Surprised by Oxford
Carolyn Weber
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In Surprised by Oxford, Carolyn Weber tells the story of how she found love and faith while a studying literature at Oxford University.
Surprised by Oxford is a really well written book. Carolyn has an incredible gift for describing people, places and situations in a way that is beautiful and draws you into the story. Her descriptions of Oxford made me wish I could go there! Her deep love for literature is shown through her brilliant turns of phrase and extensive but not gratuitous quotations from many books and poets.
The book is not just great style but has impressive substance too. Arriving at Oxford a non-believer, experiences she had while at university caused her to wrestle with questions of faith and eventually become a Christian. She shares much of that journey in the book, including some of the influential conversations she had in the process of coming to faith. She works through an impressive breadth and depth of topics. She also shares about her trials and progress as a young Christian trying to make sense of newly discovered realities, something I found quite moving. Woven throughout the book is also the lovely story of how she fell in love with a man she met at Oxford.
Surprised by Oxford has been one of my favourite books that I have read this year, both due to the beautiful writing and its profound reflections on faith.
Review copy provided by Book Sneeze
