Rating: 
Summary: How does it all fit together?
Review: "How does it (life) all fit together?" seems to be the theme of "Our Lady of the Lost and Found." Yet Schoemperlen doesn't seem to be able to put it all together. In part, this idea is the point of her book--she intends for readers to think about the ambiguity of life and to become more comfortable with the postmodern concept best summed up as "both, and." Nonetheless, this idea is not particularly well done in this book, as Schoemperlen vacillates between a fictional story of a Mary visitation, a recounting of Marian visions throughout history, and a sort of didactic meandering through weighty thoughts on life. The author mostly ends up dwelling on this latter point, one which we all consider for ourselves--and I didn't pick up the book looking for some stranger's thoughts on the meaning of life/faith/prayer/time/fiction/truth, etc. My other "least favorite" about this book is the attempt to link quantum physics and religion. It's not well done, and in my opinion, the author should have left this business to scientists and clergy. As she states in the endnotes, she is neither scientist nor Catholic, and I feel these points should have led her to realize that writing about this topic was futile in her case. That said, there are two redeeming points of this book. First, Schoemperlen's semi-historical accounts of Marian visions are fascinating. Second, she makes the very important point that God is not waiting for any of us to do away with our doubt before searching for Him. Similarly, she notes that one cannot read, write, or think one's way to faith. "Our Lady of the Lost and Found" is an interesting, but dispensible, read for those interested in Christian history.
Rating: 
Summary: Simple, Moving, Understated
Review: "Will you be able to resist the temptation to go and write a book about [my visit] afterwards? You must promise me that you will use a pseudonym and you will call it a novel. When that book comes out, I want to see in big letters that disclaimer on the copyright page: This is a work of fiction. If you break this promise, divine wrath will be the least of your problems. Divine wrath will not even be necessary. If people find out that I have been here, that I have talked to you, eaten with you, and slept in your house, they will descend upon you in droves. They will make a plague of locusts look like a minor inconvenience." If Our Lady of the Lost and Found were adapted for film -- and it should be -- the soundtrack might start with OutKast, continue with Bach's Goldberg Variations and end with Erik Satie. This is a touching postmodern ("a word which nobody really knows what it means") story of a perfectly happy solitary writer's perfectly natural perfect houseguest: Our tired Blessed Virgin Mary in need of a quiet vacation and quiet human friendship. It is meditative homage to the nonCatholic, neoagnostic author's new unexpected lifelong friend Mary, an elegy to quiet friendship between complex women who have learned to savor the exquisite pleasures of everyday life with clear understated Zen humor and irony. It is both an eclectic global education in Mariology and the tender, moving "novel of Mary, faith and friendship" Diane Schoemperlen found herself setting aside another book to write. "Pour yourself a cold glass of water on a hot summer day and remember that the vessel was made by fire, Heraclitus' symbol of change. Think about transparent glass taking on the color of whatever is poured into it: green Kool-Aid, brown tea, red blood. Think about the glass being half empty and half full." Definitely not for everyone, but highly recommended for those who, like Diane Schoemperlen, find themselves "ready." Those who are will savor a gifted author's understated comic ironic and delicate emotional timing.
Rating:
Summary: Simple, Moving, Understated
Review: "Will you be able to resist the temptation to go and write a book about [my visit] afterwards? You must promise me that you will use a pseudonym and you will call it a novel. When that book comes out, I want to see in big letters that disclaimer on the copyright page: This is a work of fiction. If you break this promise, divine wrath will be the least of your problems. Divine wrath will not even be necessary. If people find out that I have been here, that I have talked to you, eaten with you, and slept in your house, they will descend upon you in droves. They will make a plague of locusts look like a minor inconvenience." If Our Lady of the Lost and Found were adapted for film -- and it should be -- the soundtrack might start with OutKast, continue with Bach's Goldberg Variations and end with Erik Satie. This is a touching postmodern ("a word which nobody really knows what it means") story of a perfectly happy solitary writer's perfectly natural perfect houseguest: Our tired Blessed Virgin Mary in need of a quiet vacation and quiet human friendship. It is meditative homage to the nonCatholic, neoagnostic author's new unexpected lifelong friend Mary, an elegy to quiet friendship between complex women who have learned to savor the exquisite pleasures of everyday life with clear understated Zen humor and irony. It is both an eclectic global education in Mariology and the tender, moving "novel of Mary, faith and friendship" Diane Schoemperlen found herself setting aside another book to write. "Pour yourself a cold glass of water on a hot summer day and remember that the vessel was made by fire, Heraclitus' symbol of change. Think about transparent glass taking on the color of whatever is poured into it: green Kool-Aid, brown tea, red blood. Think about the glass being half empty and half full." Definitely not for everyone, but highly recommended for those who, like Diane Schoemperlen, find themselves "ready." Those who are will savor a gifted author's understated comic ironic and delicate emotional timing.
