Severe Mercy, A

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Summary: For all who are lovers and search for the Truth.
Review: I read this book over ten years ago and have recently re-read it. It is still very powerful in its portrayal of love in its wholeness. The discussions between Lewis and Vanauken are piercing to the core. You will not regret reading this book, over and over again.

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Summary: Dangerous! Almost everything will seem mundane afterword.
Review: I was handed this little paperback in about 1980 and have never really been the same. It's a story of 'a love.' A love of learning and a passion for an intellectual, introspective life. A love a nature - the author called himself a 'high pagan, inlove with beauty.' Mostly, though, it's a love of loves, the story of Van and 'Davy' and how they built a love that was so deep and intertwined that Van felt that Davy had to be taken by God - the Severe Mercy - so that Van could come to love God. Central to the story is a great ebb of Christianity flowing into the hearts of the characters largely through the authors personal letters with C.S. Lewis. A great read

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Summary: Love lives on beyond the grave and grief gives way to glory.
Review: I was very young when I first read this tender poignant tale of suffering...I hadn't lost a great love to death in my early twenties...it was woven like a poetic dream and something to aspire to... the imagery was profoundly erotic without being primarily sexual...I think that Sheldon and Davy were what God meant in the book of Genesis (and Jesus echoed in the Gospels) by "two shall become one"....true love...real love...happens maybe once in a lifetime......I have become older and grayer yet this book is as young as my dreams...and having lost true love to death...I cherish the words "and Jack on Aslan's back...our hearts could not be lighter". I finally understand their impact .....His mercy is sometimes severe and our hearts are torn then mended.....forever...and Love lasts long after we are gone...It and we live beyond the grave...and "the problem of our pain" is sometimes only solved beyond the veil...where we no longer just glimpse Glory...we stare it full in the Face...as Grief gives way.... Sheldon and Davy are part of the warp and woof of what I have become....and one day we will all be on Aslan's back..round the lampost..."our hearts could not be lighter." I don't see how anyone can madly love Lewis and not fall head over heals in love with "A Severe Mercy".....they(at least in my mind) are inseparable.

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Summary: spiritual exhibitionism
Review: I wrote a review of this book a year ago, but it has been deleted. My opinion is unchanged. It is shallow, sentimental, and exhibitionist--a pathetic example of what passes for profundity in our time. It also attributes remarks to C S Lewis that no one who has read his books (or knew him)would regard as accurate. I earnestly hope it will soon go out of print and vanish into the obscurity it so richly deserves.

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Summary: One of the most amazing books which anyone can ever read.
Review: It is impossible to summarize the depth and beauty of this book. How can I begin? The happiness of human love, the joy of discovering Christianity, and the tragedy of premature death are all here. Add to that the insight of the greatest Christian apologist of the 20th century, C.S. Lewis, and what you have is a book which is impossible to put down and impossible to forget. I find myself returning to this book over and over again, and each time I discover something new. Everyone who can should read this book.

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Summary: On of the Greatest Love Stories Ever Told!
Review: My girl-friend read this book and told me I had to read it. I approached this book with skepticism and read it mainly for the letters by C.S. Lewis. I can now admit that I was wrong. I have read few authors who express themselves and their feelings and thoughts as well as Mr. Vanauken. I loved this book and will recomend it to anyone!

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Summary: The perfect book to read after the loss of a loved one...
Review: My husband died 4 weeks ago after a long illness. My priest gave me a copy of this book to read. It was as if I were reading my own love story. In the days that have followed, I have struggled with the concept of the severe mercy, the loss so great that words cannot define it. I saw no mercy in it, only the severity. But the message is that this horrible, unfathomable loss came as a result of the most exquisite and profound love - truly a mercy - that, by the grace of God, I was allowed to have if only for a short time. My husband and I often described our coming to Christ and our faith as a journey. God allowed us to go to the depths of despair in preparation for this time, almost a cleansing that we might better understand His infinite wisdom and mercy. I recently watched "Shadowlands" for the 2nd time and found it said so much more to me - a reference to CS Lewis's own journey and discovery are a part of this story. I look forward to now reading "A Grief Observed" as I continue my journey without my husband. This book gave me a place to start.

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Summary: An excellent romance, combined with a spiritual quest.
Review: My wife and I read this book years ago. The author and his wife embark upon a spiritual quest to disprove the myth of Christianity. In the process they become acquainted with C.S. Lewis, and ultimately find the truth about the practical Christian faith--through a severe mercy. We would like to locate a hardcover copy, but it is no longer available from the publisher. If you have one in stock, please let us know. Greg.

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Summary: Makes meaning out of sorrow
Review: No easy, facile answers in this book -- just a heart-changing expression of one man's attempt (and success) at finding meaning in a profoundly sorrowful death. If you're trying to cultivate meaning in your own experience, whatever it is, this book will be of great value to you.

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Summary: One of the most moving real-life romances I've ever read!
Review: Sheldon Vanauken has written an incredible book of passion, love and insight that remains with me years after reading it. The relationship he had with his wife challenges mine. Their dreams and romantic idealism provide a fresh and unique view of life and love. Truly this is one of the best books I've ever read.