July 29,2006 - now archived at ihcarchive.wordpress.com
I realize I’m late on the scene for this book but I’m actually glad of that. I’ve been able read it with fresh eyes and an mind freed from the burden of expectations. I had not read any of Miller’s other books nor had I read any reviews of this book.
Blue Like Jazz is the kind of literature that either grabs you and sucks you in or turns you off making you shut the book and stuff it in a storage closet somewhere. It is earthy and raw, poetic and ethereal. It is gritty and pungent, liquid and spice. It feels like I’m listening to a great story-teller in a large antique rocking chair hopping and skipping as he dashes through different compartments in his memory.
Miller touches on so many experiences common to all of humanity and he is brutally honest about himself and his own shortcomings. He addresses issues of “churchianity” and brings introspective reflection to problems of dogma and ecclesiology but he does so in such a casual and matter of fact way that you barely notice what he’s doing until you’re done.
I’ve heard twittering around the postmodern community that people don’t like this book, that some feel it’s irreverent or theologically inaccurate. I felt that it was humbly reverent and I think if Miller had intended to write a theological book, he probably would have done so. But this isn’t a theological book, and for that I’m glad. I plan to circulate this book in my circle of friends I have who are not Christians, I think they would find it as refreshing and thought provoking as I did.