Rating:
Summary: How does it all fit together?
Review: "How does it (life) all fit together?" seems to be the theme of "Our Lady of the Lost and Found." Yet Schoemperlen doesn't seem to be able to put it all together. In part, this idea is the point of her book--she intends for readers to think about the ambiguity of life and to become more comfortable with the postmodern concept best summed up as "both, and." Nonetheless, this idea is not particularly well done in this book, as Schoemperlen vacillates between a fictional story of a Mary visitation, a recounting of Marian visions throughout history, and a sort of didactic meandering through weighty thoughts on life. The author mostly ends up dwelling on this latter point, one which we all consider for ourselves--and I didn't pick up the book looking for some stranger's thoughts on the meaning of life/faith/prayer/time/fiction/truth, etc. My other "least favorite" about this book is the attempt to link quantum physics and religion. It's not well done, and in my opinion, the author should have left this business to scientists and clergy. As she states in the endnotes, she is neither scientist nor Catholic, and I feel these points should have led her to realize that writing about this topic was futile in her case. That said, there are two redeeming points of this book. First, Schoemperlen's semi-historical accounts of Marian visions are fascinating. Second, she makes the very important point that God is not waiting for any of us to do away with our doubt before searching for Him. Similarly, she notes that one cannot read, write, or think one's way to faith. "Our Lady of the Lost and Found" is an interesting, but dispensible, read for those interested in Christian history.
Rating:
Summary: How does it all fit together?
Review: "How does it (life) all fit together?" seems to be the theme of "Our Lady of the Lost and Found." Yet Schoemperlen doesn't seem to be able to put it all together. In part, this idea is the point of her book--she intends for readers to think about the ambiguity of life and to become more comfortable with the postmodern concept best summed up as "both, and." Nonetheless, this idea is not particularly well done in this book, as Schoemperlen vacillates between a fictional story of a Mary visitation, a recounting of Marian visions throughout history, and a sort of didactic meandering through weighty thoughts on life. The author mostly ends up dwelling on this latter point, one which we all consider for ourselves--and I didn't pick up the book looking for some stranger's thoughts on the meaning of life/faith/prayer/time/fiction/truth, etc. My other "least favorite" about this book is the attempt to link quantum physics and religion. It's not well done, and in my opinion, the author should have left this business to scientists and clergy. As she states in the endnotes, she is neither scientist nor Catholic, and I feel these points should have led her to realize that writing about this topic was futile in her case. That said, there are two redeeming points of this book. First, Schoemperlen's semi-historical accounts of Marian visions are fascinating. Second, she makes the very important point that God is not waiting for any of us to do away with our doubt before searching for Him. Similarly, she notes that one cannot read, write, or think one's way to faith. "Our Lady of the Lost and Found" is an interesting, but dispensible, read for those interested in Christian history.
Rating: 
Summary: All in all, Why?
