4.5 starsRedeeming Love is one of those must-read romances worth reading at least onceThere are two versions of Redeeming Love. This is a review of the original 1991 version. The 1997 version is basically the same as the original, but was edited to remove any descriptions of the love scenes and any coarse language to make it suitable for the Christian market.Based on the Book of Hosea from the Bible, where God told the prophet, Hosea to marry the prostitute, Gomer - "Go marry a prostitute and have children with her.- here we have Michael Hosea, a farmer being told by God to marry Angel, a local whore in the 1850s goldfields of California. Author Francine Rivers wrote historical romances and historical fiction before she became a Christian. Redeeming Love written in 1991, bridges the writing of her original romances and her later Christian fiction, illustrating well the old and new Francine Rivers in the one book. The original does contain some coarse language (eg son of a bitch, damn, bastard, etc) and some descriptive love scenes, not contained in the second version. The original holds up better in my opinion as a romance than the revised version, with more emphasis on their relationship and the physicality of it. Nevertheless, both versions contain the same plot. For those who prefer a clean read, then the edited, or Christian version, is preferable.Although it is peppered throughout with Bible verses I don't think they're intrusive. It is afterall, a Christian story, based on a book of the Bible and written by a Christian. My only real complaint is that often it lends itself to cheesiness, but that's my complaint about most, if not all, romances. He felt her loosen and melt in his arms and he sent her up again in to the heavens, joining her there and holding on to the moment as long as he could before the slow descent back to earth.Oh, to You be the glory, Lord, Lord....Um, okay.On my fourth read of this story over the years, I don't view it with the same wide-eyed romantic wonder as I first did. The prose is average at best, the historical setting adequate. The stubbornness of Angel in refusing to accept Michael's love and her consequent running off was overdone and tiresome. Michael himself often forces Angel to do his bidding, believing as he does that it's for her best, and so their relationship comes across as patronising and paternalistic at times.Some of his thoughts and reactions are not those of a Godly man. Some of the tragedies that beset Angel's wretched life, seem gratuitous. Francine Rivers seemingly wanted to heap mankind's collective sin onto the head of this poor woman. Some of the scenes are unnecessarily explicit. The conclusion is way too neat with its fairy-tale ending. Yet Redeeming Love still holds up as an allegory of God's love for humankind. Love, forgiveness and redemption. It is one of those rare novels that though based on a story from the Bible, manages to captivate an audience who may not claim any Christian beliefs. It can be at times depressing, heart-wrenching, horrifying and preachy. Yet it is also uplifting, glorifying, hope-filled and romantic.Despite some reservations, Redeeming Love is still a worthy read for lovers of Christian fiction and for lovers of romance. Even if you don't end up loving it, it is so popular, so highly rated and reviewed that it's worth reading just the once. Because despite its flaws for me it still manages to resonate with the ideal of true love and the romantic notions of love conquers all.Steam: 2.5
First off, a shout out to my good friend Arlene, who convinced me to re-read this book (which I had read long ago and just couldn't remember). You can read her fantastic review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...(OK, now that I've paid off Arlene, on to my review);DRedeeming Love isn't a genre I normally read in bulk, even though I do try to read some inspirational literature every year. I consider myself a Christian, but I'm also a fairly cynical person and inspirational literature is usually a bit too sappy sweet for my taste. This book is no exception in some ways (hence the loss of one star and the explanation below), but overall Francine Rivers won me over with her better then average writing and the general storyline, which she lifted from the Old Testament book of Hosea.The story starts in 1830's America, and centers around Sarah, a little girl whose mother was the mistress of a man who despised his bastard daughter and had wanted her to be aborted. Sarah's mother is left by her lover, and dies shortly thereafter. Little 8 year old Sarah is soon sold into child prostitution and raped by her pedophile pimp. Her true name disappears, and she becomes Angel, a broken yet beautiful prostitute who ends up in gold rush California in the 1850s. Angel doesn't believe in love, or hope, redemption or God, and why should she?Enter Michael Hosea, and strong, Godly farmer looking for his soul mate. When God instructs his heart to pick Angel for his wife, the story truely begins, as both Angel and Michael learn what it takes to live, love and follow God's will for their lives.The story takes the reader on a wild emotional ride. I found myself alternately cheering for Angel, sympathizing with her, and wanting to slap her upside the head. Michael wasn't as easy to relate to. I found him too perfect to really be believable, but then I guess Rivers wanted us to see him more as a Jesus figure then a real man (at least he appeared that way to me).I ended up finishing this up in the wee hours of the morning, and I really enjoyed it, but I had to take away a star because of the ending. I'm sorry, but I don't like HEAs that change the parameters of the plot in order to give their characters everything they want. That just makes me insane. Case in point:(view spoiler)[Angel was supposedly *fixed* after her second pregnancy so that she could no longer have children, and in all her years of copius prostitution and later marriage she NEVER became pregnant. Yet after 7 years of marriage, she *does* became pregnant and goes on to have 3 children with Michael. AAARRGGGGHHH, NO! This isn't realistic and it just reeks of the Rainbow-Brite-fairytale-cottage-prancing-unicorn-HEA that makes me want to tear my hair out. It's also dishonest, in that it makes it look like God will give you EVERYTHING your heart desires, once you follow Him. Uh, no, He won't. (Otherwise, I would be happily married to unbelievably sexy, hot, dishy, smoldering Brit actor Richard Armitage as I type this review:).It would have been much more realistic had Angel remained barren and she and Michael had loved happily and steadily in their childless state. Heck, they could have even adopted a few of the little child prostitutes from San Fran. (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about Redeeming Love (2005)?
