I have not read [b:Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality|7214|Blue Like Jazz Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality|Donald Miller|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165609725s/7214.jpg|10352], and I think that might be part of why I ended up not getting this book.

It is interesting, though. It follows a lot of the traditional rites of passage young men go through, particularly the famed "road trip" that American men have wanted to participate in ever since the automobile was invented, or at least since Kerouac released [b:On the Road|70401|On the Road|Jack Kerouac|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1216748331s/70401.jpg|1701188].

But that is part of what confuses me. Miller frames the book wonderfully in the beginning, saying that the world, particularly the evangelical Christianity of his youth, is much more concerned about the hows of life rather than the whys. They are concerned with getting married, getting a wonderful career, and accumulating the commensurate material goods necessary to sustain this sort of life. Miller complains that this sort of life is too how-focused. He would much rather pursue the whys.

This is all well and good, and I am definitely on board with this observation. It's part of why I took philosophy in college and can't seem to enjoy the constant state of inebriation a young american is supposed to maintain. I would much rather a reason for the universe before I pursue the hows of making my way through life.

But all the same, it's as if Miller doesn't engage in whys very much. Even when he disparages his Texas youth, he still tells a story centered around the concerns that every young American male has. How do I get this dollar to stretch out? How do I get this car to work? What sort of future life should I have? How do I get there?

And of course, the most important question: How do I get the girl? What sort of girl should I pursue? What does married life look like?

But this isn't much different from the questions our parents asked. In fact, it's pretty much the same questions that evangelical Christians ask. These aren't why questions. Oh, I'm sure there's conferences on how to find the perfect mate and so on, but again, these are answers to how questions.

It seems symptomatic of much of what this new style of Christianity has offered me. It's the same as the old stuff, just different location. Or a different politics. ...except it's the same politics, just with a different name. Or a different style of liturgy. ...except it's the same style of liturgy.

The atheist philosopher Michel Foucault made an observation about society and sex. The Victorian era was obsessed with suppressing sex, stamping out its existence. We judge them to be obsessed with sex, and now say that sex should be as free as possible in order to counter this earlier obsession. However, Foucault notes, we are just as obsessed with sex as our Victorian forbearers. We cannot stop thinking in terms of sex, and indeed demand sexual expression even on occasions when it is not necessary. We are just as obsessed with sex as the Victorians were, and are probably just as enslaved. In our supposed victory against the old regime, we commit the same mistakes. In the same way, I worry that a lot of the Christianity that is aimed at talking about whys instead of hows ends up engaging in the same how-focused dialog.

I guess I half expected him to utter Alyosha Karamazov's sublime statement, "I want to live for eternity, and reject any halfway compromise." But I don't know if he ever really wrestles with that here. Perhaps he does in Blue Like Jazz.

This all being said, it does remind me of when I was younger and reading [b:The Brothers Karamazov|4934|The Brothers Karamazov|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327882764s/4934.jpg|3393910] and [b:The Moviegoer|10739|The Moviegoer|Walker Percy|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320518644s/10739.jpg|1209450]. In that latter work, answering the whys of existence prepares the protagonist for the hows. Perhaps Miller did answer the whys somewhere in the middle of the book. He does mention the beauty of creation, for instance, but I worry that might be undone by every young man's suspicion that we're nothing more than chemical urges reacting to potential mates, which he alludes to early in the book. ( )

Listened to this audiobook while driving from Socal to Norcal, and the drive was the perfect backdrop for the narrative, which follows two twentysomething men on a roadtrip from Texas to Oregon. Miller is a decent narrator, though not as clear and crisp as others. ( )

Enjoyable view into a trip across country, wherein love, girls, food and friendship are opportunities to think on creation and God. ( )

Through Painted Deserts: Light, God, and Beauty on the Open Road was written after Blue Like Jazz (my review) but the events in the book took place mostly before Blue Like Jazz. Whoever thought it was a good idea to make a movie from Blue Like Jazz must be the same person who thought it be a good idea to have Don read his own audio books. He has a monotone way of reading that puts you to sleep, but it's generally my preference to hear the author tell his own story.

Don and his friend Paul take a beaten up Volkswagen van from Houston to Oregon and encounter the kind of people you'd expect along the way: Strangers who help them fix their car, people who work in roadside cafes, old friends, etc. They hike and camp and talk about love and life. Nothing really insightful. Occasionally, Don will have an epiphany about God and write a few paragraphs about it. This book is basically his journal of that road trip, and I suppose his publishers would think people would find it interesting because his Blue Like Jazz journaling sold so well.

I listened to this book primarily on subway rides in Ankara. The first few chapters annoyed me because it was so self-centric of a couple of middle class, white Southerners to think the world revolves around them and their road trip idea. Eventually, I warmed to the book as their encounters led them places and they resolved interpersonal conflicts and such. At the end of the book when they're sleeping in a tent in the woods and working summer jobs at a nearby pool, Don as a janitor, I'm struck by how easy it is in Oregon to live like that. Don doesn't talk much about his janitorial duties, but I suppose taking on such dirty work gave me a respect for him I wouldn't have otherwise.

But much of this book is like a boring reality TV show where you're sort of a voyeur into these guys pretty tame lives. The fact that people look to this book for spiritual insight really disturbs me, there's really not much there. They don't seem to spend much of their time looking at Scripture much, so much of what passes as spiritual insights (only about 10% of the book) are Don's own opinions on how God runs His universe. That Don would be some sort of hero to some people for writing about the ordinary tells me that American 20 somethings must really be bored or worse. Maybe I should write a book, see how it sells. ( )

As with all authors there comes a time when even our favorites disappoint us and this is mine. Through Painted Deserts is Miller's version of a travelogue and as such is not bad but doesn't really go anywhere. To be honest most travelogues are not supposed to go anywhere, it is more about the journey than it is the destination, which Miller explores How and Why with his usual Christian snarkiness. Somewhere along the way this version has more whine than depth exploration and reminded me of a Philip Roth novel. By the way, in my opinion, Miller is the one person that could write a fabulous Roth style novel and out Roth Roth.
If you think this book sounds familiar, its original was Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance, which had some marvelous bits in it. He cuts some material and added some new and release Painted Deserts. This would have been a better read and write if he'd kept the original and just added the additional excerpts. ( )