"Abscond" by Abraham Verghese

After reading the short story “Abscond” by Abraham Verghese, I was convinced that it was at least partially based on his own life. When I read the biography on his web page, I knew I had guessed correctly. 

Ravi is a young teen who is turning out to be one of the best tennis players of his generation. An only child, he lives with his parents in suburban New Jersey. His father is a surgeon who commutes daily into New York City, maintaining a unvaried schedule of returning home at lunchtime to eat and take a short nap. Ravi’s mother runs the household. His parents maintain a network of friendships with other Indian-Americans.

 

The day starts like any other day. Ravi’s father goes to work and returns home for lunch and his nap. Except this day, he never wakes up. And Ravi’s life changes forever.

 

Abraham Verghese

“Abscond” is Ravi’s story, and it is a story of family life, family upheaval, grief, and a boy having to grow up faster than his years. It’s also a beautiful story of how friendship and maintaining tradition steers a family through crisis. It brings tears to the eyes more than once.

 

Verghese is a doctor and vice chair at the School of Medicine at Stanford University. He is also a writer of fiction and non-fiction. His works include My Own Country: A Doctor’s Story, The Tennis Partner: A Story of Friendship and Loss, and the novels Cutting for Stone and The Covenant of Water. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2016.

 

I haven’t read Verghese’s novels, but if “Abscond” is any indication, then I have a fine reading experience ahead.

 

Some Monday Readings

 

Seventeen Theses on Writing and Place – Matt Miller at A Habitation.

 

The Quiet Divide – Ben Henson at Front Porch Republic.

 

A Kansan Winning Missouri in Arkansas – American Civil War & UK History.

 

How Jane Austen Pulled It Off: On Emma – Jennifer Egan at The Paris Review.

 

Minnesota is no longer the ‘state that works’ – Jenna Stocker at The Spectator.

Waiting among the colonnades

After John 5: 1-17 

Inside the walls,

inside the gate

that Nehemiah built,

the lame, the sick,

the injured gather,

waiting among

the colonnades,

waiting for

the stirring

of the waters,

believing that

the first one 

in the pool

is healed. 

The man too lame

to make his way

despairs; no one

is there to carry

him to the waters,

no one to help,

no one to pick him

up and help him or

even throw him

into the waters.

On a day like

any other, a day

of despair, a man

comes to him and

says get up, get up

and walk. He stands,

picks up his bedding,

and walks, watching

the living, stirring

water walk and

disappear among

the crowds.

 

Photograph by Nadim the Dream via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Sunday Readings

 

The Importance of Running a Rigged Race – Joshua Zackal at the Institute for Faith, Work, & Economics.

 

3 Patterns That False Teachers Follow – Matthew Harmon at Crossway.

 

A Sonnet for Trinity Sunday – Malcolm Guite.

 

The Fruit of the Spirit: Introduction – Robb Brunansky at The Cripplegate.

Saturday Good Reads - June 14, 2025

In visits to London, I’ve walked the short two blocks of Essex Street many times. It’s in the area called the Temple, and it connects the North Embankment and Fleet Street. I’d walk from the Temple tube station, travel up Essex, and arrive at Fleet. Historically, the buildings have been occupied by law offices; The Royal Courts of Justice site right on Fleet across from Essex. It was here that I located the offices of the character Trevor Barry in Dancing King and Dancing Prophet, counselor and advisor to Michael Kent-Hughes. I was completely charmed this week to read about the street at A London Inheritance, thinking “that’s where my character works!” 

Historian Eric Strener has two articles this week, both about a famous figure of colonial and Revolutionary America named Samuel Brady. He was once a household name, but he’s largely forgotten today. He became famous for the rescue of a frontier woman, Jane Stoops, and became even more famous with what was called “Brady’s Leap,” which may or may not have been true.

 

At Front Porch Republic, writer and poet Benjamin Myers considers the Oklahoma landscape, remembering scenes from childhood, and how he came to internalize the concept of nature. You can see some of his books here; his poetry collection Black Sunday is a personal favorite.

 

I read The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth way back in college; I think I even glowingly reviewed it for the campus newspaper. Forsyth died this past week at age 86, and the tributes are pouring in. The Guardian has a fine obituary; Nigel Jones at The Spectator writes about the Frederick Forsyth he knew. 

 

More Good Reads

 

British Stuff

 

The Spitalfields Roman Woman – Spitalfields Life.