I recieved this as a part of the First Reads program.I was repulsed by this book.It's supposed to be a Christian romance novel. Full disclosure, I'm an atheist, so I wasn't expecting to exactly fall in love with the book. But I found the concept of the story of Hosea being retold during the Gold Rush interesting, or else I wouldn't have picked it up.So you may ask, why was I so repulsed by this book? Looking past the forced marriage, rape, beatings and child rape described in the book. Also looking past the flat, one dimensional characters, that are by the way, stunning and physically beautiful (how boring is that). Not to mention, looking past the horrible source material that is the Old Testament. I'm repulsed by the ideas that this book reinforces for women. I'm disgusted that this drivel was written by a woman. And after reading some reviews prior to recieving the book, I'm appaled that some people found this book moving, positive and uplifting. The plot device of using these characters to represent god and his unconditional love that he supposedly has for his children was weak. This was represented by the two main character's and Angel. So god talks to him(I'll leave that one alone) and tells him to marry her. He has a priest marry the two of them while she's pretty much unconsious. She runs away after being forced to work for and take care of him. I wonder why she would run away. So she finally meets a family who is willing to take care of her. She's in a good place. And then he comes back for her. She for some unknown reason, goes back to him. The worst part is the ending, because she wants nothing more than to please him and bear him a son. This book does nothing more than subjugate women. In my own opionion, so do gods and religions, but that's a different story for a differnt time. What positive message is there in this for anyone? Be a good wife and devote all your time to making babies. I think we all know there is more to life than that. Please don't waste your time reading this book, get something else that will celebrate life and the worth of an individual, or something that you will learn something from. I'll be trading mine in at the local book mine, to get something of more worth.
—Lexie
This book is incredibly romantic, in that it is a story about a powerful love that brings about happiness in the lives of the couple. It is less romantic in that it is also the story about a couple who must deal with a damaged past, and a damaged soul, and the pain and destruction that that damage can still inflict. It is not the story of an easy love. It is also a story about God's plan. Most Christian books are about people who are Christians. The main characters mostly do good things. This book, as with many of Francine Rivers's books, is about characters who actually trust God and rely on God, not only in words, but in their actions. All in all, an incredible read.
—Nicole
Wow, this book is absolutely incredible. This book touched me so deeply and the resounding truth behind the story brought me to my knees. The metaphor of this beautiful story is completely undeniable, which made it one of the most powerful books that I have ever read. As a woman, there is something inside me that was able to relate to Angel on so many levels, and the feelings of unworthiness and mistrust that plagued her every day. I loved that Rivers included so much of her inner monologue in the story, because that really enabled us to get to know Angel for who she really was, and we saw her inner struggles between God and her flesh. I was absolutely amazed at Michael's unconditional love for her. Time after time he would pursue her, and bring her back home to him, and it caused me to think about all of the times that the Lord pursues me and brings me back home. I absolutely LOVED the last 75 pages or so of this book, I just couldn't put it down. I found myself completely overcome with the beauty and the resounding truth that was laced through this entire book. One of my favorite quotations from the book is actually in the note from Francine Rivers at the end of the book. She describes the book of Hosea as, "A deeply moving story of His passionate love for each of us - unconditional, forgiving, unchanging, everlasting, self-sacrificing - the kind of love for which most people hunger their entire lives, yet never find." As followers of Christ, we have that kind of love ready and available to us if we so desire it. This book motivated me to seek that love from the Lord on a deeper level and truly helped me to understand the meaning of redeeming love.
—Chloe
