The Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 77, No. 7, Ed. 1, Friday, May 4, 1990 Page: 7 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Hardin-Simmons University Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Critic's choice
May 4 1990
th Brand 7.
Reviews by Ewart Jones and
Duane.SlmoIke
books
The Christening
by Roger Elwood
The author of AngalWalk the
novel about an angel who comes
to Earth to see the results of
Satan's work has released a. novel
about a small town that becomes
Involved In occult activity and the
pastor who realizes he's partially
to blame.
Like AngslWalk Elwwod's new
novel Is written as entertaining
fantasy and as an explanation and
warning of evil. Though shocking
and Insightful AngalWalk Is a sim-
ple fable with only a few
characters.
Elwood tries to transfer too
much of that novel's simplistic
style into a more complicated
novel with many characters.
The demonic conversations that
preceed each chapter are boring
and contrived. What works in the
novels of C.S. Lewis and Frank E.
Peretti won't necessarily work In
every novel with a blatantly Chris-
tian message.' Fortunately the
demon passages are brief and can
be skipped without the reader
missing anything.
Another problem is the constant
Insertion of Elwood's opinion. He's
too present in the narration and
the dialogue. It wasn't noticeable
in AngalWalk because the angel
was the only character Elwood
developed but it's noticeable and
annoying here.
Elwood might learn a bit more
about music before making It such
a key concern In one of his novels.
Would anyone with a knowledge of
rock 'n roll name an elderly han-
dicapped woman Edith Van Halen?
The narrator refers to Barry Man-
nllow as a rock start Elwood forces
too many questionable statements
about the different styles (not just
the content) of rock. Elwood is im-
aginative and he uses his imagina
tion to communicate Christian
messages through a genre that is
often considerably less reverant.
Yet he Is shallow enough to con
fuse good and evil with his own
musical tastes and Insists upon
constantly cramming that view
down the reader's throat.
The angel In AngalWalk moved
around In time while Investigating
Satan's work. The narrator of The
Christening does the same thing
turning the first few chapters into a
chaotic mass of flashbacks within
I flashbacks.
After the story finally starts flow-
Ing in chronological order it gains
momentum and all the glaring
flaws almost become excusable.
Elwood understands people. His
characters can be believable and
fascinating. From the teen-agers
who turn to the occult when ig-
nored by their parents to the
athlest who can't believe a loving
God would have let his wife die to
the pastor who was lost In
materialism the citizens of Valley
Falls all show the ability to seem
real.
The Christening rarely lacks ex-
citement but just when the story
becomes engrossing Elwood's
characters collapse into one-
dimensional mouthpieces for his
sermons.
Elwood's Intentions are ad-
mirable and his concern about oc-
cult involvement should be taken
seriously but such Intentions and
concerns should motivate the ex-
perienced editor and writer to
spend more time making such a
relevant novel something people
would want to read.
ffwafro
A Hatful of Rain
It's 1990. There's not much left
that can shock the average
American. Wrecked homes? Drug
abuse? That's nothing new.
Michael V. Gazzo's play A Hatful
of Rain still remains shocking
even in the nineties. It shocks the
audience out of contempt and self-
righteousness toward people with
drug addictions. It reminds us that
they are human beings in need of
compassion and understanding.
The person we read about who
overdosed or got busted could
easily have been someone we lov-
ed. The HSU Department of Theatre
with director Dr. Trish McAdams
has done some impressive work
this year-always choosing rele-
vant plays and giving them profes-
sional treatment. I've enjoyed
them all but this one is my
favorite.
Roderick Vann's performance
gave the play disturbing realism.
He played Johnny a junkie whose
home is being destroyed by his ad-
diction. Chris Haas playing
Johnny's brother carried some of
the play's most humorous
moments but became more
serious and more intense as the
play drew near the confrontation oi
Johnny his family and the addic-
tion. Dorothy De Leon who has usual-
ly had more light-hearted roles
was completely believable as
Johnny's wife who tries to be sup-
portive though he conceals his
secret from her. Jay Cline was ap-
propriately obnoxious as the
father.
