Resumo de Mister God, This Is Anna

Once in a long while, you come
across a book that shakes you to the roots of your consciousness, thus provoking
a fundamental, almost perceptible change. Such books enable us to look afresh
at a familiar world. They elasticize our perceptions, tease our ideas. And we
are tempted to isolate each sentence, unravel it, quote it and, figuratively
speaking, hug it.
Or keep company with it for a lifetime.

Fynn?s ?Mister God, this is Anna? ~
first published in 1974 ~ is such a book. It is a parable of a moving
friendship between 19-year-old Fynn and Anna, barely six. It encapsules the
earthy wit and bustling vigour of London?s East End, peopled with unusual eccentrics. It is also a
theological exploration through irrefutable child logic that brushes away the
cobwebs of adult thought. But above all, the book (brilliantly illustrated by
the Greek artist Papas) is illuminated by the intensity of Anna?s belief in
Mister God.

Let Fynn, who knew Anna best,
introduce her to you: ?Anna?s search for Mister God was serious, but gay,
earnest but light-hearted, reverent but impudent, and single-minded and
multi-tracked. That one and two made three was a sign for Anna that God
existed. Not that she doubted God?s existence for a moment, but it was for some
time a sign that he did exist. By the same token, a bus or a flower was also a
token that he existed.?

In Fynn?s infinitely fascinating
book, one comes across a real child, one who ceases to be a character. An imp
who, with her magic touch, embodies the wide-eyed wonder of childhood. There?s nothing revolting about
Anna?s precociousness. Her delight in seeds and mirrors, mathematics and piano
chords, human relationships and nocturnal expeditions brings alive minor
miracles in everyday life.

The moppet?s relationship with Fynn
is open to interpretation. Their close bonds ~ intellectual, emotional and
spiritual ~ are devoid of any suggestion of sexuality. Fynn?s adult logic meets
its match in Anna, who construes all matters in her own inimitable fashion,
often contrary to accepted patterns of thought. The cadences of her speech and
thought are guileless, yet their essence is incredibly wise.

Fynn?s language contributes much to
the charm of the book. Spontaneity is the hallmark of his prose. Though he
revels in dialectics, he offers a refreshing look at religion.

Anna lived her brief life over 50
years ago. But the vividness of the book makes it seem as if the story came
alive just a few days ago.

Fynn?s inspiring book allows for
individual interpretations. Its contemporary fairy-tale atmosphere cannot fail
to charm teenagers and adults alike. For fleeting moments, this very human tale
offers a glimpse of the infinite and the inaccessible. Like Anna?s awareness of
Mister God, this book is ?a pearl of great price.?

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