Review: A novel, it strongly, ambiguously, affirms before the beginning of the text, of a visit of Mary the mother of Jesus, Theotokos, the BVM in fact, to a Canadian writer. The visit, a week in duration, causes the writer to research Mary ~ after her departure, to be sure ~ and a number of her appearances through the ages and world. She gives the stories of many of these ~ maybe a dozen or more ~ scattered through the text; she passes no judgement on the veracity of the observers, nor on the sanity of the believers, though she does allow the sincerity of both, but leaves her reader free to do so. As a good Baptist, i am compelled (by my own blinders, perhaps, but also in all sincerity) to assume either ill-faith on the part of the visionaries or some form of mental/emotional instability, and a willingness to be duped for the followers. Still, it is very easy to see why Mary has been so attractive to the devout through the millennia: She is not (quite) divine, so you're not actually dealing with God; she is Jesus' mother, so she's got an in, as does anyone in her favour; she is unique (no other virginal conceptions), so confers some uniqueness on those to whom she appears; she is powerful, so appeals to the powerless; she is the direct descendent of Aphrodite, Astarte, Venus, Minerva, the Earth Goddess, so is almost universally appealing. In a way, it's almost surprising that this novel hasn't been written previously. Maybe it was, just not as well, or by an already known writer. For this is well written, for all that i dislike the subject matter; the protagonist is quite real and understandable, for the most part, as is her version of Mary. The plot, such as it is, is easy, simple, and quick ~ much as a week of life can be. The problem that i find with the book is, What is it's point, purpose? As an entertainment, it is unsatisfying. As a documentary, it is incomplete. As a record of Marian visitations, it is uncritical. Why is it here?
Rating:
Summary: The Virgin Rocks!
Review: Baptized Catholic, raised Lutheran, I left the church behind in my late teens and have considered myself agnostic since early college. Strangely enough though, I've been drawn to the image and idea of the Virgin Mary for as long as I remember. From my mousepad to keychains to the art I create, she's been "appearing" in my life for a long time now. Perhaps it's a feminist attraction for me, rather than religious, her being Jesus' mother, a commanding presence, even if only in the spiritual world, I don't know. But I do know that I've always tended to view people who see the Virgin's image in inanimate objects as being less than brilliant, as silly religious zealots. Like the narrator, I felt superior to these people, all the while wholeheartedly believing in ghosts, spirits and other supernatural subjects. Why can't I believe that Mary has really appeared? This book has made me look at that, to question why one is more valid to me than the other. Once I was finished reading this book I felt alone and sad, and found myself wishing Mary would visit me, too... I was drawn in by the title, and the storyline was irresistable. I read this book any moment I could, so enthralled by the way the author interwove history, science and religious fervor, interspersing it with a modern-day first-person "account" of a Marian visitation. The subtle humor throughout kept the story moving along, though I did weep from time to time while reading. This book was so simple and moving, I felt as if the narrator's experience could be true. And Mary, well, she seemed like a long lost friend, someone anyone would be pleased to have as a guest.
Rating: 
Summary: "This is a work of fiction"
Review: Even though the author puts the above disclaimer at the beginning of this book, it's so well-written that, as you go along, you actually begin to wonder if it's not thinly disguised fact. That's the hallmark of excellent writing: when you want to believe that what the author tells you is true! The book itself is just a short love letter to Mary, the Queen of Heaven, etc., who decides to take a few days for R&R at the author's home. This "plot" just sets the stage for the author's musing about Marian apparitions throughout history, and assorted other topics. My favortie chapter in this book is the one entitled "Time", which is definitely high on my list of all-time favorite book chapters (right below "The Piper At The Gates of Dawn" from "The Wind In The Willows"). There's really little or no plot or character development in this work, but that didn't appear to be the author's intention. Instead, she has given us a beautiful work on Mary, her influence on history, and a lot of discussion of other important topics, in a prose style that is captivating at its best. You leave this book inspired to somehow strive to be better than you are, and to look at the world around you in a different, more meaningful, way.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost turned me into an atheist
Review: I enjoyed this book and will be passing it on to a few friends. I am not particularly religious, however,I do believe in miracles and the power of faith. I found the "religious history" sections to be interesting and insightful. I was never quite sure where the story would lead - so it held my interest until the very end. My only wish is that there had been more interaction with the narrator/main character and the Virgin Mary - possibly with some "answers" to the mystery of God.
Rating:
Summary: Held my interest...mostly
Review: I enjoyed this book and will be passing it on to a few friends. I am not particularly religious, however,I do believe in miracles and the power of faith. I found the "religious history" sections to be interesting and insightful. I was never quite sure where the story would lead - so it held my interest until the very end. My only wish is that there had been more interaction with the narrator/main character and the Virgin Mary - possibly with some "answers" to the mystery of God.
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