All these people are victims of
Johnny's addiction. The cast also
included as some convincingly
scummy dealers Todd Vick
Zachary Richardson Bruce A.
Shatney Kirk A. Korley and Jen-
nifer Edwards.
Hatful is a timely important
play.
D.S.
music
Wild
Erasure
Passion. They've got it and they
no It. They're not afraid to show It
even If the listening audience
might not get the message. Com-
bine this passion with dance
music and throw In a thought or
two and you've got Erasure's latest
ablum the follow-up to their
greatest success so far The In-
nocents. Once again Erasure has put
together an Interesting ensemble
of music really Interesting. "Wild"
has already received some airplay
and Is typical of what Erasure's
style. That might be the only single
that fans recognize as actual
Erasure. The rest of the album
takes on the persona of an earlier
release by the group The Circus
and a compilation The Two-ring
Circus. In these albums Erasure
combined several different types
of music and musical styles to
form an anthology of music. They
do it again In this release.
The most notable difference Is
the single "La Gloria." It gives the
audience a feeling of being at a
bad mexlcan hat dance but It Is
entertaining and is not the
weakest single on this record. That
honor goes to "How many times."
It Is a sappy ballad about mistakes
and regrets-great for soap opera
background music. "2000 miles
away" will remind fans of the
group Yaz.. "Blue Savannah" is a
pleasant surprise and very en-
joyable to listen to. The rest of the
Erasure combines passion
with lyrics to give an au-
dience more than just a
record.
album Is fairly decent; it's nothing
to throw a party about but you will
become attached to It.
Wild Is a good example of transi-
tion In music and may ba an at-
tempt by Erasure tb erase some to
the pop Image that came along
with their last album.
EJ.
final exam schedule
MWF TT
8:00 Mon. 8-9:50 8:00 Thurs. 8-9:50
9:00 Wed. 8-9:50 10:30 Tues. 10-11:50
10:00 Mon. 10-11:50 11:55 Thurs. 10-11:50
11:00 Wed. 10-11:50 1:20 Tues. 1-2:50
12:00 Mon. 1-2:50 6:00 Tues. 6-8
1:00 Wed. 1-2:50 7:20 Thurs. 6-8
2:00 Mon. 3-4:50
3:00 Mon. 3-4:50
MW
6:00 Mon. 6-8
7:20 Wed. 6-8
Estes Smith join 'Athletes'
by Lara King
Three Hardln-Simmons athletes
will be traveling with Athletes in
Action (AIA) this summer. Jennifer
Smith will be playing volleyball
Jay Estes will be participating In
the baseball program and Dawn
Kirk was selected to play soccer.
Dlna Miller a May 1989 graduate of
HSU will be the volleyball trainer
for AIA.
AIA Is a national organization
whose purpose is to share the
message of Christ through clinics
personal evangelism and camps.
AIA utilizes athletics in order to
penetrate into a world of people
otherwise untouched.
There are six men's teams five
women's teams and four co-ed
Each person selected to par
ticipate raises hisher own money
to pay for training airfare and ex-
penses. The teams usually spend
five or six weeks touring different
countries. Jennifer Smith and Dlna
Miller will spend their weeks tour-
ing In several countries in South
America.
When asked why she wanted to
participate In AIA Jennifer Smith
replied "AIA promotes the two
most favorite things I like to do:
sports and sharing the message of
Christ."
AIA is a growing organization
that is utilizing young people to
make a difference In the world.
HSU will be well-represented In
this organization this summer and
hopefully In the years ahead.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 77, No. 7, Ed. 1, Friday, May 4, 1990, newspaper, May 4, 1990; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth97502/m1/7/: accessed March 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hardin-Simmons University Library.