Revolution of Tenderness (Book Review)

Divyadaan Brothers, Revolution of Tenderness, Mumbai: Tej Prasarini, 2016, ISBN 978-81-87060-59-8, pp. x + 150, Rs. 150.

This book was released as a souvenir on the occasion of the Holy Father, Pope Francis declaring the Jubilee Year of Mercy. It is composed of a set of 10 articles written by student-brothers themselves and aiming to help the reader live out the year of mercy in mundane events of everyday life. The book opens with a prayer to be merciful to others and an anonymous poem that has no direct bearing on the theme of mercy but rather offers an insight into the direction the articles within will take.

The articles don’t follow a pre-conceived pattern but reflect the individual preference of the author. There are a handful of typos and grammatical errors that crept into the pages. A number of the articles appear a bit winding and taper in quality and logic towards the end turning gradually into glorified sermons. I found just a couple of articles worthwhile. While a good attempt was made to break down the virtue of mercy into the practicality of daily life, it wasn’t done systematically or fairly. While a lot of pious sentiments and ideas were put forth, very few stemmed from concrete experiences of mundane people. This in a sense defeated the whole purpose of the book. Another surprise was that hardly any mention was made either of the jubilee or of the Pope. I honestly expected something in that regard.


Sadly, the book is just a one time read. It has very little to offer in terms of novelty or insight into the mind of the Holy Father and of the Church. It turned out to give greater importance to psychology and social etiquette and failed to enter deeper into real issues. While promising much, the book delivered precious little.      

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