Monday, 12 August 2019

On the way to the Holy Mountain by Arne E Sæther



Although this book is in English the website I had to order it was in Norwegian and seemed to resist Google’s attempts to translate it – so there was a definite sense of achievement when the book actually turned up!

It is an unusual format with a little under 400 A4 sized pages which have the feel of a scrap book – full of pictures, with inserts and text layered over the main image. But when you are addressing the use of space and liturgical fixtures and fittings the visual context is vital.

It feels at times like it is a guide of what not to do, and because much of the text is short annotations to pictures the critique can come across as blunt and lacking nuance, and while maybe agreeing with most of the conclusions I was at times nervous that we run the risk of dressing our particular understanding of “good taste” in fancy theological arguments?

But overall because of the range of material brought together it a valuable resource and it would be good if there was a UK based book seller.

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