 

America 250

250 Years ago Today, the Continental Army is Created - Mary Maloy at Emerging Revolutionary War Era.

Book Review: Virginia in the American Revolution by Charles Mills – Gene Procknow at the Journal of the American Revolution.

 

Lafayette’s lasting impact on America – Matthew Smith at The Conversation.

 

James Madison’s Appeal to Reasonable Discourse – Susan Brynne Long at Real Clear Public Affairs.

 

What the Bill for Regulating the Government of Massachusetts Really Entailed – Bob Ruppert at the Journal of the American Revolution.

 

Life and Culture

 

Tragedies of Trust – Andrew Klavan at The New Jerusalem.

 

Lessons From My Father – Brian Miller at Notes from an East Tennessee Farmer.

 

Faith

 

We Believe in God the Father Almighty: The First Article of the Nicene Creed – Kevin DeYoung for Sola Media (video). 

 

Called, Loved, Kept: A Sermon That Still Holds on to Me – Bob Kauflin at Desiring God.

 

New Dead Sea Scrolls U.S. Exhibit – Bible History Daily / Biblical Archaeology Society.

 

American Stuff

 

“Death is so common”: Soldiers’ Views of Death in the Summer of 1862 – Kevin Pawlak at Emerging Civil War.

 

Writing and Literature

 

I Can Read You Like a Book: On Northanger Abbey – B.D. McClay at The Paris Review.

 

Tragic Floss – Adam Roberts at Adam’s Notebook on The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot.

 

Joseph Conrad’s Crooked Cross: Transcending the Tragic Sense of Life – Joshua Hren at Church Life Journal.

 

Holden Caulfield and the Ducks of Central Park – Nina Tarpley at Front Porch Republic.

Poetry

 

Yeats’ Warning to the West –Dwight Longenecker at The Imaginative Conservative.

 

“The Wild Swans at Coole,” poem by Wiliam Butler Yeats – Sally Thomas at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

“When the Child Appears,” poem by Victor Hugo – translation by Bruce Phenix at Society of Classical Poets.

Here is Love, Vast as the Ocean – The Gettys & Sandra McCracken

 Painting: A Girl Reading in a Sailboat (1869), oil on canvas by Alfred Chantrey Corbould (1852-1920). 

A drink of water

After John 4:5-15 

We come for water,

a drink, a sip

to sustain, needed

for life, but then

we’re offered water

of a different kind,

not the kind which

must be refreshed

to slake physical

thirst, but the water

of life, eternal life,

water that sustains

our souls, our hearts,

our minds, water

that, once accepted,

never has to be

drunk again, water

of eternity poured

into us, drawing

us into the flow,

drawing us into

life eternal. Drink,

and drink deeply.

 

Photograph by Frank Albrecht via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Friday Readings

 

Popular Christian Books with Unintended Consequences – Kim Riddlebarger at The Riddleblog.

 

From “The Christ” by Cynewulf – D.S. Martin at Kingdom Poets.

 

“Come Down, O Love Divine,” hymn by Bianco da Siena – Anthony Esolen at Word & Song.

 

Christianity speaks to everything – T.M. Suffield at Nuakh. 

 

“I Am the Living Bread,” Poem by Edward Taylor – Sally Thomas at Poems Ancient and Modern.

Dana Gioia Defines the Enchantment in Poetry

Dana Gioia may be one of the most productive writers / poets working today. He has six poetry collections, seven essay collections, two translations (Italian and Latin), four opera libretti, 11 books for which he’s served as editor, and a contributor to several collections of essays and poems.  

He came to poetry indirectly – through a 15-year business career. Yes, he quit cold turkey, to focus on poetry and writing. He was associated with New Formalism, which in the 1990s was considered counter cultural (poetry with rhyme and meter, and narrative poetry, were considered rather passe). He was named poet laureate of California. He was chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts; he championed poetry during his tenure. The recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, he’s also received 10 honorary doctorates.

 

In short, Gioia is a presence In American poetry. And he’s in an ideal position to produce a collection of essays entitled Poetry as Enchantment. 

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.

Some Thursday Readings

 

The Norwegian Chesterton: A Brief Introduction to Sigrid Unset – David Deavel at The Imaginative Conservative.

 

“Moonlight, Summer Moonlight,” poem by Emily Bronte – Sally Thomas at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

Elderflower – poem by David Whyte.

 

Poets on Translation: Otherwise the Same – Geoffrey Brock at Poetry.

