We meet Elizabeth Landis, lover of poetry, on a Sunday afternoon as she is having lunch with Margaret and Thomas in their home after attending church by invitation of one of her students. Before leaving their home that day, Margaret has been instrumental in Elizabeth coming to faith in Jesus Christ. By that same evening, Elizabeth finds out that her husband Ken has been unfaithful to her in their marriage.
It took me forever to get really interested in the book, and by that I mean like slightly over 100 pages before I decided to stick with it. Margaret has advised Elizabeth to write down her thoughts, which she does do, but like myself, those thoughts aren't always in chronological order. So there was a lot of back and forth things to keep track of. I've chosen just a couple of quotes from the book that are perfect illustrations of this.
"I guess it's obvious by now that I freely exercise the right at any point in my story to skip over entire weeks and months or, more often, to stop and fill in background. Sometimes when I'm reading a book and the author stops to muse over some extraneous detail, I say, "Come on, get on with the story and stop all this stalling." But now I'm the writer, see, and anybody who's writing something gets to make the calls."
"But I'll try to get on with it, though I'm not making any promises. As my mind wanders hither and yon, I nevertheless have a distant goal in sight. I'm going somewhere, trust me, but the trip might be more than just a short day's ride. "As if I hadn't already figured that out," you're saying."
Somewhere around the first quote, I was taken in by how the Lord was working in Elizabeth's life and there was no way that I could quit reading. This is an amazing story of infidelity, separation, reconciliation and seeing God's grace working through it all. I was sad when I came to the end because I would miss being a part of Elizabeth and Ken's lives. The writing style had long since quit bothering me as I became absorbed in how God was working in Elizabeth's life.
The book was well written as far as not having any descriptive dialog as far as the infidelity was concerned, which I appreciated greatly. Otherwise, I would not have finished reading the book.
Another aspect that I appreciated is that it approached everyday real life problems in a way that caused me, as the reader, to think about similar circumstances in my years of marriage and how I handled them...not only relating to marriage, but also in child rearing.
I purchased this book as a used book and realized it was given to someone as a gift. The giver had written "To:Sara, From: Seth". After realizing the content of the book, it made me wonder about Sara and Seth and what the ocassion was that had caused him to present it to her as a gift.
I would definitely recommend this book!
Is this a true story? I was thinking how wonderful that she was saved prior to finding out that horrible news.
ReplyDeleteMari, the author didn't give any indication that it's a true story. But I agree that it was definitely wonderful that she came to know Jesus before she she knew of the devastating realization that she was going to learn just hours later about her marriage.
DeleteSounds like it was a worthwhile read. It is good to see how the Lord is working in others especially in the area of forgiveness and reconciliation.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Ellen. There's so much negativity in the world today concerning relationships, including marital relationships...even in some Christian circles. It was refreshing to read of the positive side and see how the Lord worked through conviction of Elizabeth about things that she had accused her husband of.
DeleteI read this a long time ago, but before I had a blog, so I don't have any notes to refer back to. I do remember being irritated at the character's writing style, though I realize that was done on purpose to show what and how she thought. I've actually found that to be the case with almost everything the author has written. I wouldn't describe her books as riveting or page-turners or hard to put down, and I find myself frustrated or irritated by one or more characters. But by the end I am glad I read the book and appreciate the point the author was making. One of my favorites of hers was Sometimes a Light Surprises.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that I've heard or read many people who don't like Christian fiction as a rule say that they do like this author's books.
Barbara, thank you for sharing with me about this author's writing style. I would definitely keep that in mind when considering any of her other works. But once I got into this book, I definitely enjoyed it.
DeleteWhen I mentioned irritating writing style, I was referring to the character, Elizabeth. I hope it didn't sound like I was irritated with Mrs. Turner's. :) Sorry for the confusion. I did get irritated with many of Mrs. Turner's main characters, but throughout the book saw why they acted as they did.
DeleteBarbara, thank you. I understood what you meant. As much as I enjoyed Elizabeth in the end, I just don't think I would want to go to that length to understand another of the main characters. 😉
DeleteThis sounds like a very emotional book. Thank you for telling us about it.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Lauren. It took a while to get into it, but once I did I really enjoyed it.
DeleteIt was a good read but it took a while to get into it.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much...
ReplyDeleteIt's so wonderful to hold a beautiful book in your hands.
I'm currently reading a historical novel around 951 - 954. Completely interesting.
A greeting to you from Viola
Have fun with your books.
Hello Viola! Your historical novel sounds interesting. I do enjoy reading.
DeleteThis sounds like an excellent book! I understand what you mean about sometimes having to stick with a book until it becomes interesting. Sometimes I just don't have the patience. I'm going to keep this book in mind! Thank you for the review.
ReplyDeleteIt really is a good read, Melanie. But it did take a while for me to get over my impatience with the author's writing style. Once I got over it, I really enjoyed the book.
DeleteThat sounds like an interesting book Dianna, thank you for sharing and for sharing your thoughts about it too.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Tina. I try to share my thoughts each time I do a book review because I appreciate it when someone else is doing a review.
DeleteI think I will check into this book. And I will keep reading for at least 100 pages:) Hope you are having a good day!
ReplyDeleteSounds great! 😃. I am having a good day.
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