The Catholic Book Club discussion

10) Tom has agreed to answer our questions, at least those about his book, so post your questions here.

I wonder why John (and his family) are never shown praying or attending church. Wouldn't that better ground his belief in objective truth?

Jill, though these things are not depicted in the book, the views JH expresses rely on his foundational grounding in objective truth. Perhaps non believing or skeptical readers will be drawn to that well of truth. Thank you for this question.

I have got a question to the autor. Will the Joseph Pearce Spiritual biographies`s influence to the author to write Toward the Gleam? (Joseph Pearce is with Juan Manuel de Prada, and Manuel Alfonseca my favorite alive writer).

I have read and enjoyed Pearce's "Tolkien: Man & Myth". Peter Kreeft's "The Philosophy of Tolkien" is a book to which I often refer.
Joseph Pearce provided one of the back cover endorsements for "Toward the Gleam". I met and conversed with him when he was teaching in Florida.

T.M. wrote: "I have read and enjoyed Pearce's "Tolkien: Man & Myth". Peter Kreeft's "The Philosophy of Tolkien" is a book to which I often refer.
Joseph Pearce provided one of the back cover endorsements for "T..."

Yes i saw the recomendation of Joseph Pearce in the hardcover. It was one of the reasons because i want to read this book desperately that i would like that more Peter Kreeft´s books were translated and they arrived to Spain, unfortuntally only one arrive to our country. It was published by the publishing Cristiandad.

Can you tell something about the "Toward the gleam" sequel "Lucifer Ego"? In case that you can say something.

The Lucifer Ego is set in the modern world with new primary characters, though more is learned about characters in Toward the Gleam and the manuscript discovered by John Hill. The story explores how experiences and memory shape us. How faith, relationships, and will affect human choices.

Have you read Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid?

Yes, but some years ago. Interesting, and challenging in places.

T.M. wrote: "The Lucifer Ego is set in the modern world with new primary characters, though more is learned about characters in Toward the Gleam and the manuscript discovered by John Hill. The story explores ho..."

Interesting.

T.M. wrote: "Jill, though these things are not depicted in the book, the views JH expresses rely on his foundational grounding in objective truth. Perhaps non believing or skeptical readers will be drawn to tha..."

I had a similar question. I wondered if religion was mostly absent from the book in the same way that it is absent in LOTR? I also wondered if there was a concern that an reflection of Tolkien's actual Catholicism might cause non-believing readers to reject the book?

John, though more difficult, I prefer to depict what holiness looks like (albeit imperfectly) in the lives and decisions of good people, and what the rejection of holiness looks like in the lives of people who put self and ideologies first. Transformation too, as with Lyle Stuart in The Lucifer Ego. Sometimes, characters say and do things I didn't anticipate when I embarked on a story--a good sign, as they should be more than the author's sock puppets.

A few of us were throwing different ideas on what Greta's towels mean (in the thread "Along the way"). Could you tell us what you had in mind?

She is someone who has everything, who knows what she believes, who knows what she wants...or does she?

John wrote: "T.M. wrote: "Jill, though these things are not depicted in the book, the views JH expresses rely on his foundational grounding in objective truth. Perhaps non believing or skeptical readers will be..."

About the Lord of the rings we must be careful we have the impression that there is not religion, but there is religion. The christianity of Tolkien it is no explicit as C.S. Lewis it is owe to he did not want to have problem with the Catholic Church for this reason he was critic with Lewis defining a Teology of everybody. However the religion is preset in the Lord of the Rings of course in the speech of Gandalf criticizing that Dentethor wants to burn as the old pagan. In the Hobbit we have the last speech of Thorin with this allusion of the Mandos`s Hall that it is more or less our Heaven. Tolkien was a big fan of Louis Bouyer. There are a lot conections with the middle age scholastic, although this thing it is morer well known by the Pofessor Kreeft, Joseph Pearce, Richard Purtill, Stratford Caldecott an other experts of the Tolkien´s figure.

T.M. wrote: "Sometimes, characters say and do things I didn't anticipate when I embarked on a story..."

Yes, this is true, I have noticed it too. And Tolkien tells a similar anecdote about The Lord of the Rings, when the hobbits were in The Prancing Pony in Bree.

T.M. wrote: " Sometimes, characters say and do things I didn't anticipate when I embarked on a story--a good sign, as they should be more than the author's sock puppets. "

Yes, I think when this happens you've succeeded in creating characters with real depth, who do things, not because you were consciously thinking about it, but because the nature of their character demands it. I think this is close to E.M. Forster's (I hope have the attribution right) distinction between round characters and flat characters being that round characters do things that surprise you. When I first read that I assumed the "you" in question was the reader, but I wonder if Forster also meant the author.