I just finished reading Why the Long Face? written by a friend of mine, Ron Maclean. It is a good collection of short stories, provocative, and passing between reality and fantasy in a way that captures the truth of life without forcing it. I highly recommend it. I found almost an absurd aspect to Ron's writing that seemed very real in various ways, but instead of considering the entire book, two stories in particular jumped out at me because of religious tones: "South of Why" and "Over the Falls"
In both of these stories scripture is quoted but in very different ways. In "South of Why" scripture is used as a tool of moral righteousness, a missile to bring down an unfaithful husband. In "Over the Falls," scripture becomes almost a participant in conversation, leading and guiding the narrator's questions and thoughts. In the first, the use of scripture becomes absurd, aiding in the picture of one character as beyond reason. In the other, scripture is a place to find reason with the absurd, considering questions of faith and mental illness.
Consider these two pictures. Scripture used in an absurd way, and scripture used in a reasoning dialogue. Hmm... maybe Ron is onto something.
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