Rex by Cathleen Lewis
I was not expecting to enjoy Rex as much as I did. In fact, I was only anticipating using it as reading while I wait for my car to have its oil changed (after all, it is only 237 pages long). But even after my oil change was finished early, I still couldn’t put down the book.
The worst part was wanting more, wanting to see where this little boy goes in his life and only realizing at the end that he’s still just a young boy, still with many years ahead of him. Throughout the book, Cathleen Lewis’ raw emotions were very apparent; his mother’s account of her feelings, her hope, and her frustrations are touching and understandable. That is probably the best part of the book: the way in which we, the audience, are made to empathize with Lewis and hope for the best for her little boy. The book was very marvelously written in the fact that the wave of emotions ebbs and flows, building up one moment and then releasing the next. The little bits of joy found in a life that seemingly appeared hopeless gave this book power and joy.
The author touches on her experiences with God and, although not numerous in their mentioning, some of them were touching. However, most of the experiences did seem somewhat contrived, especially as her battle with God progressed; likewise, the role her brother played in her hope and love toward God was seemingly forgettable. The church played merely as a backdrop to Lewis’ battle with God and with her own hopelessness and pride. The spiritual role played in her son’s life, although not as prominent, was far more touching. All in all, it is an unforgettable story about an unforgettable little boy who had all of life’s worse thrown at him and we are privy to seeing how he and his mother have overcome these struggles through both their own determination and through the grace of God.
