Scan barcode
A review by holtfan
Subversive: Christ, Culture, and the Shocking Dorothy L. Sayers by Crystal Downing
3.0
Subversive.
Two stars for the actual book. Adding another star because even with a somewhat mediocre presentation, the genius of Sayers shines through. And also because I'm feeling guilty about how much I want to trash this book.
The fundamental problem: Sayers's writing doesn't subvert Christianity. If anything, this book proves how firmly she upheld fundamental, traditional Christian doctrine.
To be fair, the book really aims for a message like: Christians in Sayers' day criticized her writings because they subverted cultural expectations about Christianity. The problem is, the only real example provided for this claim rests on Christians criticizing Sayers for "modernizing" Scripture in her radio broadcast and not just directly quoting the King's James version.
Now, if the book emphasized how much Sayers's avowal of traditional Christian doctrine subverted secular thought, I think it would hold up better. Christianity is a subversive religion. Sayers held to traditional Christianity. Ergo...But it doesn't. It just keeps hammering on the reactions of Christians of her day.
Downing also tries to draw conclusions about Sayers's writing and apply them to modern day Christians. These analogies feel a little heavy-handed. They aren't as bad as when she tries to illustrate one of Sayers's points with an example from her own life, though. I cringed every time she talked about her own life. It isn't that her reflections don't clarify or add to the argument. They just feel...subpar when compared to the depth of the point being made.
I liked the first few chapters of this book. I didn't know much about Sayers's plays or radio broadcasts and would never have thought to look to them for glimpses into Sayers's theology. Downing does a good job pulling out the richness of those texts.
But as the book went on, it increasingly lost me. In particular, her chapter on The Mind of the Maker disappointed me. Sayers's book by the same name is so rich and challenging and Downing fills that chapter with filler about C.S. Lewis and Tolkien.
I wouldn't totally throw this book out. Like I said, a chapter or two really struck me. And Sayers's theology and snark shines through despite the often lackluster presentation. But this book isn't equal to the challenge of illuminating the many ways Sayers's theology illuminates the truth of Christianity. And in major part, it is because the book insists on emphasizing Sayers's role in contrast to Christianity instead of working within Christianity.
Two stars for the actual book. Adding another star because even with a somewhat mediocre presentation, the genius of Sayers shines through. And also because I'm feeling guilty about how much I want to trash this book.
The fundamental problem: Sayers's writing doesn't subvert Christianity. If anything, this book proves how firmly she upheld fundamental, traditional Christian doctrine.
To be fair, the book really aims for a message like: Christians in Sayers' day criticized her writings because they subverted cultural expectations about Christianity. The problem is, the only real example provided for this claim rests on Christians criticizing Sayers for "modernizing" Scripture in her radio broadcast and not just directly quoting the King's James version.
Now, if the book emphasized how much Sayers's avowal of traditional Christian doctrine subverted secular thought, I think it would hold up better. Christianity is a subversive religion. Sayers held to traditional Christianity. Ergo...But it doesn't. It just keeps hammering on the reactions of Christians of her day.
Downing also tries to draw conclusions about Sayers's writing and apply them to modern day Christians. These analogies feel a little heavy-handed. They aren't as bad as when she tries to illustrate one of Sayers's points with an example from her own life, though. I cringed every time she talked about her own life. It isn't that her reflections don't clarify or add to the argument. They just feel...subpar when compared to the depth of the point being made.
I liked the first few chapters of this book. I didn't know much about Sayers's plays or radio broadcasts and would never have thought to look to them for glimpses into Sayers's theology. Downing does a good job pulling out the richness of those texts.
But as the book went on, it increasingly lost me. In particular, her chapter on The Mind of the Maker disappointed me. Sayers's book by the same name is so rich and challenging and Downing fills that chapter with filler about C.S. Lewis and Tolkien.
I wouldn't totally throw this book out. Like I said, a chapter or two really struck me. And Sayers's theology and snark shines through despite the often lackluster presentation. But this book isn't equal to the challenge of illuminating the many ways Sayers's theology illuminates the truth of Christianity. And in major part, it is because the book insists on emphasizing Sayers's role in contrast to Christianity instead of working within Christianity.