Listen by Rene Gutteridge: A Review

Jan 24, 2010

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I read 409 pages in a little over 2 days.

On a tangent: I think it would be fabulous if I read 409 pages in my Bible every 2 days. If my travel Bible has 1759 pages, how many times could I read my Bible in a year? Figure it out. Leave a comment. I’ll choose a winner randomly, and you can have the Rene Gutteridge’s book, Listen, after Hottie Hubby is finished with it OR I’ll make you some granola–your choice.

Rene Gutteridge wrote this book to those “whose lives have been forever altered by words.”

Nothing ever happens in the small town of Marlo . . . until the residents begin seeing their private conversations posted online for everyone to read. Then it’s neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend, as paranoia and violence escalate. The police scramble to identify the person responsible for the posts and pull the plug on the Website before it destroys the town. But what responsibility do the people of the town have for the words they say when they think no one is listening? Life and death are in the power of the tongue.

Can you remember when someone seriously sliced your heart with their cutting words? I still remember back in gradeschool when some neighborhood boys encouraged their dog to chase me around a cul-de-sac to bite my ankles. Meanwhile, as I peddled away they bit my ear with their nasty words–fatso, ugly, stupid . . . or another boy named Chuck, who insisted on telling me that I was fat when I returned to school the summer after 5th grade. Crazy because I began the new school year 35 pounds lighter and rail thin.

It still hurt . . .

The scene of Listen is a quiet town that appears happy, content, and safe. They almost don’t need a police force.

Until . . . the website.

The website, called Listen To Yourself, records PRIVATE conversations. Baffled as to how this is being accomplished, it takes awhile before the townspeople begin to think about the power and damage their words can have on their “friends.”

Consider for yourself a question that is pondered by two characters within this riveting book:

Do the conversations we have privately define who we are, or are we who we are despite our private conversations?

Hmmm . . .

I love words and this book is all about the power of words. Remember this post? Words are one of the reasons I blog. Just as the Word of God brings forth life in me, creating a string of words on Granola Mom 4 God gives me purpose and passion for the things God has called me to. An outlet. A way to share. A way to document.

But I wonder . . . by you reading my blog, do you really know me? What about the words I say that you don’t hear?

Scripture clearly warns us humans to be careful with our tongue:

When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. (Proverbs 10:19)
A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue. (Proverbs 11:12)
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21)
Even an entire chapter is devoted to the taming of the tongue in James 3!

Watch your words. I certainly am considering them. It is so easy to be flippant on my blog . . . or Twitter . . . and in a brief email. I appreciate the warning and I am taking heed.

This is a sustainable book. It is a GREAT read. It is powerful. It will make you think. It will challenge you to put a bridle on your tongue.

A hearty thanks goes out to Tyndale House Publishers for allowing me to review this book. I was sent a copy of Listen for free. I was not paid for this post, nor do I have to return it. I would like to keep this book . . .but it is too powerful to keep it to myself.