Word count: 209 words
Reading time: Less than 1 minute
Increase your vocabulary and you’ll make your writing much more precise. That’s why I provide a word of the week. Today’s word: simony.
Although Christine Pountney’s writing has been described by the Toronto Star as: “confident, precise and readable,” I did not enjoy her novel Sweet Jesus. I’m guessing not many others read it because it lacks even a single review on Amazon.com.
The story of three siblings who unite for a road trip (a.k.a. “a journey that will transform their lives”), Sweet Jesus was dull and mostly predictable. I found the writing wooden and the characters unlikeable, with the possible exception of Zeus, the young adopted brother.
On the plus side, at least the book gave me a new word: simony.
Hannah bought three tickets and then it occurred to her, this is simony.
I had to reach for my dictionary! Simony refers to the act of paying for sacraments or for positions in a church. Origin of the term is attributed to Simon Magus, who appears in the Acts of the Apostles. Magus was the Samaritan magician who was rebuked by Peter when he tried to buy the power of conferring the Holy Spirit.
