A testimonial is an endorsement of value or excellence. “Questimonials” give the Ursinus community the opportunity to recommend books that have impacted their lives and provide value in addressing one or more of the Quest Curriculum questions: What should matter to me? How should we live together? How can we understand the world? What will I do? Endorsements are collected here from current Ursinus College students, alumni, faculty and staff. Physical copies of the books can be checked out from the “Questimonials” collection on the main floor of Myrin Library at Ursinus College.
You can use this form to submit your Questimonial.
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Questimonial: I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
Christine Iannicelli
This video explores the question “How can we understand the world?” through the novel I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. Written by Joanne Greenberg, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden is a 1964 fictional story about a 16-year old schizophrenic girl named Deborah living in a mental hospital. Deborah’s worldview is influenced by a painful past and a fantasy world she has created in her own mind called Yr.
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Questimonial: Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children's Crusade, A Graphic Novel Adaptation
Andy Prock
The novel Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut is often hailed as a classic anti-war novel due to its realistic portrayal of the devastation caused by war. But its creative use of fantastical elements from science fiction also show how trauma can “unstick” a human being from the natural order of things. The graphic novel adaptation, written by Ryan North with art by Albert Monteys, was published in 2020 and brings with it a fresh new way to enjoy this classic.
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Questimonial: Silence
Anthony M. Sierzega
Shusaku Endo's Silence tells the story of a Jesuit missionary sent to Japan during the height of its persecution of the nation's small population of Christians. The novel confronts readers with the four curriculum questions and how to endure the reality that sometimes the world greets our response to those questions with silence.
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Questimonial: Lolita
Diane Skorina
Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov, has been this author's favorite book for the past twenty-five years. This Questimonial explores the Ursinus Quest core questions of “What should matter to me?” and “How should we live together?” through her experiences with this most misunderstood of novels.
