I'm inclined to give this book 2.5 stars. It kept me reading, which makes me lean toward a 3, but it also had some corny and unbelievable elements, which makes me slide backward to a 2. She might have been attempting to be coy with all of the "if Celia were a character in a book, how would she describe this moment"s...but they got on my nerves. And then, at the end, when two characters discuss the plot "as if it were a novel" and talk about how cliche it would be if they tried to write it all down, and how every character might seem like a throw-back to Jane Eyre or Jane Austen - all of this seemed like a thinly-veiled apology for certain drawbacks of the book.That being said, it was a good story of forgiveness and mercy. Celia's character was memorable, and her journey from bitterness and hurt to forgiveness and love was believable in that it was a very gradual process. She didn't have just one moment of total enlightenment and then experience a sudden conversion. I enjoyed how Jamie Langston Turner showed the changing of Celia's heart in little moments of inspiration, or in her encouters with all of the various people in her life. One irony of the book is that, for all of the detailed descriptions of minute events in Celia's and Bruce's past (many of which I think could have been omitted without having any effect on the story), Turner left some of the most important moments untold, or told from retrospect - for instance, when Celia finally takes the step of conversion, she tells about it after the fact to another character in about two sentences. I think that such a pivotal turning point deserved more notice.
I loved this book. I enjoyed Garden to Keep, Winterbirds and Suncatchers a little more, but this was excellent. I love how the author educates you on many different topics as a part of the story. In this book, you learn about poetry, clarinet, tennis, art, life science, and Shakespeare. I felt the characters were very real and the story is much more about Bruce and Celia's journey to God and believing God could forgive their past than it is about them getting together, so definitely not a cheesy romance. I did think the last chapter about the cliches was maybe a tad cheesy and maybe not believable, but still wonderful story. If you like Terri Blackstock this will not be your style. Ha. You have to want to enjoy their thoughts and going slow through the process of Grace working in their lives. It is what I would call a comforting book.
What do You think about No Dark Valley (2004)?
This book was good, but long. Both of the main characters would tell their story in a stream of consciousness type of way--so that it could take half an hour of listening to get through a simple dinner scene because they would stop to comment on the family eating at the next table and make up a story about them. For the patient listener the story is wonderful though, about a girl named Cecilia who after her grandmother's death fulfills her promise to go back home for her funeral. In the process she rehashes her childhood and painful memories of the past, eventually finding redemption through a litany of old hymns, an artist, a tennis club, and an annoying next door neighbor. The narrator was perfect for the story as well.
—Deb
The book was 500 pages long. It went off onto many rabbit trails, but I couldn't seem to put it down. In the last 200 pages it came together. It let you get to know so much about the characters lives. The main character had turned her back on God during her youth. She had made many mistakes,and they haunted her. She couldn't date any man for long until they irritated her and she broke up with him. When she was 38 she finally found what she was looking for and returned to God. The story and content made it a five star.
—Jean Cowden
Rather mediocreRather mediocreThe book kind of started out as annoying, like when the character decides to put what she just into a book. That annoyance fades only to be brought in the third part of the book. Another thing that was irritating was the incessant "I am getting too old not to be married/ maybe I am too old too find anyone to marry". Also in the third part the main characters were switched and the new character did not seem to be as developed as he should have been. As for the first character, her spiritual journey which agonize through in the first two parts is brought to an unsatisfying and abrupt finish. All that being said, I did read the whole thing( I skipped any boring parts) but that was mainly because I liked the first two parts and read the more aggravating third and fourth parts only to see if it ended as I thought, which it did.
—Sarah
