It was pleasant, considering that it was in Richfield, MN. I suppose if the Japanese Gardens were in Japan, they would have been called simply “Gardens.”
After seeing the real thing, its hard to be swept away by the beauty of a fabrication.
Nevertheless, photos to come. When I finish my C.S. Lewis paper, editing and uploading them will be my reward.
Reading The Problem of Pain and A Grief Observed. I alternated chapters to get a good sense of what Lewis believed about pain and what he experienced when his wife Joy died. If I had ever experienced a comparable loss, I think I would have cried through A Grief Observed.
2 responses so far ↓
Tiffany // November 17, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Grace-
Could you tell me a little bit more about these two books- particularly “A Grief Observed.” What is it about?
<3 <3 <3 you!
Grace // November 17, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Hi Tiffany!
A Grief Observed is a very raw honest account by C.S. Lewis on how he felt after his wife, Joy died. It is in four parts and only about 40 pages. The first part is written immediately after she died, and the fourth I think is no more than a few weeks after, maybe less. It is at most basic his journal, confusing emotions, hard questions about God and Christianity, and raw pain.
The Problem of Pain is longer, maybe 120 pages. Its an intellectual logical essay explaining the origins of Pain and how it relates to God and us. Its a lot like Mere Christianity, good read but hard to get through quickly (though I thought Mere Christianity was MUCH better). Though Lewis experienced loss as a child (his mom and bff Paddy had both passed before he wrote The Problem of Pain) I don’t think that pain even got close to what he experienced when his wife died. (The Problem of Pain was written almost 15 years before he fell in love.)
In A Grief Observed, everything he logically proved in The Problem of Pain crumbles and then in a slow, hodgepodge way reassembles itself. Both are good, but if you don’t have a lot of time to read, I would suggest skipping The Problem of Pain.
Love,
Grace