This book is fantastic, and poignant. Hard to believe it was written before Public Servant 45, but there you go.

It’s a challenging read, both in its style and in its substance. In terms of substance, there were many times when I put the book down to chew on what I’d just read, or sent a quote to a friend and we mulled over it together.

When I say it’s a challenging read in terms of style, I don’t mean that as a detractor. You just really have to focus, because Dark doesn’t write like Hemingway. The sentences aren’t short or devoid of sub-plots. The book itself is an immense undertaking, and it wasn’t until nearing the end that I was beginning to see all of these disparate threads coming together into a single thesis, or chord.

It’s a book of philosophy. It’s positing that we would all be a lot better off, and better to each other, if we would drop pretense, love deeply the things we love while seeing their threads to the Real, share those things, listen to other’s loves, live in deep community, stop labeling other people, let people into our lives, and partake deeply in the Communion of Christ through all of the acts above.

There are political ramifications as well, exploring how the countries we live in and the laws we allow ourselves to be governed by happen as a result of deep religious belief in our governments. It really is richly poignant, and deals with partisanship, racism, wealth distribution, and the route one takes on a walk through their neighborhood.

I’m going to need to read it again, and again. It’s full of many truth nuggets, and I loved it.