Surprised by Oxford (by Carolyn Weber) has been on my read and review list for over a year. I attempted to make my way through this lengthy title several times over, and ultimately never managed to succeed in finishing the read.
If I'm honest, this was a great disappointment to me. Since the book had been highly recommended by several favorite bloggers, I eagerly requested a copy when it was made available on Booksneeze.com for review. The copy on the book jacket (and the recommendations of others) suggested exactly the sort of memoir that I usually prefer - a coming to faith story complimented by time in a somewhat different culture, and much intellectual and literary discussion. Unfortunately, I felt that this book bogged down in exactly this - the literary and intellectual discussion. I wanted so badly to find the text appealing, and instead found that I struggled to enjoy the writing style and that I longed for a bit more emotionalism and a few less literary references. I plan to eventually re-approach this book, to give it a final try, but I think I'll wait until I have time to devote a larger amount of mental energy to understanding, absorbing and completing this read, rather than struggling to force interest at a time when I find myself in need of lighter reading fare.
