Review: Letters and Life

Author: Bret Lott

Title: Letters and Life: On Being a Writer, on Being a Christian

Description: Lott is one of the more respected Christian writers active today; this book is a collection of his essays on the Christian writer’s life.

Writing style:  In one way, he’s very down-to-earth; he teaches Sunday School and mostly goes to work every day. In another way, though, he’s different from us—not too many have been chosen by Oprah for her club. I do like the down to earth parts.

Audience: Anyone interested in Christianity and writing, or even in being a Christian thinker.

Major ideas: I’ve latched on to Lott’s idea of testimony as a framework for the writing life since the first time I heard him speak (at Calvin’s Festival of Faith andWriting several years ago). Here he elaborates on that.

Wrap-up: This is a small book, and nearly half of it is a long essay about the death of Lott’s father, which I could have done without (or at least he could have shortened it). I am sure it was necessary for him to write, but it didn’t do anything for me. The essays about the writer’s life, though, are completely worth the price of the book. 4/5*