P.D. James As Witness
Date: January 4, 2005.
Crime Scene: Silver City movie complex, Burnaby, BC.
Facts: A young man was attacked and knifed by strangers in the lobby of the theatre after a movie with the end result that he lay in hospital in serious condition with six stab wounds. It seems he had complained to management during the movie that a group of viewers were making a nuisance of themselves. (National Post, Jan. 4, 05)
Witness: P.D. James
P.D. James, the British murder mystery writer, would have some scathing social commentary on this event if she were to come across the article while drinking her morning cup of tea. Perhaps the reigning Queen of Crime, Lady James is also viewed as a serious Christian novelist by the literary critic, Ralph C. Wood. Over the holiday I went on a P.D. James binge reading three of her more recent novels plus her autobiography. Through her characters, I was struck (but still alive) by how James portrays the disengagement of British culture from its Christian heritage. She is a writer who bears witness to this descent into “barbarity.” In Death In Holy Orders (2001), the confessed murderer writes to Adam Dalgleish, the detective hero of the James novels:
James clearly thinks there is an alternative. This is often portrayed in the faithful worship and prayers of older characters who often become the victim. In Murder Room (2003), Tally Clutton, as she falls into unconsiousness, says “thank you to the God in whom she had always believed and of whom she had asked so little.” Likewise in Death in Holy Orders, James describes the last moments of another victim who happened to be a priest:
Eugene Peterson used to lament that there are no more living Christian murder mystery writers. Well, we still have P.D. James with us, and she is full of life.
For an interview with her conducted by Ralph C. Wood follow this link:
http://www3.baylor.edu/~Ralph_Wood/james/InterviewPDJames.pdf
Crime Scene: Silver City movie complex, Burnaby, BC.
Facts: A young man was attacked and knifed by strangers in the lobby of the theatre after a movie with the end result that he lay in hospital in serious condition with six stab wounds. It seems he had complained to management during the movie that a group of viewers were making a nuisance of themselves. (National Post, Jan. 4, 05)
Witness: P.D. James
P.D. James, the British murder mystery writer, would have some scathing social commentary on this event if she were to come across the article while drinking her morning cup of tea. Perhaps the reigning Queen of Crime, Lady James is also viewed as a serious Christian novelist by the literary critic, Ralph C. Wood. Over the holiday I went on a P.D. James binge reading three of her more recent novels plus her autobiography. Through her characters, I was struck (but still alive) by how James portrays the disengagement of British culture from its Christian heritage. She is a writer who bears witness to this descent into “barbarity.” In Death In Holy Orders (2001), the confessed murderer writes to Adam Dalgleish, the detective hero of the James novels:
People who, like us, live in a dying civilization have three choices.
We can attempt to avert the decline as a child builds a sand-castle on the edge of the advancing tide. We can ignore the death of beauty, of scholarship, of art, of intellectual integrity, finding solace in our own consolations. And that is for some years what I have tried to do. Thirdly, we can join the barbarians and take our share of the spoils. That is the popular choice and in the end it was mine.
James clearly thinks there is an alternative. This is often portrayed in the faithful worship and prayers of older characters who often become the victim. In Murder Room (2003), Tally Clutton, as she falls into unconsiousness, says “thank you to the God in whom she had always believed and of whom she had asked so little.” Likewise in Death in Holy Orders, James describes the last moments of another victim who happened to be a priest:
How could he continue to minister to others, to preach the forgiveness of sins when his own great sin was unacknowledged? How could he have stood up before that congregation tonight with this darkness in his soul? He put out his hand and switched on the bedside lamp. It flooded the room with light, surely brighter than when, by that gentle glow, he had read his evening passage of scripture. He got out of bed and knelt, burying his head in his hands. It wasn’t necessary to search for the words; they came to him naturally, and with them came the promise of forgiveness
and peace. ‘Lord be merciful to me, a sinner.’
Eugene Peterson used to lament that there are no more living Christian murder mystery writers. Well, we still have P.D. James with us, and she is full of life.
For an interview with her conducted by Ralph C. Wood follow this link:
http://www3.baylor.edu/~Ralph_Wood/james/InterviewPDJames.pdf
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home