Staying happy in an unhappy world (by Marie Chapian)

(Amazon UK link)

I'd never heard of Marie Chapian. I didn't necessarily expect to find anything about her when I searched, so I was quite surprised to discover that she's quite a prolific writer. She is apparently fairly high-profile in the USA too. 

Reading about her online, it appears she has veered into 'prosperity gospel' teaching, which is not sound. Had I realised, I might not have read this book, or at least would have started it from a different point of view. So perhaps it's just as well I didn't realise.

'Staying happy in an unhappy world' is one of those books that was sitting in our Christian bookcase, and I have NO idea where it came from. Perhaps I picked it up for a few pence on a church bookstall somewhere, or in a charity shop. Perhaps a visitor left it behind. I'm sure we didn't buy it new, and I don't think I've ever read it before.

It's an eighties-style book (which makes sense, since it was written in 1985) about being positive and taking control of our lives, from a broadly Christian perspective. It was quite thought-provoking in places, and generally well-written, although I was mildly irritated by the 'staying happy keys' that appeared every so often in fancy font. The word 'happy' didn't seem entirely appropriate either; it was more about grasping contentment. I didn't have a problem with the theology or the recommendations, although - being a reasonably contented person - much of it didn't really apply to me.

There are some useful questionnaires, which I guess could encourage unhappy people to think about their attitudes and behaviour. There are also some positive suggestions to live in the knowledge of the indwelling Christ. Quite readable and mostly encouraging, although she scoots very lightly over the problem of clinical (or even circumstantial) depression, which are considerably more serious than she implies.

Nor do I think it's necessarily right that all Christian believers should go around being 'happy' all the time - hence why I prefer the word 'contented'. But, overall, I thought it a good book. Now long out of print, but copies probably still lurk on charity shop bookshelves, and Christian bookstalls...

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 26th November 2009

A Week in Winter (by Marcia Willett)

(Amazon UK link)

Having realised that many of Marcia Willett's novels use the same characters in minor roles in later novels, I decided to read them in sequence, as far as possible. It's been six or more years since I read most of them - not in the correct or even published order - so I'm very much enjoying revisiting them.

The first time I read 'A Week in Winter', nearly seven years ago now, I thought it a wonderful book. I rated it very highly, and recommended it enthusiastically.

So, in my re-reading of these novels, I was particularly looking forward to this one.

And, indeed, it's a good story. Maudie is a delightful free-thinking woman, who has often clashed with various members of her late husband's family. She decides, reluctantly, to sell Moorgate, the old family holiday home. She has arguments about this with her step-daughter, and she also happy weekends with her step-granddaughter. She adopts a large dog, and wonders if the house will ever sell.

Rob, who has been renovating Moorgate, is keeping an eye on it. He seems like a nice young man, but something strange is evidently going on... and the house simply isn't selling, despite being very attractive and nicely renovated.

Meanwhile, Melissa is a young woman who knows that she won't live for long, having stopped all treatment for her terminal illness. She wants a week away on her own, in a place where nobody knows how ill she is. She sees Moorgate advertised, and decides to go and visit it.

So we meet all these people, and many more. Their stories inter-link, and there are some very good character studies. I found the story sometimes moving, often gripping - having forgotten most of it since my first reading - and the ending was positive and hopeful. The minor characters I recalled from another book are Hugh and Max, who appear in more major roles in the novel 'Starting Over'.

So, it was a pleasant light read. I didn't feel a desperate urge to finish it, but I enjoyed another few chapters each evening for the past week or so. It was in the same kind of style as Marcia Willett's other novels; gentle, descriptive, positive, and with a very low-key Christian theme popping up here and there in such a quiet way that it couldn't possibly offend anyone.

But somehow, the spark from my first reading wasn't there. I'd certainly recommend it to anyone who likes this genre of women's fiction - the character-driven human relationship style - and particularly to anyone who has read Willett's other novels. I expect to read it again in another six or seven years. But no longer did it seem like one to class as an all-time favourite. Perhaps my tastes have changed.

Still in print in the UK, but apparently not in the USA.

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 24th November 2009

The Courtyard (by Marcia Willett)

(Amazon UK link)

I've been reading - and collecting - Marcia Willett's books for over ten years now. And as I don't yet have her two latest ones, I started re-reading them a couple of years ago. I thought I was very organised, first reading the Chadwick trilogy, and then all the rest, which tend to have one or two minor characters who appear in otherwise unrelated novels. I thought I'd read them in the order they were written, and arranged them on my shelves as well as keeping various notes of which ones I'd read.

