I read this one a little over 4 months ago. This is my kind of book. A book that talks about classic literature and applies gospel principals. Almost impossible for me to not give a book like this a perfect rating. And Wilcox is the perfect guy to deliver. The book covers Anne of Green Gables (haven't read it), Les Miserables (read it), To Kill a Mockingbird (read it), Sense and Sensibility (haven't read it), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (read it), Little Women (haven't read it), a poem called "Renascence" (haven't read it; except I think he quoted the whole poem in the book, so now I have read it?), The Brothers Karamazov (read it), A Christmas Carol (read it), Much Ado About Nothing & As You Like It (read both), bits from various children's stories, parables from Jesus, and a speech from Emerson. It was super enjoyable from start to finish, even for the ones that I hadn't read. I think my favorite was him talking about The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky, one of my all-time favorite books. Wilcox is so good. Below are some of my favorite quotes from Wilcox:
"A consistent message from Jesus throughout the New Testament was one of tension-and-guilt-releasing happiness."
"The candlesticks first house the soul of Jean Valjean, and one beautiful act of compassion by Bishop Myriel overturns the nineteen years of misery, injustice, and hate that had filled his life. This is a truth we must believe in! Goodness and benevolence, even in their simplest manifestations, are not just more powerful than evil, cruelty, and hatred, but are infinitely more powerful."
"We come to 'know' Him not in the reception of His many gifts to us, not in doctrinal explanations, not even in scriptural perusals, not even in prayer really, but in active loving - in the giving of the heart selflessly."
"But if we think of the nature of mockingbirds is to imitate the songs they hear around them, then Scout is the main mockingbird.... The great theme of the novel, as represented by Atticus Finch, could be stated thus: 'Make sure as parents, as a society, that the songs you sing are clear and filled with goodness, because there are little ones around who will mimic you.'"
"I fear that what I sometimes call the 'burden of perfectionism' is made much heavier than it need be, and we stumble under an unnecessary load, carrying guilt that is self-generated and does not come from the Spirit. How many useless stones have been cast at ourselves by ourselves? How many cast at others by well-meaning people supported by what they believe to be God's will or doctrines against things that common sense would say is not sin and not displeasing to Deity?"
"Even when we have done wrong, God simply wants us to recognize it and change. He has no interest in perpetuating sorrow."
"[T]he real you and me are what we are at our best, not our worst."
"The story is told to answer two questions - 'What shall I do to inherit eternal life?' And, 'Who is my neighbour?' (Luke 10:25, 29). That is the context. How many of us would be tempted to engage in more complex answers to these questions, involving proper ordinances, authority, the right beliefs, the appropriate combination of righteous deeds, prayer, scriptures, or worship? But Jesus simply answered with a story about 'a certain Samaritan' who had 'compassion" (Luke 10:33)."
"In Christianity, far too often it has been more important to be right than to be good."
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