Called Out of Darkness
Published: 2008
Author: Anne Rice
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Catholicism, Christianity, Fiction, Inspirational, Metaphysical, Personal Growth, Religious, Self Help, Visionary, Women’s
Check the summary of this book here:
Called Out of Darkness Summary
The Review:
In Called Out of Darkness, Anne Rice walks us through her life, from her childhood in an intellectual New Orleans family where she developed a deep love of her beautiful Catholic Church, to moving to Texas and California, where she and her new poet husband rejected all religion and lived on the outskirts of the San Francisco hippy movement, to her surprisingly hugely successful career writing books about witches and vampires (I read all of these, she sold 100 million of them). Finally, she brilliantly portrays her sorrowful return to the Jesus she still loved but couldn't believe in, as well as to the Church of her upbringing.
"Honesty" is the term that comes to me when I think of the book. Her concluding articulation of what it means to fully follow Jesus and how tough it is to just love rather than obey man-made laws moved me deeply. I enjoy reading biographies and would give this one a thousand points if I could.
I'm at a loss for words to explain how much I like and respect the transparency and honesty shown here. I know a lot of individuals who are becoming more informed and open-minded about Church politics and just loving Christ who have had some of the same experiences here.
In the middle of all this turmoil, they walk out of the Church doors, and in doing so, they walk out on Christ. In a gloomy and seemingly hopeless catacomb, Anne Rice is a bright lamp.
She expresses her pain as well as her blessings, and most importantly, she teaches the Love of Christ, emphasizing the need of loving, forgiving, and not judging people, including our family, friends, neighbors, and even adversaries.
She demonstrates how to be guided out of the shadows. I am eternally grateful to Anne Rice for her beautiful stories, and I must thank her once more for this wonderful work.
This is the book for anybody who has ever wondered what happened to Anne Rice and why she quit writing vampire novels around the time this book was published. It's not a tough book to read, yet it's quite intimate.
This novel reads quite amateurishly. However, it is simply the author's thoughts flowing directly into the pages, which gives it a stronger feeling of its own unique personality.
You have the impression that a friend has just informed you that she has regained her religion. It's not flowery or overly ornamented, and it's quite down to earth. I also appreciate seeing individuals tie their faith to their daily life, so I found that to be interesting to read.
Even if you've never read Anne Rice's works, you can tell she was a superb writer based on the popularity and reviews of her books. Because of the darkness and vampire subject matter, I read any and all of her work because I enjoy reading these kinds of books when they are written well and by an author like her.
I came upon her more recent works about the life of Christ and warily read her article at the conclusion of Christ the Lord out of Egypt about how she studies for her books.
I felt good reading what she had to say about Christ's life since it was so eloquently written. As soon as I finished the first book, I went on to read the sequel Christ the Lord the Road to Cana, and then I came upon her Called Out of Darkness A Spiritual Confession.
Incredible! A truly remarkable account of a remarkable spiritual journey, and as a non-Catholic, it answered many of my questions about the Catholic Church simply because I want to learn more about all of the major religions because I believe they are all essentially one religion with many branches or versions of the same story.
Each of these three books has had a spiritual impact on me, and I frequently suggest them. Anne Rice is one of my top ten authors, and she may be the finest. Her writing is engrossing, enthralling, graphic, thought-provoking, and not at all monotonous!
Careful readers, it appears to me, strive to comprehend the metaphors at work in her novels and delve deeper into the volume's content. There's no need to hunt for metaphors in this totally unusual reading experience since she talks so honestly and invitingly.
It's practically irrelevant if one can relate with her individual experience or revelation about God within the context of the Catholic experience. In these days of high tension, numerous wars, political correctness, random killings, broken marriages, and so on, it is both invigorating and challenging to read about another's search for the deepest meanings in a happy existence.
It all starts with her background in New Orleans, where she grew up in a neighborhood where everyone she knew or encountered was a devout Catholic.
Author was so committed to religion that she determined as a child that she wanted to be a Catholic priest. She went to Catholic schools, went to church several times a week, and was so eager to devote her life to the Church that she would not even consider becoming a nun and was shocked to learn that becoming a Catholic priest would be impossible.
Called Out of Darkness is a remarkable memoir in which the author shares intimate details about her upbringing, including the tragedy of her alcoholic mother, her enormous difficulties in learning to read effectively, her marriage, the deaths of her young daughter and husband, and her deep love for the city of New Orleans and its architecture.
Anne Rice has had a fascinating existence, one that most of her long-time followers have only had a passing knowledge of.
This biography shows how she went from writing novels about vampires and witches to creating fiction committed to portraying the story of Christianity, a change that surprised her readers (Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana and Angel Time: The Song of the Seraphim, Book 1).
Fans of Anne Rice's novels will like her memoir, but her narrative is so unique that even those who haven't read her books will be intrigued by what she has to say.
Final Thoughts:
This is a fantastic book about a fantastic author who shocked the world when she returned to her Christian faith, then shocked the world again in July 2010 when she said she couldn't stay in a group of people who were disputatious, homophobic, and believed they were the only ones going to heaven while secretly relishing the thought that everyone else was going to hell. Although she still believes in Jesus, she refuses to call herself a "Christian!"
I'm always happy to state that I've read all of Anne Rice's books. This is just because she's so incredibly talented, and I'm drawn to the realm of myth and vampires.
I chose to read this because I wanted to read a book by someone who has gone through multiple pathways of religion, someone who has wandered but not lost, and most importantly she is Anne Rice, who writes amazing books.
This was a fantastic book to read. I would suggest it to everyone, whether they are a protestant, a Catholic, an agnostic, or an atheist.
Synopsis:
“Anne Rice’s first work of nonfiction—a powerful and haunting memoir that explores her continuing spiritual transformation
Anne Rice was raised in New Orleans as the devout child in a deeply religious Irish Catholic family. Here, she describes how, as she grew up, she lost her belief in God, but not her desire for a meaningful life. She used her novels—beginning with Interview with a Vampire—to wrestle with otherworldly themes while in her own life, she experienced both loss (the death of her daughter and, later, her beloved husband, Stan Rice) and joys (the birth of her son, Christopher). And she writes about how, finally, after years of questioning, she experienced the intense conversion and re-embracing of her faith that lie behind her most recent novels about the life of Christ.”
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Rating: 85/100
Recommended: 90/100 Yes.
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Interview with the Vampire (1994) (R)
Queen of the Damned (2002) (R)
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