So I must have been tired when I picked up this one from its shelf, because I had quite forgotten that I re-read 'The Courtyard' only fourteen months ago. I didn't actually realise that until about half-way through, although I was a bit surprised at how much I remembered of the book, thinking I had read it at least eight years ago.

It's a pleasant light read about a group of people who learn to cope together, with financial difficulties. There is some good characterisation; particularly with the quiet, reserved Nell and the similarly reserved elderly Gussie, who strike up an unexpected friendship at the start of the book. I loved Gussie's habit of chatting to God - out loud, usually - which nicely demonstrates the author's Christian stance without any hint of pushiness. And I liked the way that good deeds - however small - were shown to be rewarded in the long term in the most natural way.

There are some shocks in this novel, which I found that I remembered quite well. I was a little surprised, thinking I had only read this book once - and that eight or nine years ago. When I realised I actually re-read it in September last year, I was, instead, a little chastened to realise that I'd forgotten everything other than the main dramatic points! I couldn't remember at all what happened to Nell, for instance, until right before I reached the relevant section.

Very enjoyable women's fiction; no need at all to have read other books by Marcia Willett, but I'm glad I have since I like seeing glimpses into the lives of people who previously appeared in other novels. This one features Guy (although not his twin Giles) and also Gemma, with passing mention of their parents.

Still in print; recommended if you like this kind of book.

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 18th November 2009

He Loves Me! (by Wayne Jacobsen)

(Amazon UK link)

I first came across Wayne Jacobsen as one half of the pseudoym 'Jake Colsen' in the excellent book 'So you don't want to go to church anymore'. It was a while later when I bought his book 'Authentic Relationships', which I enjoyed. So I went ahead and bought this one too, and have been reading it for the past couple of weeks.

'He loves me!' is subtitled 'Learning to live in the Father's affection'. That's exactly what the book is about. It discusses what is meant by God's love, and how we can be absolutely certain that it will never fail. That means, of course, that we don't have to do anything to earn it. Obvious? Certainly. It's the theme of Philip Yancey's excellent and inspiring book 'What's so Amazing about Grace?' and indeed the parable of the Prodigal Son.

But how many Christian believers feel the need to jump through hoops, even though they declare - with their minds - that they are saved by grace alone? How absolutely certain are we of our Father's love?

I don't think I've ever doubted that God loves me; I don't, as Jacobsen suggests, imagine that he loves me any less when life happens to be fraught or upsetting in some way. But it's not easy to throw off the structure-orientation of my evangelical teenage years, and truly believe wholeheartedly that God truly, absolutely and unconditionally loves me even more than I love my own sons. That he doesn't make life more difficult if I'm not reading the Bible much, or if I forget to pray in the mornings.

It's a very reassuring, inspiring and thought-provoking book. Each chapter has questions at the end, intended for small group discussions or further personal ponderings; but I found the chapters themselves very full, and read just one each day. It's one of the best books I have ever read.

I have one single complaint. The foreword to the book is terrible. It's condescending, full of assurances about how the book will change my life, and how confident the foreword-writer is about what I will think or do having read the book. It was so bad that it nearly put me off reading altogether. The last time I read such dreadful blurb was on the book 'Purpose driven life', which I don't recommend at all.

Thankfully I was able to overcome my principles and read the book anyway, despite the foreword. I'm glad I did. But if you do happen to pick it up, or borrow or buy it, I suggest that you go straight to the author's introduction. Or, better still, right into chapter one.

Highly recommended.

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 12th November 2009

Love finds a home (by Janette Oke)

(Amazon UK link)

Having read the others in the 'Love Comes Softly' series by Janette Oke recently - in particular the seventh, 'Love Takes Wing' - I decided to read the eighth and last immediately afterwards.

In 'Love finds a home', Marty and Clark's youngest daughter Belinda is now well established as nurse/companion to a wealthy woman in Boston. She manages to visit her home town for a few weeks, where she renews old friendships and catches up with her beloved family. She wonders if there is something wrong with her, since she seems to have no desire to marry, even though her two similar aged nieces now have homes and families of their own.

I thought there was very good character development in Belinda. As she goes home, she looks forward to spending time where she belongs, and wonders if she will ever want to return to Boston. But she soon discovers that she is no longer the naive young woman who left home. 

