This semester I plan to briefly present a different book every month that I read over the winter break. My hope in doing this is to inspire my fellow students to read more. The book I have chosen to present for February isThe Mysterious Stranger, by Mark Twain. I found this book hard to put down once I started reading it. The book is dominated by philosophical themes in epistemology (examining the nature, scope and origin of knowledge), ethics and morality. If you want to read a book that will challenge your opinion on how we determine “right or wrong” actions, then this is for you. I found myself getting that feeling of emptiness in the pit of my stomach as I wrestled with the disturbing scenarios brought about by one of the central characters of the book, Satan.
Set in the Austrian Alps sometime in the late 16th Century, the novel follows three young friends who meet a mysterious stranger one day while in the woods. The stranger in question reveals himself to them as an angel named Satan. Satan amazes the boys with seemingly infinite magical powers and knowledge. Very quickly, the story takes a dark turn as Satan’s disconnected views of right and wrong begin to have seemingly negative affects on the people of the town the boys are from.
Now, I don’t want to give too many spoilers from the book because I truly hope that you will read it. The book is only around a hundred pages and can be had on amazon for about 7 dollars! This price point and page count makes the book accessible to almost everyone (so there is no excuse why you shouldn’t get it).
If it’s been a while since the last time you read a book, this is a great option to get back into the habit.
Read a book! Your mind and soul will thank you for it.
And talk to your friends and family about what you read. The more we share about what we are reading the likelier people are to be infected with the desire to pick up a book.
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