Afbeelding auteur

Mona Gustafson Affinito

Auteur van When to Forgive

4+ Werken 14 Leden 2 Besprekingen

Werken van Mona Gustafson Affinito

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Before forgiving : cautionary views of forgiveness in psychotherapy (2002) — Medewerker, sommige edities8 exemplaren

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Algemene kennis

Geslacht
female
Nationaliteit
USA
Beroepen
professor
psychotherapist
Organisaties
Southern Connecticut State University
Albertus Magnus College
Eden Prairie Psychological Resources
Alfred Adler Graduate School
Korte biografie
Mona Gustafson Affinito, PhD., L.P., emeritus professor of psychology at Southern Connecticut State University, has given frequent workshops on "forgiveness" and taught courses on morality in psychotherapy and on forgiveness at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven. In 1995, she moved from Connecticut to Minnesota, leaving behind an active seventeen-year private psychotherapy practice. In Minnesota she has served as teaching and supervising faculty at Eden Prairie Psychological Resources and is a member of the faculty at the Alfred Adler Graduate School, while maintaining a small private practice. [from Before Forgiving (2002)]

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I have a lot of wishes for this book, which fills in the love story between the biblical Job and his wife. Most of all, I hope it might attract a traditional publisher, who will strengthen the many great parts and maybe help Affinito let go of the parts that try too hard to follow the canonical story.

The modern-fictional part of this telling is the best part and takes up more than half the book.We don’t get to the losses and the friends, and the whirlwind and the recovery, until Chapter 11 of 14, when we’ve read some three-quarters of the pages, and I would have been happy to see it stop a little before that. I’m delighted with the way Affinito has made a fully realized character of the wife who comes into the biblical story in just a couple of comments that have opened her to harsh criticism in traditional interpretations.

I’m also fascinated with Affinito’s historical imagination that places the story in a culture existing alongside the biblical Hebrews, in Edom, the land of Esau, twin brother to Jacob/Israel. As she explains in an “addendum” at the end of the book, her research on the Edomites provides the seminomadic lifestyle of Job and his wife, dwelling in complex tents near the land grazed by their herds for three seasons, and settled in cave houses at the edge of the city in winter. Affinito has carried this research through and brought it to life.

Affinito also provides an intriguing background to the canonical story in her notion of the Edomites having “lost” the faith of Esau’s grandfather Abraham, with Job’s story tracing the ordeal of regaining it. But again, because it’s explained only in the addendum, it isn’t available to help readers understand the narrative.

What adds importance to the novel, however, is Affinito’s handling of her Dara’s devotion to the goddess Astarte, a practice that has been well studied, especially by feminist Bible scholars. Affinito allows us to see it in action, both in the immature faith that requires Dara to carry her representation of Astarte with her and keep it nearby, and in the development of her understanding that the statue is not the divinity and she needn’t choose between male and female gods. This is the revelatory point on which I wish Affinito had been content to end. The rest we can read in the canonical telling and be just as happy.

Note: The author/publisher provided a copy of the book to me for this review; no other consideration was given.
… (meer)
½
 
Gemarkeerd
bkswrites | 1 andere bespreking | Feb 20, 2015 |
First Lady – A review of the novel ‘Figs & Pomegranates & Special Cheeses’

“If the married life possess love and virtue, these will be both its duty and reward” – Thiruvalluvar

Author Mona Gustafson Affinito’s latest book ‘Figs & Pomegranates & Special Cheeses: A Love Story’ retells the story of biblical Job from the point of view of his wife. Enter a mystical and exotic land of great happenings as Mrs. Job a.k.a. Dara takes you behind the scenes in a unique first person narrative. We follow her journey from childhood to adulthood as she tackles varied themes of friendship, love and faith in her life. This is not just the story of Job’s wife; it is a story about a woman who showed unparalleled courage in the face of multitudes of change that rocked her life. It’s an inspiring story that encourages you to have faith in your own core beliefs and values.

Diving deep into biblical times and the lives of its inhabitants, author Mona comes up with a highly detailed and descriptive narration of an extraordinary story. Christian or otherwise, everyone’s bound to have heard the story of Job and his tryst with God because of the story’s wide appeal and relevance in popular culture. While Mrs. Job gets only a fleeting mention in the bible, this historical fiction puts her at the center of the action and tells the story from her point of view. From the time of her betrothal and subsequent marriage ceremony, Dara loved Job and stayed with him through thick and thin.

This novel’s basic premise of presenting this lone woman as a fallible and yet living and breathing soul in a patriarchal society deserves much appreciation. It is a well researched book but at the same time the narration doesn’t get lost in the details. Even though the characters in this novel are your favorite immortalized ones from the bible, here we get to see them in a different and unique setting. Speaking about the setting, it is one of those things that go unnoticed while reading a book. Story writers simply narrate a story while story-tellers manage to take readers straight into the world of the characters they create. Mona lets them tell their own story; it is they who compel the plot to move forward and not the other way around.

There is an appropriately titled section called ‘story behind the story’ at the end of this book. It is akin to a director’s commentary on your favorite movie’s DVD. But here it’s an author who opens up about her craft and her book.It is a must read if you are a bibliophile or even someone who wants to know more about the inner workings of a writer’s mind.

Mona Gustafson Affinito’s passionately created portrait on the lives of Dara and Job appeals at so many different levels. It is intrinsically humane in its approach and turns out to be an inspiring read that you will keep coming back to.
… (meer)
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Gemarkeerd
Kevin_Peter | 1 andere bespreking | Mar 13, 2015 |

Statistieken

Werken
4
Ook door
1
Leden
14
Populariteit
#739,559
Waardering
½ 4.5
Besprekingen
2
ISBNs
4