She realises how pampered she has become, and how much she has got used to fashionable clothes and a life where servants (albeit loved ones) do most of the hard work. She has to make some difficult decisions, which help her as she matures further and discovers where her long-term future lies.

There are some quite moving sections of this book, before the satisfying (if somewhat predictable) conclusion. The strong Christian theme is emphasised perhaps a little more than in the earlier books, but even so I didn't find it too pushy or preachy.

The whole 'Love comes softly' series is very light fiction, based in the early settler days in the USA. It's suitable for adults or teens, or even older children, although it probably wouldn't appeal to many of today's young people who prefer thrilling or shocking novels. 

But for anyone who enjoys the gentle style of novels such as 'Anne of Green Gables', I'd recommend it in a low-key way. 'Love Finds a Home' makes a good conclusion.

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 8th November 2009

Love takes wing (by Janette Oke)

(Amazon UK link)

There's something oddly appealing about Janette Oke's books. They're not great literature; they aren't very long; they're fairly easy-read style, intended for teenagers as well as adults. 

Yet the people seem believable; I almost feel as if I might have known them. Their world is a simpler place than today's, although some problems - such as medical ones, or the need for travel - are much more complex in these pioneer days in the USA.

'Love Takes Wing', is the seventh in the 'Love comes softly' series. It's a direct sequel to 'Love's Unfolding Dream', in which Belinda - Marty and Clark's youngest - starts her introduction to nursing, and gets to know her niece Melissa, who is about her age.

In this book, set a couple of years later, Belinda is established as practise nurse at her brother Luke's surgery. As the book opens, Melissa returns briefly to the family after training as a teacher, before returning to the West. Belinda is a bit lonely, but throws herself into her nursing.

Tragedy strikes when one of the family is injured, with long-term consequences as a rift appears in what has always been a united and happy family. In addition, two young men start to show an interest in Belinda, and she has to make some difficult decisions about her future.

I'm enjoying reading the continuation of this series which I first came across many years ago. I'm going to continue straight on to the last in the series after this, eager to know what happens to Belinda.

I'm pleased to see that this series is still in print on both side of the Atlantic, twenty years after first publication. Sometimes it can be found less expensively as part of a collection. Also available for the Kindle. 

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 4th November 2009

Starting over (by Sue Moorcroft)

(Amazon UK link)

I thoroughly enjoyed the first novel I read by Sue Moorcroft, 'Uphill All the Way", so I was delighted when I was offered her latest book to read, by The Bookbag site.

It's an unusual coincidence that it's called 'Starting Over', the same title as the last book I read: 'Staring Over' by Marcia Willetts. Indeed, it's the third book of that title I own now; I also have (and like) 'Starting Over' by Robin Pilcher.

I was a little put off by seeing a remarkably fluffy-looking blue cover with pink flowers and brown birds, that screamed 'chick-lit' - but then again, the publisher is called Choc-Lit. Their claim is that their heroes are as irresistible as chocolate. Still, I hoped there would be some depth to it, and some great characterisation, as there was in 'Uphill all the way.'

It starts well. A single email is the prologue, sent to Tess by her ex-fiancé Olly, cancelling the wedding. It's a sharp shock that demonstrates Olly's unpleasantness. It also explains why we next meet Tess on her way to a cottage she has just bought, in a small village, to escape from her past.

When Tess is nearly at her new home, with laden car, she bumps into a breakdown truck, and meets Ratty, who is obviously (due to their instant mutual antipathy) going to be the hero of the book. Unfortunately, from my perspective, Ratty is far from irresistible. I accept that some women like tattoos and grumpiness, but Ratty is aggressive at times, he's extremely promiscuous, and he can be very manipulative. He has a few good features too, but his negative side far outweighed his good points, in my view.

Nonetheless, the story proceeds as per Mills and Boon formula, with far too many bedroom scenes (or remembrances of them), albeit, thankfully, not too explicit. There are some good moments, and some enjoyable interludes with Tess's new friend Angel and her children. But all the male characters are rather flat, and some of the plotting seems a bit forced.

Perhaps I'm being unfair, because I didn't think it was nearly as good as 'Uphill all the way', and was thus a bit disappointed. If I'd picked it up expecting standard chick-lit, I'd have been impressed at the good writing and the depth of characterisation in Tess and one or two others. I read it in a few days - it was a good story, if I skipped the bedroom parts, and suspended reality once or twice - and the ending was satisfying, albeit predictable.

Recommended in a low-key way if you enjoy light women's fiction.

My longer review of Starting Over can be found at the Bookbag site.