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bittersweet_symphony's review against another edition
4.0
Another phenomenal book from Terryl. His ability to expertly cover such a wide array of topics always impresses me. I would agree that understanding Mormonism as a tension between paradoxes is very refreshing and intellectually satisfying. He treats these paradoxes with clarity. Despite his characteristically verbose and sometimes unnecessarily elevated language, he provides an intelligent cultural history of Mormonism that is honest, thoughtful, and unafraid of presenting the difficult realities of the Mormon experience.
Whether it is read front to back, or approached as a collection of essays, his book should be read by Mormons who want to gain a deeper understanding of how and maybe why, they are perceived by the world as they are. Additionally, his articulations will provide Mormons with a clearer sense of their identity and contributions in the arts.
Beautifully connects Mormon culture with Mormon history and Mormon theology.
Whether it is read front to back, or approached as a collection of essays, his book should be read by Mormons who want to gain a deeper understanding of how and maybe why, they are perceived by the world as they are. Additionally, his articulations will provide Mormons with a clearer sense of their identity and contributions in the arts.
Beautifully connects Mormon culture with Mormon history and Mormon theology.
theconorhilton's review against another edition
4.0
I adored this book. A fascinating and thought-provoking collection of thoughts on the different ways that what Givens' terms to be Mormonism's central paradoxes manifest in a variety of different cultural expressions. Part I explores these four paradoxes in depth and is likely the most robust and, for me, provocative and foundational section. Givens' work in this opening section bears relevance to loads of other strands of Mormonism. Parts II & III look at case studies of these paradoxes playing out in different cultural realms (life of the mind, architecture, music & dance, theater & film, literature, and visual arts). Part II is from the Church's founding to 1890 and Part III covers 1890 to the present. These sections are filled with interesting tidbits and anecdotes and occasionally peppered with academic praise (notably for Richard Dutcher) along with some glorious academic shade (the architecture chapter in Part III most notably). There's definitely room for critique of the selection that Givens draws from to craft his arguments in these chapters and where he places most attention. Part III also has a largely American Mormon focus (which is understandable, but I wonder what the paradoxes manifest as outside of a US-Mormon context, though loads of contextualization would likely need to take place for that conversation to bear fruit and not divorce such works from their important contexts). I wonder what an addendum to Givens's book that takes into account some of the ideas from the recent DECOLONIZING MORMONISM collection edited by Gina Colvin and Joanna Brooks and looks at artists that have been on the rise since 2007. Lots to love here and I'd love to see others continue and complicate Givens' project here.
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