Anne Lamott - Plan B: Further Thoughts On Faith

This description didn’t come from the book I am reviewing, but I love it for multiple reasons:

“The word ‘Christian’ is a great noun, but a terrible adjective.”

Labeling something ‘Christian’ doesn’t make it good, nor does it make that thing actually Christian in nature or intent.Said the lead singer of Copeland, often called a ‘Christian Band’: “I think that's kind of a defective term. We have some people in the band that are Christian, but… we have no agenda other than art.” Conversely, declining to call something Christian doesn’t make it automatically not so. It’s a silly example of anthimeria gone awry in a world obsessed with labels.

Anne Lamott is widely regarded as a ‘Christian’ author, yet most of her anecdotes seem far closer to Buster Keaton or Peter Griffin than they do to Jesus. Take as evidence Plan B: Further Thoughts On Faith, which is a collection of short stories and personal essays which only peripherally deal with faith, and virtually never with religion. In general, they are concerned with life: love, loss, joy, anger, depression, hope, self-pity, dead pets, and awful politicians. Even when the faith aspect rears its head, it is heavily democratized: Anne will reference Hindu folk tales and Aztec stories and Muslim maxims and Zen philosophy, uncovering good ideas and truths wherever she finds them. Her personal preference is present, but it’s never overt and never didactic—in fact, you get the feeling that Anne doesn’t give a shit what you believe. She doesn’t try to convert, or convince, or preach: she openly admits that her life is kind of a mess and she is probably the last person who should be telling anyone how to live.

Of course, this is why we love her, and why we listen—like all of us, she is real and she is flawed. Anne claims no moral high-ground; she wants to take a baseball bat to the guy who, for ten minutes each morning, revs his motorcycle outside your window, too. We are attracted to this level of humane common sense, for the same reason we secretly believe that the most conscientious, level-headed, hyper-intelligent person we know should be President, even though they have no interest in politics. There’s something to be said for taking the job you’d be best at rather than the job you want.

The other thing about Anne, of course, is that she is fucking hilarious— like Peter Griffin and Buster Keaton combined— but also deeply reverent (from Bird By Bird: “I honestly think in order to be a writer, you have to learn to be reverent.” Because if you aren’t—then why are you writing?) Her stories make me laugh and then touch me so deeply that I have to put the book down and just sit quietly for a while. Of course, I don’t love or understand every story, but Plan B is witty and engaging enough to keep me from ever feeling bored. The way Anne moves around a page and injects the tiny details which really bring a story to life is something that I would give any three of my fingers (your choice!) to be able to do.

A recommended read for anyone, but especially those (like me) who normally shudder when they see the words ‘Christian’, ‘Faith’ or ‘Inspiration’ on the cover of a book. At the very least, it’s a reminder that not all ‘Christian’ authors are trying to convert you, and that some of them are really damn entertaining.