The Book on My Father's Bookshelf

The book sat on a bookshelf in my parent’s bedroom for as long as I can remember. The shelf itself was a former window, occupied by an air conditioner when they became available in late 1950s New Orleans. When central air became possible, the window was reconfigured as a bookshelf. 

The title of the book was The Battle of Liberty Place: the Overthrow of Carpetbag Rule in New Orleans, written by Stuart Omer Landry. It was printed by a local New Orleans publisher, Pelican Publishing, in 1955. This volume was apparently part of a numbered edition, except the number is left blank. If I remember correctly, a friend of my father’s at the publisher gave him a copy as a gift.

 

The book tells the story of a pitched battle that occurred in 1874, when New Orleans was still occupied by federal troops. 

To continue reading, please see my post today at Dancing Priest.

Illustration: A drawing of the battle near the Customs House on Canal Street in New Orleans.

Some Wednesday Readings

 

Biden’s FBI targeted ‘radical traditionalist’ Catholics – Brandon Goldman at The Spectator.

 

”Shop Class as Soulcraft”: Let Us Recognize the Yeoman Aristocracy – C.R. Wiley at The Imaginative Conservative.

 

Our Knowledge System Has Collapsed. Can We Survive Without It? – Ted Gioia at The Free Press.

 

Emerging Civil War Podcast: A Grand Opening Squandered – Sean Michael Chick on the Battle of Petersburg.

“I Am the Arrow”: Sarah Ruden Tells Sylvia Plath’s Story

Can you tell a person’s story in six poems? 

I may be the ideal person to test that question. Before I read The Life and Art of Sylvia Plath in Six Poems by Sarah Ruden, I knew three or four things about Sylvia Plath (1932-1963): she’d been in a rather awful marriage with British poet Ted Hughes; she committed suicide; she’d published the autobiographical The Bell Jar under another name; and she had become a political icon for many people. 

 

I knew about the marriage because I had read Crow by Ted Hughes and some of his biographical information. I’m not sure how I learned about the icon business, but, rightly or wrongly, I tend to shy away from poets and writers who become an icon for a political cause. I don’t have a good, thoughtful reason for that; it just is. And I had read only three of her poems – “Morning Song,” “Lady Lazarus,” and “Daddy.”

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.

Some Tuesday Readings

 

“The Whitsun Weddings,” poem by Philip Larkin – Abdrew Roycroft at New Grub Street.

 

T.S. Eliot and the Whitsun Fire – Henry Oliver at The Common Reader.

 

On Marianne Moore, Unexpected Celebrity Poet of Midcentury America – Susan Gubar at Literary Hub.

 

“Summer Song,” poem by William Carlos Williams – Joseph Bottum at Poems Ancient and Modern.

"Murder in an Italian Castle" by Benedict Brown

British mystery writer Benedict Brown is taking the Lord Edginton series (some 15 books in all) in a new, and rebranded, direction. Murder in an Italian Castle is the first in the Lord Edgington Investigates Abroad series.

A new direction (outside of England), yes, But the same familiar characters are there, the same tongue-in-cheek humor, and the same detailed use of a real building as the setting. In this case, it’s an Italian castle in Italy.

 

It’s 1929. Lord Edgington, retired head of Scotland Yard, has finally made good on his promise to take grandson Christopher Prentiss, now approaching 21, on a grand tour of the continent. The first stop will be the castle of an old acquaintance of the Lord’s, an earl known for his manipulation of people, sometimes cruel antics, and a deep thirst for making sure justice triumphed. As they arrive, they witness the fall of the earl from a tower, a fall that looks more like a push. Christopher rushes to the tower base and hears the footsteps of someone running. But no one can be found.

 

With almost all the suspects having solid alibis, and the lack of cooperation by the local police, it seems the investigation has hit a dead end. And then there’s a second death.

 

Benedict Brown

Brown includes all the characteristic features of a Lord Edgington mystery – deep research into the setting, an often comical repartee between Edgington and his grandson, a seemingly unsolvable puzzle, and even a dash of romance for Christopher – a young woman he saw on the boat to Calais shows up in Florence, reading a novel by Christopher’s favorite author – Charles Dickens. And just as the reader expects a romance to blossom, the young woman departs, with Christopher neglecting to have asked her name. Given that there’s more international mysteries to come, it’s likely we’ll run across her again.

