Mette Harrison is one of the best-known Mormon authors currently writing about Mormonism for a national audience. Her Linda Wallheim mystery series ( The Bishop's Wife , His Right Hand , For Time and All Eternities , and, one hopes, many more to come) marks the first time ever that a strong and intelligent Mormon woman (or any other kind of Mormon woman for that matter) has had a starring role in a nationally marketed mystery series. In The Book of Laman, Harrison takes a concept that others have used for a quick joke-the ...
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Mette Harrison is one of the best-known Mormon authors currently writing about Mormonism for a national audience. Her Linda Wallheim mystery series ( The Bishop's Wife , His Right Hand , For Time and All Eternities , and, one hopes, many more to come) marks the first time ever that a strong and intelligent Mormon woman (or any other kind of Mormon woman for that matter) has had a starring role in a nationally marketed mystery series. In The Book of Laman, Harrison takes a concept that others have used for a quick joke-the idea of narrating the first part of the Book of Mormon from Laman's perspective-and turns it into a serious and profoundly moving story of redemption that has the ability to make us all better readers, and, more importantly, better people. From the Forward The central conceit of The Book of Laman-telling the story of 1 Nephi from Laman's perspective-seems like a perfect device for a funny book. Indeed, Bob Lewis used it precisely this way in his satirical 1997 novel, The Lost Plates of Laman. Here we see all of the jokes implied the first time we hear that Laman is the narrating the Book of Mormon: the villain becomes the hero, and the hero becomes an insufferable know-it-all, the archaic language is peppered with anachronisms and modern values, and the devotional content of the original text is sacrificed on the twin altars of mocking Mormon weirdness and having a grand time. But Mette Harrison's Book of Laman is not funny. It does not try to be funny. It doesn't use intentional archaisms to make fun of the Book of Mormon's language; rather, it tells its story in a non-distracting modern style. The characters are not simply reversed. Nephi is sometimes an annoying brat, but he is also a real prophet who sees and speaks for the Lord. Laman is neither a comic book villain nor a long-suffering ironist. He is a flawed human being struggling to live well and usually coming up short. And in some of the book's very best scenes, he is touched unexpectedly by grace and God. Harrison's characters are the sorts of people who might actually have existed in history. She does not naturalize the miracles in the Book of Mormon-there really are angels and visions and smiting and all the rest-but she humanizes the actors. And this is important, as it corrects for a reading bias that plagues Latter-day Saints. Simply put: we want the Book of Mormon to be history, not fiction, but we expect the people in it to act like characters in a (not very good) novel and not as the kinds of people who have actually ever existed.
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Add this copy of The Book of Laman to cart. $4.06, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2017 by By Common Consent Press.
Add this copy of The Book of Laman to cart. $4.06, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2017 by By Common Consent Press.
Add this copy of The Book of Laman to cart. $6.64, good condition, Sold by Jenson Books Inc rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Logan, UT, UNITED STATES, published 2017 by By Common Consent Press.
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Seller's Description:
This item shows signs of wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact, but may have aesthetic issues such as small tears, bends, scratches, and scuffs. Spine may also show signs of wear. Pages may include some notes and highlighting. May include "From the library of" labels. Satisfaction Guaranteed.
Add this copy of The Book of Laman to cart. $28.30, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2017 by By Common Consent Press.
Add this copy of The Book of Laman to cart. $57.23, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2017 by By Common Consent Press.
