anette Oke’s Measure of a Heart tells the heartwarming story of farm girl Anna Trent. When seminary student Austin Barker visits, he is intrigued by her eagerness to learn, but despite her exceptional character, Anna is constantly plagued with feelings of inadequacy and must struggle to realize that she is a “woman of worth.”Heart falls is an Inspirational Historical Romance, a classification Oke was among the first to popularize with stories such as this one set on the North American prairie containing strong spiritual themes. Inspirational Historical Romance falls under the larger Romance sub genre of Period Historical works. These love stories are “given credibility by [their] remoteness from the reader’s own experience” (Herald 175). This story’s setting is not nearly as sumptuous or decadent as the eras depicted in other Period Romances, where the lavishness of the time allow readers to believe that epic romances can take place. Instead, the challenging, bare bones prairie life depicted in Heart give Oke’s readers the reassurance that if love can flourish in an environment as harsh as this, surely it can in their own lives, where considerably less effort is needed for daily survival. Oke never mentions any specific time period, but Anna’s one room school and the common presence of trains suggests the late 1800’s or early 1900’s. The lifestyle required by this landscape certainly does make modern life seem ridiculously luxurious. For example, Anna must wash all her laundry by hand, which becomes quite difficult when a new baby arrives (years before the disposable diaper), and can only provide her family with milk and cream when friendly neighbors offer to share some of their cow’s excess (there are no milk men, let alone supermarkets, in this remote setting).While I am generally a fan of romantic novels, I don’t think that I will continue to read inspirational ones, at least not ones like Oke’s that are more focused on inspiration than romance. Although I am a Christian, I would prefer not to be preached at when I am in the mood for a good love story. The style of the book was also a little to simplistic for me. I was actually surprised that it wasn’t considered a Young Adult book, because I would definitely consider recommending it to YA readers who have enjoyed authors like L. M. Montgomery. While I consider Montgomery one of my favorite authors, I think it was because I was exposed to her books at a young age, so I am not surprised that Oke seems too sanitary for me now. Also, Montgomery does not place the strong emphasis on Christian spirituality that Oke does, so I would make sure that the patron was okay with a stronger Christian message. With Oke’s strong moral emphasis, it’s also doubtful parents would complain that librarians were suggesting “inappropriate” reading material for their children.I would also recommend this book to any other patron looking for a clean romance, especially older patrons in rural areas, because it does seem to accurately portray rural life in the past. Because Oke is careful not to tie her book too closely to any specific year, it could conceivably be placed as late as the 1930’s, making the lifestyles portrayed in it personally identifiable to older patrons. Even when I wasn’t enjoying the rest of the story, I really appreciated her accurate descriptions of the work involved in keeping up a house in a remote rural area, because it reminded me of my own childhood growing up on a farm and the stories my grandparents would tell me about how different things were when they were kids.Even though The Measure of a Heart didn’t enthrall me, I think patrons who primarily read Inspirational Romance would find it, and other titles by Janette Oke, just what they were looking for.
Thoughts on the entire series.Overall, Women of the West is my favorite series (that I’ve read so far) by Oke, where I really reveled in what the author had to bring in all of her sweet, warm, and simplistic glory. However, the books aren’t only warm fuzzies, as Oke does deal with some tough, and even some potentially controversial, issues, giving the reader some points to chew on but doing it in her warm style.I’ve read most of the books in the series more than once (maybe even three times, with The Measure of a Heart), and while not each of them are individual favorites of mine, the series as a whole took me places I’m so grateful to have gone.
What do You think about The Measure Of A Heart (1998)?
Anna, the main character, learned a valuable principle: God doesn't need our great abilities, good works, talents... but our Father, God desires our faithfulness, obedience, and a sweet intimacy with HIM. When we have that, we naturally surrender our lives to God and our "little" becomes "MUCH".. .I have seen that with each ministry opportunity God has called me to. God uses my lack of ability, my weaknesses and continually :) keeps me humbled while in HIS great mercy and Faithfulness, showing that as HIS servant... we are called to do HIS purpose, not our own!!
—Larisha
I rated this as "I liked it" because I did when I first read it. But, for a pastor's wife and a model of a godly woman, Oke's main character is rather disappointing. She and her husband are ignorant of some of the most basic truths about Christian living. On the other hand, there are some great moments of their relationship with God, depending on Him and trusting Him through their feeble efforts. And, when my parents first joined the pastorate, they made some big mistakes too, and struggled with very simple questions. So that was true.Maybe the book does deserve three stars. :)
—Hannah
Anna never dreamed she would marrie Mr. Barker. She prayed that a wonderful women would come a long and help him through his ministering, but never dreamed it would be her. I think Janette Oke did a woderful job writing this book. I found it to be a very captering story. I didn't have to learn from this book that God is always there for you, but it did say perfectly that God is always there and He always answers your prayers, maybe not the way you wanted him to, but He does it even better than what you had wanted.
—Kay