 

In addition to the Lord Edgington stories, Brown has written eight Izzy Palmer mystery novels three novellas, and five Marius Quin mysteries. A native of south London, he lives with his family in Spain. The Lord Edgington mysteries are likely aimed at both the general reader as well as the young adult audience. And they’re well-researched stories, full of information about the mid-to-late 1920s.

 

Murder in an Italian Castle is a fun, fast-paced read. And like Christopher Prentiss himself, we’re glad Lord Edgington, his grandson, and the servants who accompany them have finally made it to the continent.

 

Related:

Murder at the Spring Ball by Benedict Brown.

A Body at a Boarding School by Benedict Brown.

The Mystery of Mistletoe Hall by Benedict Brown.

 Death on a Summer’s Day by Benedict Brown.

The Tangled Treasure Trail by Benedict Brown.

The Curious Case of the Templeton-Swifts by Benedict Brown.

The Crimes of Clearwell Castle by Benedict Brown.

The Snows of Weston Moor by Benedict Brown.

What the Vicar Saw by Benedict Brown.

Blood on the Banisters by Benedict Brown.

A Killer in the Wings by Benedict Brown.

The Christmas Bell Mystery by Benedict Brown.

A Novel Way to Kill by Benedict Brown.

The Puzzle at Parham Hall by Benedict Brown.

Death at Silent Pool by Benedict Brown.

 

Some Monday Readings

 

George Cruikshank’s London Summer – Spitalfields Life.

 

Where should the Elgin Marbles be displayed? – Mario Trabucco della Torretta at The Critic Magazine.

 

When the Rules No Longer Apply – Joel Miller at Miller’s Book Review.

 

The Ten Warning Signs: A huge change is coming – Ted Gioia at The Honet Broker.

 

Why woke failed – Michael Shermer at Persuasion.

Under cover of darkest night

After John 3:1-15 

Under cover of darkest night,

the cautious ruler seeks the light,

prompted by signs like water to wine,

admitting the message is truly divine.

 

The reality is plain,

he’s told in reply;

the kingdom is yours

if you’re born again.

 

How can that be, he asks

in surprise, how does a man

do an impossible task

and enter the womb again?

 

You, born of flesh, must be

born of spirit as well;

the Spirit will let you see

and open the kingdom to dwell.

 

Photograph by Mak via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Sunday Readings

 

No Chance of Survival: How a Deadly Plane Crash Yielded a Growing Spiritual Harvest – Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra at The Gospel Coalition.

 

What is a Good Life? – Alex Sosler at Front Porch Republic.

 

There’ll be no sighing there – Joshua Budimlie at Iotas in Eternity.

 

Confession and cleansing: healing power in naming what’s broken – Dan King at Bibledude.

Saturday Good Reads - June 7, 2025

The BBC didn’t have a good week. First, it was called out for how it twists coverage on the British grooming gangs scandal. Then, like almost all U.S. media, it was sucked into the allegations that Israeli troops had fired on people in Gaza who were trying to get to food aid. The only problem with the report – it wasn’t true; the information came from “health authorities” and “witnesses,” all of whom were connected to Hamas. The Washington Post quietly made corrections without ever calling attention to the mistakes. But mission accomplished: the lie was out there, ricocheting around the globe. Then, the White House publicly took the BBC to the woodshed. 

Andrew Klavan and Spencer Klavan have an ongoing exchange of letters on the Substack site The New Jerusalem. They cover a broad range of subjects (as in, whatever they might be interested in), and it’s informative and often fun to watch the two at work. This past week, the subject was AI. Spencer started it, with “The Computers Work for Us.” His dad came back with an aha! moment – “Of Androids and Mormons.”

 

About 20 years ago, I lost my mind and accepted a position as director of communications with St. Louis Public Schools. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything, but I’d never do it again. My first day, before I had a chance to get to my office or fill out HR forms, I had a mob of reporters shouting questions about a teacher sick-out day. But for the eight or nine months I was there, I met and observed all kinds of groups working to make a difference, like Teach for America. Times have changed. Dramatically changed.  Read Andrew X. Evans on “Taught for America: A Chronicle of Failure.” (I did eventually fill out the HR forms. However, the department lost them and was afraid to say anything. I noticed when there was no paycheck.)

In 2023 on a trip to London, we tried to see the Parthenon Marbles (formerly known as the Elgin Marbles) at the British Museum, but the room was closed for renovation. In 2024, my wife thought me slightly weird when I insisted on seeing them “one last time” (we’d seen them in 1983 and 2012). And see them we did. Good thing. The new chairman of the British Museum has agreed to “permanently loan” the sculptures to the Greek government (under British law, he can’t give them or return them without changing the country’s “de-accessioning” law. The permanent loan terminology supposedly sidesteps British law and saves the Labour prime minister a major embarrassment.

