The Shape of Illusion by William E. Barrett

I found The Shape of Illusion by William E. Barrett at a book swap. Published in 1972, this 215 page novel has an interesting premise. An art dealer discovers a piece of art that was created in the seventeenth century by an unfamiliar artist. The artist depicts Jesus being taken to his crucifixion. People are mocking and abusing him, and when one looks at the picture, the viewer discovers himself as one of the abusers of Christ.

The main character, Kirk Donner, is agnostic and a talented artist. He is sent to Germany to see what he can find out about the artist. He meets Joan, a Catholic journalist, and they form a friendship of sorts.

He finds that people are often eager to destroy that which they do not understand. The story is well paced and the characters grow and learn.

Quote I liked:
"A lot of us are lonely because we won't pay the price of not being lonely" (185).

Britney Shaw gave us two copies of The Cat in the Hat for our NICU babies. I had this book memorized at one point because James and Angie loved it so much. 

An anonymous donor left these for Angie at in the NICU.

Dani Phipps sent a collection of books for the babies.

We appreciate every donation as our donors' generosity helps our project grow. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.