A pattern is emerging: every time I read a book by Rob Bell I’m reminded of other books that tackle the same subject matter but in a more complete and engrossing way.
Bell’s latest is no differe
nt. Drops Like Stars is an art book about suffering and creativity that leaves you wishing he’d say more about each subject – that he’d use some of that white space to say something. Yes, I understand the white space is a statement in itself…
But Drops Like Stars takes Bell’s proclivity for white space to a new level. He has finally reached the tipping point and released a book with more white space than print space. The next book might be a collection of completely blank pages. He could be the John Cage of the book world…
Bell’s weakness (which masquerades as strength) is that he says things and presents himself in a way that communicates depth while saying and writing things that aren’t actually that deep. This seems impressive at first but eventually becomes a bit tedious. And it may work in person, as a performance (no negative connotation intended) but on the page it just comes off as shallow – or worse, as false depth.
The book is visually beautiful and this is par for the course with Bell. You can read this book in about 30 minutes, but if you have 30 minutes to invest in a book about art, pick up Madeleine l’Engle’s Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art and read the first few chapters. Bell’s book might act as a good trailer for Walking on Water, but standing alone it has very little to say.
I never read other reviews of books I intend to review until I’ve written my own, but I always read a few after I’m done to see if other reviewers saw the book the same way.
From Publisher’s Weekly:
“While Bell’s books Velvet Elvis and Sex God received generally strong reviews, this effort to understand the relationship between suffering and creativity feels superficial and overly self-conscious.”
“Bell’s spare prose lacks original insights into age-old theodicy questions. Although the design and layout are first-rate, $35 is a lot of money for a 160-page book that is mostly white space.”
Customer reviews at Amazon:
“…you’d think, with the size and price, you’re going to get a lot of Rob Bell goodness…think again, the pages are so large but the words are only printed in the middle – thus wasting entire forests of paper.
Which is ironic seeing as Bell’s last book was all about how we abuse this planet and need to take care of God’s creation.”
I stand with the crowd on this one.
