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Captain Mahjong
Book by Holder, Philip
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
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July 28, 2010
Wow - what a great book. I really enjoyed this. It's not your typical missionary story at all - I was thinking I'd read about the hard work and sacrifices that a missionary family endured, only to be rewarded by bringing salvation to a hard-case mahjong gambler in the Philippines, after which the rest of the village opened their hearts as well.
But this book is absolutely not that. Oh yes, it's a missionary book, and there are missionaries who appear as minor characters. But this book is fiction, and is written from the point of view of the Filipino villagers.
And each chapter takes on a theme - one of the parables of Jesus is re-enacted in the lives of the villagers, one per chapter. You'll recognize the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, etc. But it's done subtly in the lives of the people in this fictional village in rural Philippines. (Seems to be Luzon, not too far from Manila.)
Is the book preachy? A bit, especially in regards to the Catholic faith. It's definitely a Protestant book, and definitely spreads its message openly.
But I'm sure this book can be enjoyed by non-Protestants as well. Each chapter contains so much detail on the ordinary life of Filipino people that, more so than any other book I've read, I really feel that this book helped me understand that culture a bit more intimately. I've read Culture Shock!: Philippines and learned a lot there about Filipino culture, but this book surpassed all that.
Sure, other books have described balut, but this book explained what it tasted like. And did you know that traditionally old-time Filipino ladies smoked their cigarettes with the lit ends inside their mouth (so that they spit out ashes from time to time)? This book describes that. And so much more...
This book may have limited appeal to people born in the Philippines, as it will seem so ordinary to them. Or to those that don't want to hear any part of the Gospel message, because it will be too preachy for them.
But for myself, a western person interested in Filipino culture (and from a Protestant background), this book was truly a wonderful and rewarding read.
I plan to read it again at some point in the future.
But this book is absolutely not that. Oh yes, it's a missionary book, and there are missionaries who appear as minor characters. But this book is fiction, and is written from the point of view of the Filipino villagers.
And each chapter takes on a theme - one of the parables of Jesus is re-enacted in the lives of the villagers, one per chapter. You'll recognize the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, etc. But it's done subtly in the lives of the people in this fictional village in rural Philippines. (Seems to be Luzon, not too far from Manila.)
Is the book preachy? A bit, especially in regards to the Catholic faith. It's definitely a Protestant book, and definitely spreads its message openly.
But I'm sure this book can be enjoyed by non-Protestants as well. Each chapter contains so much detail on the ordinary life of Filipino people that, more so than any other book I've read, I really feel that this book helped me understand that culture a bit more intimately. I've read Culture Shock!: Philippines and learned a lot there about Filipino culture, but this book surpassed all that.
Sure, other books have described balut, but this book explained what it tasted like. And did you know that traditionally old-time Filipino ladies smoked their cigarettes with the lit ends inside their mouth (so that they spit out ashes from time to time)? This book describes that. And so much more...
This book may have limited appeal to people born in the Philippines, as it will seem so ordinary to them. Or to those that don't want to hear any part of the Gospel message, because it will be too preachy for them.
But for myself, a western person interested in Filipino culture (and from a Protestant background), this book was truly a wonderful and rewarding read.
I plan to read it again at some point in the future.
Displaying 1 of 1 review