encourage you to investigate the biblical accounts and texts that I envisioned as I read these marvelous short stories. Whether or not you see the same texts and characters is not important. If you see other characters or texts, I welcome your additional insights!
Burden 1: A People at Sea. A gripping tale of an old prophet who exposes the folly of misplaced priorities and the futility of idolatry. As I turned these pages, my mind went to Gideon, but not the Gideon of popular note. Instead of Gideon, think “Jerubbaal” from Judges 6:25-32. Also, I am reminded of Isaiah 44:9-20, where men cannot see the foolishness of idolatry or their blindness to the same. Key phrase of this burden: “It’s true, I’m hurt... but you know what? It wasn’t Humbaba who hurt me, was it?”
Burden 2: Ashes. This burden opens with the text of Isaiah 61:1-3. It is the story of an old, lonely prophet who is burdened with visions from his deceased master. The account details his journey to Shiloh with a red heifer to serve as a burnt offering to purify the people. The old man is disturbed by a faithless priest, who simply “goes through the motions” of religious service because he has no faith in the word of God. Biblical texts that came to mind were Isaiah 45:19, “I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’; I, the Lord, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right” (cf 1 Cor 15:58). Key phrase of this burden, “Lord, please tell me this isn’t a waste.”
Burden 3: The Deepest Need. A tragic tale of the danger of anger and a lack of restraint. Biblical texts to consider include Proverbs 25:28, “Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls.” And Proverbs 14:19, “He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly.” Key phrase, “I didn’t mean for it to come to this.”
Burden 4: Burden. Caleb is a man burdened by his vain attempts to squelch the voice of God. Shunned by family and friends, he finally finds his voice. I could not help but think of Jeremiah 20:7-12 and the Weeping Prophet’s futile attempt to hold his peace. Key phrase, “You’ve been chosen... The burden...it won’t be lifted...till you speak.”
Burden 5: Delicate Hands. A moving story about the power of faith coupled with a pure and understanding heart. Delicate Hands also serves to remind us of the danger of jumping to conclusions and the mob mentality. This burden carried me to the altar of Ed in Joshua 22:10-34. Key phrase, “I never thanked you for believing me.”
Burden 6: Terebinth. The story of Elhan and his haunt of respite at the terebinth tree. Elhan was a man hopelessly trying to free himself from the pain of loss following his wife’s death. In Elhan I find King Saul, desperate for Samuel’s sage advice as an oracle of God (1 Sam 28). Key phrase, “I know this—I’d do anything to bring her back. Anything!”
Burden 7: The Helpless Man. Undoubtedly one of the darkest burdens. Too many twists to explore here. Just read it, then read it again. Many will likely see shadows of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) in this burden as they read. Key phrase, “Love is not sensible or safe, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t right. Mercy receives its rewards without seeking them.”
Burden 8: The Worst of all Lies. Lacking the darkness of The Helpless Man, this burden causes one to consider life’s difficult turns and the futility of living in the bitterness of blaming others. I saw no particular Bible character or text in this burden, (although I did think about Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Was I Right of Wrong”!), but the lessons were clear and resonated with me.
Burden 9: The Leper King. The was among my favorite burdens. The account centers around King Joshabad and the prophet Uzzi. Ultimately, I found the story encouraging as it extols God as a God who knows all but without the need to control every detail. God knows the ultimate result of all our choices yet allows us the freedom to make them. In religion and philosophy, this is called God’s middle knowledge. I readily saw both Elijah (1 Kings 18) and Micaiah (1 Kings 22) in Uzzi. Key phrase, “There is no single future, but there are futures... God sees them all, and he knows which one we will choose.”
Burden 10: The Breach. The author saved his best for last here! Written in eight shorter scenes, this burden is the longest by a considerable margin. I loved this as the close of this great collection! So well-constructed and captivating! Like all the others, The Breach is set in ancient Israel. However, it integrates the modern world in a fantastic account of the hope that is born of faith. The Breach brought to mind many Old Testament prophecies of Israel’s punishment and redemption. I also saw glimpses of the hope we have revealed through the Revelation to John. Key phrase, “Our future lies in Jerusalem.”
Burdens is not a collection of children’s bedtime stories. I think any adolescent with capable reading skills and a good imagination could enjoy this book, but I see the real value in adults reading this book. Also, if you are inclined to story-telling, these burdens would make great foundations for you to share with your children or grandchildren.
-Todd Clippard
The dust jacket for Burdens promises to ‘drop us into the middle of a primitive world of prophecies, dreams, and wonders…” and one of the most compelling things about these short stories is how quickly that world envelopes the reader.
There is no way to foresee which direction the roads ahead of you will turn in each of these marvelous tales, even though the streets seem familiar to students of the Biblical world. I was entranced, truly, as I contemplated how easily I could see the leathered faces of tortured characters and hear the creaking of ancient and worn wooden beams or cart wheels. It was a powerful reminder that we often take for granted how sanitized our perceptions become about the very real events depicted in the Bible, events that are just as visceral, jarring, and life-altering as the tales Drew spins in the pages of this book.
Here, through Drew’s powerful storytelling, the essence of the supernatural is given freedom to be as shocking for the reader as it must have been for those saints and sinners whose lives were set on unalterably different paths through their encounters with the mystic. In the Bible, we can sometimes assume that because we have the ‘whole story’ and it seems to be wrapped up so nicely for us, that the wonder of the moments and the incomprehensibility of the ‘big picture’ are easy to overlook. But each of these vignettes paints a vivid moment in time, one in which the actions of the protagonist may not make the most sense in that moment – but serve a greater purpose that even he cannot see, even as he dutifully walks the path he has been given. It is that uncertainty, that foreboding, that gives weight to these tales and, in turn, greater depth in understanding what that world must have looked, smelled, and felt like.
I encourage you to read this book under your covers with a flashlight, as an eager child of exploration setting off on a worthwhile adventure.
-Adam Richardson
