Official Review: Steward of the Harvest

[Kristy Khem]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Steward of the Harvest" by Stephen John Vattimo.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Steward of the Harvest is a collection of artwork and poems which are infused with many elements of Christianity. It was penned and illustrated by Stephen Vattimo. The book contains over fifty poems which portray some of the more interesting concepts of the Christian religion, such as Satan’s trickery. Descriptions and short narrations are also provided for each of the author’s artwork. These provide important insights into the author’s life.

I chose to read this book because I was intrigued by the unique combination of religious art and poems. As an artist myself, I enjoyed looking at the paintings and drawings. My favorite piece was the acrylic painting entitled, ‘The Creation Cries Out’. It depicted a coral reef scene with several varieties of fish. At first glance, it does not seem to be a religious work of art, except for the subtle crosses in the background, but on reading Vattimo’s description, I realized that each species of fish represented a Biblical notion. This was quite fascinating. For example, the lionfish in the center of the painting was a reference to Jesus because he was referred to as The Lion of Judea in the Bible.

The best poems always evoke emotions. Vattimo’s poems certainly made me feel differently after I read them. One poem which gave me shivers of fear was called ‘Don’t Gamble with the Devil’. It was directed to the reader of the poem, and it told the story of a card game with the Devil. While the cards seemed to be rigged in the reader’s favor, the Devil won at the end, and his snide remark was, “You thought you were going to beat the devil at his own game? You poor fool, you were only being deceived. Now, pay me what you owe me. Give me your soul”. On the contrary, there was another poem which spoke about salvation and this made me feel hopeful and protected. It spoke about drowning in a stormy sea, but being saved by a golden raft in the shape of a cross.

Another important thing to note was that Vattimo included aspects of his life in his poetry, descriptions, and artwork. As a regular participant in Pennsylvania’s Historical Society Great Pumpkin Carve event, a few of the illustrations in the book were actually his very own pumpkin-carving designs. Furthermore, in one of his paintings, he drew a morning glory plant choking a grapevine. He later stated that during one of his missionary stints, he learned that this plant was actually a dangerous weed for crops, despite the popularity of its beautiful flowers. This was the reason he used it to represent deceitfulness and riches which choke the word of God. Vattimo also spent a portion of his life serving the military and he included one poem which was intended for soldiers. I really appreciated that his life was reflected in his poems and artwork. This helped me to connect with the person behind the writing and illustrations.

While Steward of the Harvest was an interesting book, it contained an abundance of errors. Words like ‘refrained’ was spelled ‘reframed’, and ‘debt’ was spelled ‘dept’. Furthermore, commas were missing in some sentences. In addition to typos, I spotted a few proper nouns which should have begun with a capital letter. There was also a consistent mix-up between ‘who’s’ and ‘whose’ throughout the book. Therefore, I’m rating it 3 out of 4 stars. I would recommend that this book undergoes professional editing. With regards to the target audience for this book, I think that anyone who likes religious poems and art will enjoy this book.

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Steward of the Harvest
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Like KristyKhem's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Caylie_Cat]

Poetry with errors really defeats its purpose. If the reader gets distracted or confused by what is written, the flow and grace is lost and that is a terrible shame. It seems that the book has a lot of wisdom to offer and I hope another round of editing saves the day! Great review!

[Debjani Ghosh]

He later stated that during one of his missionary stints, he learned that this plant was actually a dangerous weed for crops, despite the popularity of its beautiful flowers. This was the reason he used it to represent deceitfulness and riches which choke the word of God.

This book seems to be a beautiful collection of illustrations and poems. I particularly liked this image of this plant. I am not a fan of poetry hence, I will skip this one. Thanks for the review!

[kandscreeley]

I appreciate that this is artwork as well as poetry. For me, I'm not hugely into poetry, so it makes it more appealing. I'm curious to see the pumpkin carving. I just might have to look at this one. It's really too bad about the errors, though. That always brings a book down just a bit. Thanks for the information.

[wendos]

I really struggle reading poetry. With the errors you mentioned it makes it worse, though Liked the theme.

[Kristy Khem]

Thanks all of you for taking the time to read my review and share your thoughts!

[fredrick otieno]

Poetry has always been my thing. Now this is even more interesting since it covers topics that are very important to me. Despite the errors, i would still consider reading this. Thank you for the good review.

[Kristy Khem]

Poetry has always been my thing. Now this is even more interesting since it covers topics that are very important to me. Despite the errors, i would still consider reading this. Thank you for the good review.

I am glad that this book appeals to you. I hope you get a chance to read it soon. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the book and the review. Much appreciated.

[Franc93]

In short it is somehow like a pictorial? It is genius how the author combined various aspects to bring an idea like this to life. It is sad though that it did not under go professional editing before being put out there. Based on your review this had great potential, it still does.Thanks