A sacrament is an outward symbol, a visible sign of inner divine grace.  Traditionally, there are seven of these, ranging from baptism to confession to marriage.  But in Dancing After Hours, Andre Dubus supposes there are not seven sacraments, as Catholics and Orthodox assume, neither are there two sacraments as Protestants suggest, but limitless sacraments.  For the churched or unchurched, it does not matter: the church does not have a monopoly on sacraments, on grace.  It is all around us.

 

In the short story, "Out of the Snow," part of this collection, he elucidates this most clearly.  "Watching the brown sugar bubbling in the light of the flames, smelling it and the cinnamon, and listening to her family talking about snow, she told herself that this toast and oatmeal were a sacrament, the physical form that love assumed in this moment, as last night's lovemaking was, as most of her actions were."  He goes on to write, "Being a mother had taught her that sacraments were her work, and their number was infinite."

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight. It doesn't make much sense, does it?

 

The book itself makes much more, though it is a bundle of paradoxes. Alexandra Fuller -- affectionately known as "Bobo" -- grew up in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Malawi and Zambia in 1970's and '80's Africa. Her story is powerful, unsentimental, vivid. She manages to capture Africa: the smells of "black tea, cut tobacco, fresh fire, old sweat, young grass." We see the powerful rhythms of this continent - the burning sun in the afternoon, the absolute stillness in the middle of night, the slow wait for seasonal rains. If you want to know Africa and cannot travel there, this may be the next best thing.

 

 

Whenever people hear that I'm an avid reader, their next question is: What should I read?

It was interesting. While reading The Open Curtain, which tells the (fictional) story of a troubled Mormon teenager, I had two Mormons come to my door this weekend. I didn't invite them in as I have before, but I had to wonder at these freckle-faced guys just out of high school, and the brutal violence that Evenson portrays. It didn't seem to fit.