The Wanderings of a Theological Vagabond

Book Review: Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl by N.D. Wilson

Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl: Wide Eyed Wonder in God’s Spoken World by N.D. Wilson is an nontraditional, yet still fabulous read.  The premise of the book is, essentially, Wilson’s meandering through topics such as life and death, the existence of God, the existence of evil, and a weird fascination with Friedrich Nietzsche.

Wilson has gone to great lengths to make the book appear random and disorganized.  However, this is one of the book’s greatest strengths rather than its weakness.  Wilson’s voice is incredibly unique.  He has managed to develop a writing style based around the way the human mind works.  Wilson intentionally walks in disconnected circles and yet somehow arriving at the desired destination.

Here is a brief example of Wilson’s style:

“…In God’s absence, rape is no longer fundamentally evil.  In our country, you’ll get confined to a cell (if caught and convicted), but that just means we enforce our taste, not that our taste has any real authority over anyone else.  In other societies, girls have been passed around and traded like baseball cards.  Is that wrong?  Neither.  You like exploitation; I like apple pie.  The two exist on the same plane.  There’s no such thing as moral and immoral.  In this country, we eat gyros.  In this one, we eat pizza.  And we’ll give you a ticket for jaywalking.

Stunning.  Such wisdom is like a kiss on the lips.

To quote one contemporary prophet: “You and me, baby, ain’t nothing but mammals, so let’s do it like they do on the Discovery Channel.”

I’ve watched the Discovery Channel.  I’ve enjoyed the Discovery Channel.  But in that world, if I want to reproduce with you (or to tear you limb from limb), I just need to be bigger and stronger than you are.  You look pretty small and a little sickly.  Shall I feed you to my young?  Why not?  Cannibalism might not be condoned in your culture, but it has a long and storied tradition in mine.  Are you saying your culture is superior, that it is somehow right while mine is wrong?  You’re being a racist, but luckily you’re still small, and even racists taste good in casserole” (72- 73).

Bear with me for just one more quote, discussing the nature of God:

“After the fourth time Roy Sullivan was struck by lightning, he allegedly told a reporter that a higher power was trying to kill him.

That’s ridiculous.  A higher power was not trying to kill him.  That would have been easy.  Every last one of us is bagged in the end.  The more impressive trick is striking someone with lightning seven times and keeping them alive” (86).

Be assured, however, Notes from the Tilt-a Whirl is anything but random thoughts without a message.  As the key motif throughout the book, Wilson uses seasons to frame his semi-biographical discussions.  Closer one looks at this book, the more the structures and intentionality pop out at them.  Few authors can distill Ancient and Modern Philosophy to a basic core that anyone can grasp- let alone doing it with humor and ease.

Lastly, this book intentionally avoids the didactic method that permeates much of the Christian literature published in the last 50 years.  If you want someone to argue for a specific way of thinking or specific set of values, this book is not for you.  Instead, Wilson’s faith and argumentation are more subversive.  Rather than provide the reader with plain answers, Wilson guides the reader through asking rich and thoughtful questions, encouraging the reader to make decisions for herself or himself.

If you’re a fan of Donald Miller, philosophy, or just fun reads by an author with a deep faith, I highly recommend picking up a copy of this book!

-Earl

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