This is the actual book, written in 1949, which inspired the script of the movie the Sound of Music. It is Maria and her family's autobiography, covering some early details of the Captain and Maria's separate lives and the history of the family from Maria's position as teacher to the young Maria all the way through the late 1940s. After reading the World of the Trapp Family (reviewed below), I finally picked up this book which I had started to read years earlier, but never finished.

I found this a really delightful and engaging book. Maria, who in not a professional writer and is writing in her second language, comes across with a style that is a little unusual, but very charming and personable. In many little details, the movie is surprisingly faithful to the book, but in other ways, it actually understates rather than exaggerates some of the amazing aspects of the story. This book also goes well beyond the scope of the movie, even when looked at chronologically. There are many reasons to recommend the book, but my favorite aspect of the book is how Maria comments and reflects (in a very Catholic way, may I add) upon the events surrounding her and her family – the providence of God in many parts of their lives, the importance of music in culture, her thoughts on the discipline of children, some of the terrible events and persons of Europe during World War II, and on and on. Although I was reading the book to myself (and there are many reflections of interest to Catholic mothers), there were many, many little fascinating and humorous stories within the story that I had to share with my husband and children.

A personal review

You should read this only if you have seen the film already. It came out recently on DVD.

The film has been praised by many and it undoubtedly has some great points, and perhaps they make the film worth watching just for themselves:

• the wonderful photography of the holy images of the Camino de Compostela, including the statuary along the way and the gorgeous basilica's interiors and Mass.
• a strong, beautifully executed pro-life message, through the character of the one woman in the group of friends who talks about how her abortion early in life has marked her life
• the character of the French gendarme, my favorite character in the film, a man of deep faith, full of understanding, respect, and kindness towards the newcomer, suffering American

Alas, I found also a number of problems in the film. Starting with the blatant—I have heard and read several references to this, as in this blog—I refer to the casual, not-recommended treatment Martin Sheen demonstrates with his son's ashes. It is not difficult to find the Church's position on this, for instance here. So no, taking his son's ashes in a Ziploc bag inside a box in your backpack and scattering them along the way is definitely not recommended.

Then there is the issue of the characters Martin Sheen befriends along the way. From what I've read, there are indeed representative of the people on the Camino, if all a bit flat and stereotypical: a Canadian woman hurting inside from past problems, a Dutch man attempting to lose weight, an Irishman undergoing writer's block. Well, for one thing, yes, after walking 800 miles the Dutch man would have lost some of his stomach for sure, but in the film he does not. The Canadian woman swears the whole way she will give up smoking when she gets to "the feet of saint James", but the viewer already knows she will not quit. The Irishman does conquer his writer's block as he begin writing about Martin Sheen's personal journey, but of all of the characters he is the most forced one. His entry into the story is sort of a theatrical caricature. Let's say if you or I met someone acting like that we would keep walking.

Another problem is the very premise of the film: "You don't choose a life, you live it". Good grief, and what exactly does that mean? I beg to disagree. We absolutely make choices for our life, the question is not if we choose it or not, but what choices we do make, and how. A no-brainer here.

But what about Martin Sheen? What about his character, a wealthy, California doctor who had just  lived a very routine life so far? We are to believe that he is transformed, that his impulsive desire to take his son's ashes and scatter them through the Camino, accomplishing for him what his death death made impossible, is a personal journey of discovery. Discovery of what exactly? The film seems to hint that he discovers himself and therefore God, or at least Love: he gets over, if reluctantly, his closeness and anger, he begins caring for his newfound friends, and he evens hints to a priest along the way that his gift of a Rosary has "come in handy" (although that is not shown), and finally he is seen praying at the basilica, kneeling.

Finally, what crowned my concerns about the film is the very end. The final, five-second scene. After trekking with this man for almost 900 km we are to believe he has undergone this transformation. He now is a human being who has let go of his hangups, who has found God or at least Love. What would I like to see him doing? I know exactly what I would like to see him doing: I would like to see him going back to his responsible life of a caring doctor (which he was shown to be in the beginning of the film), taking now with him this newfound dimension of Love of Neighbor. So instead of wasting hours playing golf with his obnoxious friends, I would like to see him choosing instead to volunteer at the Soup Kitchen, caring for people in his life in a personal way, praying and being active in church, or doing similar works of charity. That is our calling, and a hard one, to do God's work where our life happens to be. So I'd like to him taking and applying to his daily life what he gained from the journey in the Camino. Instead, he is shown walking aimlessly, hippie-like, alone, through the streets of Morocco. Uh? How is that the life of someone who found true Love?

So this is my take. I have thought enough about the film after watching it at our neighbors' twice over this past weekend and just had to write this. I will post this on Amazon and Love2Learn.

With a gripping story and a spellbinding narrator, The Winged Watchman audiobook is a winner. Set during the dark days of the Nazi occupation of Holland during WWII, Joris, 10-years-old, and his older brother Dirk Jan are the main characters in this story. From the opening chapter in the book, when Joris saves a young puppy from being beaten, they struggle–alone or together–to do what is right in a world that seems to be falling apart.

Throughout the book in fact, they, as well as their parents, are faced with choices, choices that involve risks, even death. Should they help the young girl left lying on the side of the road, the airman hiding in the mill, the man escaping from deportation? The risks they face are very real as they soon find out when their neighbor and his son, the same age as Joris, are taken away after British airmen are found hiding in his barn. As Joris stares at his classmate's empty desk in school, he is reminded all too vividly that his neighbor could be him.

Who is it that could have done such a wicked thing as to reveal the airmen's presence? It could be none other that Leendert Schenderhans, another neighbor boy, only not just a "boy" but a young man of eighteen, who had become a landwatcher, a Dutchman who enforces the laws of the Nazi occupation.

He too plays a critical part in the story. Joris has to only observe how he acts to realize that he does not want to be like him, cruel, selfish, lazy, and greedy. The reader doesn't have to be told he is mean, through his actions, we become all too keenly aware of his lack of virtue. More than just a nasty person, he is a person to be feared, because of his power.

Not just another story about WWII, this is a story every child should read or hear, because it not only offers children a very real view of history, but it also explores timeless issues they have to deal with every day, even today. How can I forgive my enemy?

This is a theme that is repeated throughout the story. Especially memorable is the scene when Joris comments that he thought he would get holes in his knees from praying for so many people. The story goes on to say, "At first she [mother] would not pray for the Germans, though Father said that was wrong. 'We have to pray for our enemies,' he said. 'What sort of Christian are you?' So then Mother prayed for the Germans too."

You won't be disappointed! This is a story to treasure, made especially enjoyable by a wonderful narrator, who makes this an absolute listening pleasure.

This is an interesting and unique short chapter book telling the story of Mother Teresa of Calcutta – a great lady who changed the world by following God's will and being a true messenger of peace and love. Similar to Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa's childhood was filled with both joy and tragedy. Her early inclinations to be a missionary led her to teach at a wealthy girls school in India. One day she realized that she was called, not to teach the wealthy children, but go out and help and teach the poor, sick and homeless out on the streets of Calcutta. Also included are a timeline of her life, quotes from Mother Teresa, a list of awards she's received, a "Further Reading" list and an index.