Our book group watched this movie together this morning. I really enjoyed it, as did all the other members. We only saw what was on the 1st disk, but one member of our group said the 2nd disk was also worth watching.

I like this line in the movie review at Amazon by Benjamin J. Burgraff: “this is not a movie for nitpickers, but for dreamers.”

My Wednesday book group is taking the summer off from reading to watch movies. We watched this movie today, and apparently we are all dreamers. We all found it entertaining and touching, in spite of its faults. By the end, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

Orazio Gentileschi, The Lute Player, c. 1612/1620
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
http://www.nga.gov/image/a00006/a0000609.jpg

One of my favorite meditations in the book is about this painting. Sister Wendy writes “It might seem rather paradoxical to take a musician as an image of silence, but what I have always found so beautiful about Gentileschi’s Lute Player is her attitude of listening… Music is a kind of prayer, a very real one, just as are poetry and art. Go further: if we truly seek God, everything is prayer to us.”

I first encountered Sister Wendy, “the art nun,” on public television, when I watched one of her programs about art. Since I’ve moved here, I’ve found a couple of her books about art in the local library, and have been consuming them. In them, she writes about all kinds of art, from ancient to modern.

I also recently found the book Sister Wendy on Prayer in the public library. The introduction contains lots of interesting biographical information and descriptions of Sister Wendy’s unusual daily routines, written by her television producer. The book itself is a collection of short meditations on prayer, and some of them discuss the connection between art and prayer, as Sister Wendy sees it.

I find Sister Wendy quite a fascinating person. Here is a short passage about her “unconventional and refreshingly personal approach to art,” taken from the book on prayer cited above:

I always like writing about art. Quite apart from the beauty of the pictures, which can distract you from any inadequacies on the part of the text, we are dealing only with opinions. I am telling you that this is what I think. What do you think? If you take another look at any work of art, (a long look), and find you disagree with me, I am only too pleased.

This little book was originally part of The Nutshell Library, a set of four adorable miniature books written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. “Pierre” was my favorite of the group by far, and I remember reading it aloud often to my younger brothers and sister.

I was reminded of Pierre this week while reading Kathleen Norris’s Acedia & Me. She explains that “acedia” is a Greek word meaning “a non-caring state.” She cites the little boy Pierre as a textbook case of acedia, since the only thing he ever said was “I don’t care.”

But Pierre does eventually learn how to care. Kathleen Norris tells the stories of her own journey towards learning the importance of caring as well. I can identify with both of them.

I’ve written about it here on 43 Things.

My book group watched a very interesting presentation by the 3 authors about their experiences of writing this book together. It was presented at the National Cathedral, and is available through this link.

EDIT: Oops, my link was incorrect. Now it seems to be working.

A friend loaned me the DVD, and I have to return it tonight. I had not read the book, even though many friends had recommended it very highly. I thought the movie was touching and well-done. I enjoyed it through my tears.

My book group just finished consuming this book together. Both a fellow group member and I had heard the three authors interviewed on the radio, and we recommended the book to our group.

The book is really a story of how these three women of different faith traditions meet together, honestly share their different beliefs, and become good friends, enriched by the experience.

I think our book group has been meeting together for 5 years now. We’re all members of the same faith tradition, but we still have our differences. Our experience as a group in many ways mirrors the experience of the three authors. Over time, we’ve become good friends, too.

This book is available in my public library. It was originally presented by the author as a set of Lenten sermons. I wanted to make an entry here to remind myself of this book next year at Lent.