Book review: Through Painted Deserts This month's issue of Next Wave includes my review of Don Miller's latest book, Through Painted Deserts, which is actually a reworking of his first book. Here's what I wrote:
As literary archetypes go, the quest is pretty familiar terrain. Whether it involves a tale of adventure, a journey of self-discovery or some combination of the two, readers have come to know this road all too well. So when I picked up Donald Miller’s latest book, Through Painted Deserts, and read the subtitle – Light, God and Beauty on the Open Road – I thought to myself, Oh, another road trip book.
What insights could Donald Miller offer that Odysseus, Twain, Steinbeck, Kerouac and many others have not? Not much, it turns out. But I don’t offer that as criticism. One reason why the quest is an archetype tale is because of its universal appeal. We’ve all taken our journeys, and we innately understand how movement through time and space changes us. The road trip story works. More...