Book Review: Startling Joy

It's so cold outside that the bus windows are sealed in frost, and I don't see this monstrosity of a bus driver until the very second the doors swish open and she yelps at me to watch my step on my way up.

"My daughter's laid up right now in pain something fierce with a strained ligament," she says, "and I wouldn't bless something like that on my worst enemy." - p. 11

James Calvin Schaap's Startling Joystarts on a bus with real people and real pain, and ends with real manure in the church pageant and real tears from a deep-voiced narrator. As short stories go, these are not chicken soup for anyone's soul. Rather, they are glimpses into the relationships and inner thoughts of people living life. Christmastime is a prop, a means to the end of sharing the reality of "abundant life".

I found myself reading and personalizing the stories, wondering what I would do in similar situations, how I would live out similar relationships. Mothers loving their daughters and granddaughters, those born and unborn. Fathers wondering if their children are "finally getting it" when considering the loss and pain that goes into grace and forgiveness.

I have never denied my need for God. I have, like many, forgotten him for considerable portions of my life, but he has not forgotten me. So I told the people from Deer Valley, the church I attend somewhat more than occasionally, that I would read the script for their Christmas program... One stands before an audience that is shrouded in darkness, awaiting the story; and when the drama is delivered, when it's done with the passion required to communicate the text truly, the result is something very much alive. - pp. 146-147

In the midst of the commercials and materialism of the season, it's usually the sentimental sappy stories that remind us of "the reason for the season". But not here — instead, Schaap avoids cliche, digs deep to find the vocabulary to convey a sense of urgency and understanding, and leads the reader through a narrow maze of better choices made for better reasons. From society's orphans, through adoption, and on to sharing a smile and a granddaughter between friends trying to forgive and patch things up, this small book works. There are no clean ends here, but it's real — "real" being the best adjective for this collection of thoughtful stories.
Edited: PC

Article Author: Rick Stilwell

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