Ана и черния рицар & Книгата на Ана

Anna #2-3

by Fynn

След публикуването на книгата „Мистър Бог, тук е Ана“ разказът за малката Ана с неговите неподвластни на времето истини заживява в умовете и сърцата на милиони читатели по света. Авторът Фин е залят от молби да се върне към спомените си за нея. Минават малко повече от десет години преди появата на „Книгата на Ана“ и още толкова преди появата на „Ана и Черния рицар“.

„Проблемът със спомените не е в това, че не са верни. Просто са прекалено много, за да бъдат записани. Всичко, което преживях през тези няколко години, би отнело десетократно повече време да бъде разказано в сравнение със самото му преживяване.“

„В мен има толкова много думи. Неща, казани от мама или от Ана, или от Джон. Неща, които звучат толкова добре, че не искам да се освободя от тях, макар да не ги разбирам.“

Фин, този „създател на мини-мит“, както го нарича първият му редактор Върнън Спрокстън, сравнявайки го с Леонардо да Винчи, за пореден път скромно и ненатрапчиво пожелава да остане на заден план. В „Книгата на Ана" и в „Ана и Черния рицар“, отново елегантно илюстрирани от Папас, той добавя нови щрихи към образа на необикновеното момиченце, на своята невероятна майка и на Черния рицар, въплътен – колкото и странно да е - във всеки от персонажите на тези книги. Както би казала Ана: „Също като Мистър Бог...“

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Christianity

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Fynn is the pen name of Sydney "Sid" George Hopkins. Sid was a student and later staff member at Finchden Manor, now a defunct reform school, in Tenterden Kent. Sid Hopkins spent the last years of his life living in Taunton, Somerset, England.

Reviews

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final installment of the Anna Trilogy; if you liked Mister God, This Is Anna you may like this. Curiously enough, it was published nearly 20 years after the first book, which semi-confirms my thought that "Anna" may have been a real person, but she certainly became a vehicle for Fynn to express his personal philosophy and ideas.

The "black knight" of the title is one Mr John, a schoolteacher of Fynn's who regularly caned him, apparently with a thin metal rod he used as a walking stick, if the text is to be believed. After Fynn finishes school, they become friends and Anna and Fynn often visit Mr John. We are treated to more of Anna's (or at least Fynn's) ideas and pronouncements, but this time Anna and Mr John spend a lot of time alone together while Fynn does odd jobs; suddenly Anna is not going to regular school but, for a time at least, being tutored by Mr John.

Once again, the main character disappears by the end of the book, and we are told his house was torn down and built over after his death, so again there is no evidence he was ever there. And no mention of the fact that "school" for Fynn was actually a reform school. All the reform schools I've ever seen or heard about were residential. Was Fynn a day pupil? Hmmmm.

I was amused at the "confusion" of both Fynn and Mr John over who "we" are in Genesis 1. Apparently neither one had ever heard of the Trinity, because surely even if they rejected the concept they would have heard of it and been eager to debate it. After all, in this installment we are told that Anna and Fynn regularly attended the Anglican church; the idea of the Trinity would not be strange to them, if they heard the Creed recited every week--even if they weren't paying much attention.

I read this book about 15 years ago, and at this re-reading I had the same reaction; if you like the first book you may like this one, but it just seemed odd to me. "The problem with memories isn't that they aren't true. It's just that there's so much of them to write down...I just don't know if they are as true as they seemed to me to be at the time," says Fynn about halfway through the book. Not to mention remembering all these deep, philosophical conversations word-for-word a good 50 years later. I don't know, it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth, because this book simply doesn't square with the first one. Too many things just don't add up, whether taken as memoir or fiction.

[Maria Longley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh happy days! I hadn't realised there was another Anna book!! What absolute bliss to find her and Fynn again. This edition has the wonderful illustrations by Papas too. It incorporates some of Anna's own writings as well as an account of their friendship with Mister John. It's unlikely and wonderful and Anna is Anna thank goodness.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Mister God this is Anna years ago and remember loving it. So I was quite excited when I picked up this book. Some Christians have written warnings about the three Anna books because they contain some unorthodox statements. But it is surely ridiculous to expect a book, which contains a young child's perspectives on God, to measure up to some kind of doctrinal exactness? I think it's just lovely and has a few statements in it which really made me think...and I like books that don't give me all the answers but make me think.

[Marilyn K · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great follow-up to Mister God, This Is Anna. Mister God was the better of the two.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the first. Still enjoyed. Could have been about 50 pages shorter

[melisa Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I liked 'Mr. God this is Anna' better