 

More Good Reads

 

America 250

 

Blue and Gray Education Society Announces “Cradle of the Revolution” Tour with Emerging Revolutionary War Era – Rob Orrison.

 

John Hancock: First to Sign, First to Invest in America’s Independence by Willard Sterne Randall – review by Kyler Burd at Journal of the American Revolution.

 

Major General Francis Channing Barlow and the 1875 Concord Centennial – Andrea Quinn at Emerging Civil War.

 

British Stuff

 

Footage of Winston Churchill’s 1929 Visit to the United State Now Online – International Churchill Society.

 

J.D. Vance was right about censorship – Paul Coleman at The Critic Magazine.

 

The British Mother Serving Time for a Tweet – Dominic Green at The Free Press.

 

Get ready for blasphemy laws – Tom Jones at The Critic Magazine.

Israel

 

‘Free Palestine’ Terrorism – Jeffrey Herf at The Free Press.

 

Hamas lies published by the US media become fuel for firebombs – Jonathan Sacerdoti at The Spectator.

 

Who Profits from Gaza’s Desperation? – Eli Lake at The Free Press.

 

American Stuff

 

The American Dream Died by Suicide – Uri Berliner at The Free Press.

 

The Man Who Built the Right – and Changed America – Matthew Continetti at The Free Press.

 

Art

 

The infinite space of Alice Rahon’s Sandstorm – Molly Moog at St. Louis Art Museum.

 

Faith

 

Failing Boys and Wrong Men – Stephen McAlpine.

 

How African Churches Are Shaping Western Christianity from Lagos to London – Joseph Maina at Religion Unplugged.

 

Writing and Literature

 

Publishing Pepys – Kate Loveman at Literary Review.

Poetry

 

“Dejection: An Ode” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge – Sally Thomas at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

The Blessing – Jari Jobe & Cody Carnes

 

Painting: Portrait of a Man Reading, oil on canvas, 20^th Century French School, artist unknown.

 

Six stone jars

After John 2:1-11 

They hold water,

these six stone jars,

sculpted and used

for water to purify.

These six stone jars

are empty, currently,

waiting for the next

rite of purification

to be used. Ordinary

vessels, ordinary

stone, waiting

for the time to be

extraordinary, like

when he tells 

the servants to fill

the jars with water.

When the water is

drawn, it’s become

wine, not ordinary

wine, the cheap stuff,

but exceptional wine,

the kind of vintage 

served first, if at all.

Ordinary water 

has become

extraordinary

wine.

 

Photograph by Mohammed Taseen via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Friday Readings

 

The Voivode’s Mosque – Paul Kingsnorth at The Abbey of Misrule.

 

I Corinthians 13 – the Apostle Paul at Kingdom Poets (D.S. Martin).

 

Hymn of the Week: Thine is the Glory – Anthony Esolen at Word & Song.

A Novel in Verse: "Eugene Nadelman" by Michael Weingard

If you came of age in the 1980s, certain cultural icons and events are likely imprinted in your brain. Like MTV. And Nintendo, Sega, and Game Boy. The Bourne Identity. Michael Jackson. Yuppies. Back to the Future. Madonna. The Apple II. Pop and Hip-Hop. The Color Purple. The IBM PC. Reaganomics. Indiana Jones. Prince. St. Elmo’s Fire. The space shuttle. Fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. Bonfire of the Vanities.  

Eugene Nadelman is a novel of coming of age in the 1980s. It’s the story of a young teen, Eugene Nadelman, growing up in Philadelphia. The story begins with the celebration for Eugene’s bar mitzvah. He falls in love and has his first kiss. The romance continues until he goes to summer camp. He gets involved in an online game that turns into something of a duel. 

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.

Some Thursday Readings

 

“The Rapture,” poem by Thomas Traherne – Sally Thomas at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

Poet Laura: Fables and Foxy Chickens – Sandra Fox Murphy at Tweetspeak Poetry.

 

“John Barleycorn,” poem by Robert Burns – Joseph Bottum at Poems Ancient and Modern.

Hiawatha (excerpt) by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - Anthony Esolen at Word & Song.

In the Margins of Time: James Agee and Weldon Kees - Morton Hoi Jensen at Nimrod.