FynnReviews

This is a book about God, and maths. Fynn, the author, is a teenage boy who meets a four year old runaway girl, and takes her home. She lives with him until she dies in a terrible accident a few years later, before she is eight. She is a strange, insightful, curious child, and the book is Fynn's story about their time together.

I was surprised how much I cared if the story was true or not. It felt important to my interpretation of the book whether there had been a real person who had lived this strange life and been so cruelly bereaved, or whether the book was made up out of saccharine whole cloth and Anna was just an invention to tug at our heartstrings. From what little internet research I can do, the author really did grow up in the East End, and did claim the story was true. Should it matter if it is Deep Truths anyway?

It is definitely a book that feels from very long ago. Taking home a runaway child as though they were a kitten, with no-one else particularly intervening or caring! Wandering the streets of the East End in the middle of the night with the other drifters... It leaves you with a feeling we tidy up the world and make it better and safer, but take away some of the spaces for great goodness as we remove the risk of great evil. Then again, maybe a home that lets a 7 year old fall on a spiked fence when going after a kitten isn't the sort of home we should place vulnerable kids in!

I’ve been wanting to read this story for years, but never got around to it. When I realized it fit a reading challenge I was doing recently, I decided it was high time to pick it up. This is a short story, but it is FULL of vivacious, joy-filled, lived-to-the-hilt life. It was beautiful to experience, and when I finished the book, it felt like the end came too soon—but that, too, is life. Anna is the kind of person you never forget, and I can understand why Fynn felt like it was high time to put her story to paper. The world is richer for having had Anna in it—even if her story isn’t so well-known anymore.

I didn’t agree with all the conclusions Anna came to, as the book went on, but overall, her thoughts, observations, and approach to philosophy were intriguing and well-described. Reading this book is like taking a step back in time. It’s beautiful, poetic, gripping, well done, and memorable.

I’ll finish this review with one of my favorite quotes. It made me laugh out loud, and my family had to listen to me read it out. It doesn’t have anything directly to do with Anna, but I loved the general concept:

“Mum, being the daughter of an Irish farmer, was given to making stews. A large black iron pot and an equally large black iron kettle were the two most used utensils in the kitchen. Often the only way one could distinguish the stew from the brew was that tea always came in large cups and stew was put on plates. Here the difference ended, for the brew often had as much solid matter in it as did the stew.”½

This is the story of Anna's short life and the liberating effect she had on her friend Fynn, The books are also available in this library.

Her Story will move you, touch your heart and show you the world as you've never seen it before ...

Her Story will move you, touch your heart and show you the world as you've never seen it before ...

Rated: D
Heartwarming story about a little orphan girl's theology and how it influences the thoughts and actions of adults in her world. Some good theology and some bad theology. The idea that there is One God is good. The idea that He has many names is true if we are talking about the same God. The idea that the name of God in one religion is the same God called by a different name in a different religion is bad. The character and conduct of the God of the Old & New Testaments is remarkably different than the gods of other religions and vis-versa. It is a wonderfully nice philosophy to believe nice things about the beliefs of other like we are basically all the same -- but we are not universal believers in the same theology. That day will come upon Christ’s return.

Pretty epic. I loved some of the statements that this little girl makes about God! They were thought-provoking and fun. Definitely cuts across the edge for some evangelicals or fundamentalists, which I am, but I tried to chew the meat and spit out the bones.

It was a little wordy but my wife and I enjoyed it.

Had many favorite quotes, e.g. "God is in my middle and I am in God's middle." Hehe.

If you are not enjoying it at first, try and push past the British language. It's a fun read.

Der 19-jahrige Fynn liest die vierjährige Anna in den 1930er-Jahren in den Londonder Docks auf. Sie ist von zu Hause ausgerissen, weil sie vermutlich von jemandem geschlagen wurde. Fynn nimmt Anna bei sich auf, und über die nächsten dreieinhalb Jahre - bis zu Annas Unfalltod - entsteht eine tiefe Freundschaft.

In dieser Zeit erforschen und erfahren die beiden mehr als viele Menschen im ganzen Leben. Denn Anna nimmt nichts hin, bloß weil es so ist, wie es ist. Anna weiß, was das wirklich ist: Gott und die Welt, Menschen und Liebe, Lachen, Angst, Freude und Trauer. Anna entlarvt vieles, was die großen Leute so reden, als Gewäsch. Anna hat den Röntgenblick für falsche Gefühle. Anna bohrt bis auf jeden Grund. Anna liebt einfach alles. Und alle lieben Anna.

Wow, what an interesting and intelligent child Anna is! She is found by Fynn one night in London and his family accepts her as one of their own. She has been beaten so now poor Anna is safe. Fynn finds that this amazing child loves the Lord, Mister God, with a pure love. This book actually gets a little deep and philosophical for me. But what an amazing child, whose life is unfortunately cut short.

