Book reviews - Reading of Redemption

Portafino - Frank Schaeffer

This is a fascinating book and one that I’d recommend to all of us who are wrestling with the things we have to learn and erase from our evangelical sub culture. This is a book about growing up in the bowels of an evangelical and hating it for the most part. The cover quotes from the book itself “Most teenagers try so hard to be different. I tried to be the same.” Based on their holidays in Portafino year after year our sad young man detests the fact that their super spiritual dad says lengthy prayers at mealtimes in front of the girl he fancies and how he tries to preach to her parents on the beach. And father’s spiritual fruit is not so abundant when it comes to his temper or treatment of mother and children.

Of course the big controversy was about whether or not this was the a biographical book about Frank’s real life dad the evangelical thinkers hero Francis Schaeffer. It would be a sad indictment if it was. I am not so sure I certainly believe it to be about the culture his dad lived and ministered in but maybe I have more faith that what the great Schaeffer said about truth and love being inseparable is such a zillion light years from the hypocrite villain of this enjoyably funny and perceptive book that I just cannot believe it. I was so enthralled by the book and indeed it’s wise observations of a culture that move in that I investigated the Orthodox Church web page that Schaeffer is in charge of. Frank jnr became Orthodox some time ago. I have to say that his writings there were a little Sixth Form and arrogantly prejudiced which put me off the follow up Saving Grandmother and put a new slant on his agenda in Portafino. So read the book. You will laugh your heart out and scratch your soul. Do with the book what you conclude you need to do with evangelical culture - work out what to heed and what you need to do away with.

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