A cross between old London and Jostein (Sophie's World) Gaarder, this book is all about exploring the world with a fresh mind again. Cups of tea, infinite mirrors, and a healthy mistrust of authority all rolled into one. Great read.

I'm a fervent atheist, raised agnostic, and yet I loved this fable when I was a child and still appreciate it now. Anna's Mister God is not Christian, is not a patriarch or even a person, but is an expression of Anna's spirit. And she's an amazing little girl. She might not be real, but the author is, and his story is interesting & relevant. http://www.finchden.com/sgh/index.htm

This little book reminds of [b:The Little Prince|157993|The Little Prince|Antoine de Saint-Exupéry|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1367545443s/157993.jpg|2180358], [b:Sir Gibbie|541924|Sir Gibbie|George MacDonald|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1175644467s/541924.jpg|19040699], and even [b:The Secret Garden|2998|The Secret Garden|Frances Hodgson Burnett|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327873635s/2998.jpg|3186437]. In many ways it's better than any of them because Anna's philosophy is so creative, so radical - and works well, I'm confident, for those readers conflicted between science and religion. It's also a lovely story about a friendship between a compassionate and sharp young man and a funny and adorable little girl.

Read this many many years ago ... I remember enjoying it, but don't remember details at all ... wonder if it'd still appeal to me today ... I know I'm a different person today that when I first read it ... maybe worth a re-read to find out!

O livro mais doce que já li.

This book about the life and beliefs of an eight year old girl is a remarkable treasure. Anna will lead you through different aspects of her life and show you the world through a child's eyes. She will show you the beauty of this World in simple yet astounding ways. Be prepared to pause in wonder!

An incredibly moving account of the life of a young girl. Challenges you to think about your relationship with God. Brought tears to my eyes reading it. Illustrations complement the text. Compulsive reading.

Fynn findet die fünjährige Anna die vor ihren Eltern geflüchtet ist, weil diese sie misshandelt haben. Sie spricht mit Mister Gott. In die Kirche geht sie nicht, hat sie nicht nötig denn "ich weiss, dass ich Mister Gott lieb hab und Leute und Katzen und Hunde und Spinnen und Blumen und Bäume ... und überhaupt lles; ich ganz allein mit meiner ganzen Figur." Drei Jahre lang bringt sie Sonnenschein in Fynns Leben.

Fynn comes from east London and is in his late teens when he meets Anna, a small girl, one evening. He takes her home to his mother, where she is taken in and quickly becomes a fixture in the household. This story is the tale of her time with the family, and her ‘insights’ into God and the universe.

I’d read great reviews of this one, but I found it quite dull, frankly. I found Anna herself to be nothing short of implausible; I studied theology at university and struggled to believe that any five-year-old would regard God in the way that she did. I felt like Fynn got hopelessly bogged down in the intricacies of the theological ramblings, and didn’t devote enough to the actual story itself, which seemed like it could have been really gripping. The end of the book is very moving, but I was still quite glad when it was over.½

I've read this book at least 10 times in my life and it is an unbelievable piece of work. Ana changed my life.

My life changed when I read this book. My life will continue to change because I read this book. I could never read this book enough times to be immune to all of the layers of meaning, the challenges to self-satisfied certainty and invitations to experience wonder that this little book brings to the reader. If you've ever known an extraordinary child, if you've ever believed in an extraordinary God, if you've ever thought that maybe there is more to this life than staying off the grass, take the time to spend some time with Anna.

one-of-a-kind read.

This is an amazing book. I picked it up at a book sale at the library, not expecting anything spectacular. Boy, was I wrong! The remarkable insight of this little girl will delightfully surprise you. Her ability to see things from a totally different perspective and to come up with such profound knowledge is totally unique and almost unbelievable. This book will amaze and delight you from start to finish. Loved it!

I read this in Junior High, to this day it is one of the few books to ever make me cry, which is probably why I've never reread it, but I still have the copy I owned way back when and I haven't needed to reread it, it has stuck with me all this time.

I find it interesting that none of my memories of this book focus on it's use of God as a them, character or even guiding principle in the story. I have no memory at all of that aspect of this book. Which to me actually makes it a stronger book as it means it holds on it's own without relying on knowledge of it's religious elements to draw you to it or involve you in it.

This one will touch your heart and your soul

Not just a religious story about god, but also a very touching moving story of the bond between two very inlikely people. Anna's innocence and wisdom are a beautiful contrast. This one will stay with you long after you've turned the last page.

I love the way that Anna finds God everywhere and takes God out of the church and out of "the box." Her love of life and the wonders of science and math are inspiring. The story is touching, well-written and easy to read.