The Calling of Emily Evans (by Janette Oke)

(Amazon UK link)

The author Janette Oke is, in my view, one of the better writers of that strange genre of American Christian fiction. Possibly because she is Canadian! I’m all for having Christian values in a book, and seeing real stories about ordinary followers of Jesus. I’m less enthused about having direct gospel messages thinly disguised as conversations. But I guess the American evangelical publishers require it, so I just skim over those sections when I read a book from that genre.

However, Janette Oke's plots and characters are usually well developed, with - very often - a solid and interesting historical background. The writing is usually fairly simple - they’re teenage books, really - but I have no problem with that. I love re-reading books for children and teens, so long as they are good stories.

Unfortunately, 'The Calling of Emily Evans' was not one of Janette Oke's best works.

Still, let’s start with the positives. It was free for my Kindle. I downloaded it just before going away for a couple of weeks, despite having a couple of hundred unread books already, and I read it at bedtimes over about a week. It passed the time pleasantly enough, and certainly didn’t keep me awake.

The story involves a girl (Emily) who feels called to be a Bible teacher. She goes to Bible college, and although she is quite frail and not as intelligent as some of her classmates, she eventually graduates and is sent to look after a small, dilapidated church in a village where there has been no pastor for many years. The exact date is not made clear but it feels as if it was about the turn of the 20th century. Trains exist; cars do not, or are very rare.

So far so good, and it was, in general terms, a fascinating account of a period of American history which I knew little about. I was quite surprised to learn that girls were sent out to look after churches, even though they were expected, sooner or later, to get married in order that their husbands could be the ‘real’ pastors.

Unfortunately, there  isn’t much story. Emily arrives in her new post to find herself not really welcome at all. The church building and her own home are falling apart through disuse, and not many people are eager to help. So she sets to work, and gradually builds up the trust of some of her neighbours although others remain suspicious... but there isn't a whole lot of character development.

It was obvious from that start that she was going to succeed in her duties eventually, and that she would probably marry one of the young men who appeared in her life. However the majority of the book just charts her day-to-day life, introducing a large number of people whom she gets to know, but whose personalities were too thinly described to be of much interest. I could barely remember from day to day who each person was - and, worse, it didn’t really matter.

All of which probably sounds over-negative. It really wasn’t a bad book; I kept reading, and it fulfilled a useful role for me. But it wasn’t very well written, and there was nobody I really cared about. Even Emily was not particularly likeable. The ‘religious’ parts were a little over-done, in my view, and the ending too sudden (albeit not unexpected).

So, I wouldn't really recommended this, unless you like this writer and are interested in this kind of situation. 

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews

What's so Amazing about Grace? (by Philip Yancey)

(Amazon UK link)

I've been reading books by Philip Yancey for over a decade, now. I find him one of the most powerful modern American Christian writers, who uses anecdotes and his experiences as a journalist to present the message of Jesus and to encourage and inspire Christians all around the world.

His best-known book is probably 'What's so Amazing about Grace?' which I first read in 2005, and liked very much indeed. When I have read other books on the topic of grace, I have always mentally compared them (usually negatively) with this classic by Yancey. And, in the absence of any new books by this author, I thought that it was more than time for a re-read, eight years later.

I've been reading two or three chapters per day for the past couple of weeks, and have enjoyed it very much. The message is one that bears repeating: God offers us grace. There is nothing, as Yancey puts it, which we can do that will make God love us more, and nothing we can do that will make him love us less. God regards us with far more love and compassion than even the best of parents regard their children. And so we should be offering grace freely to those around us.

Unfortunately what Philip Yancey has perceived in his travels, and particularly in the ultra-fundamentalist racist church where he grew up, is what he calls 'un-grace'. He sees it continue at the time of writing; not that racism was accepted any more, but there were undoubtedly people who were prejudiced against the poor, the ragged, the divorced, the gay... the list goes on, and is little different today, or so it seems from the US Christian media. Grace is not something that Christians are renowned for.

Perhaps there was a bit too much about ungrace, rather too many anecdotes from around the world for my tastes. They were interesting, to be sure, and I had not remembered most of them - but by the time I was about three-quarters of the way through the book I did start to wonder if there would be anything else about grace. I had totally got the point that much of the church around the world shows ungrace and that something needs to change. But I didn't find much that showed a positive way forward.

However that's really my only real problem with the book, and there was nothing in particular that struck me as unnecessary. I'm not up in politics so I did skim a few examples of ungrace but they would no doubt be of great interest to those who understand or follow this topic.

The writing is great, the style extremely readable, and the message very clear.

All in all, I would recommend this book highly. It has remained continually in print on both sides of the Atlantic, and can be found now in Kindle form as well as paperback. For those wanting to read it in home groups or with friends, there are also study guides available.

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 20th October 2013

The unbearable lightness of scones (by Alexander McCall Smith)

(Amazon UK link)

I really want to like Alexander McCall Smith’s books. Several people whose literary tastes I respect consider his novels wonderful.Yet, in the two that I have read so far by this author, I have been unable to feel more than mild amusement. This is combined - usually - with a slight sense of tedium at the immense amount of minute detail inherent in his writing.

However, I quite liked the friendly and somewhat satirical style, free for the most part from violence or bad language. So when I spotted the novel ‘The unbearable lightness of scones’ going for a euro on a church bookstall, it was not a hard decision to buy it.

The title intrigued me. It is apparently part of a series about 44 Scotland Street in Edinburgh. As I gradually realised, it might have been better to have read at least one of the others in the series beforehand.

The book starts with a wedding. A young couple called Matthew and Elspeth tie the knot, despite a few last-minute reservations, and set off on their honeymoon. This takes a few chapters, and gives a nice cameo. There are ironic asides, and rather a large number of minor characters. But I was quite enjoying it when suddenly the viewpoint switches to the middle of someone else’s life, after the newly-weds have left by plane for Australia. By the time the story has followed them on their honeymoon, I had almost forgotten who they were.

I usually read light fiction for fifteen minutes or so before going to sleep, and unfortunately this is not the ideal kind of book for that treatment. I simply could not keep track of all the people in this book, which feels at times more like a few episodes from a soap rather than a novel. My favourite character was the delightfully precocious six-year-old Bertie who wants nothing more than to join Cub Scouts. However his mother wants him to join only gender-neutral groups and to play with the bossy Olive. I don't recall any of the others particularly. They all seemed so similar.

There’s a thread about a missing blue teacup, another about a valuable long-lost painting, another about someone who breaks up with his girlfriend and is offered a modelling job. And there are many conversations between people who, unfortunately, I found it hard to care about. Or even to distinguish. Perhaps the book is not meant to stand alone - or perhaps the intention is to be snapshots of several people’s lives as they intertwine and overlap. But since I could not grasp who was whom, or remember from one chapter to another what relationship they had with each other, this point was rather lost.

All of which sounds rather negative. But to be fair, the writing for the most part is enjoyable enough, with some nice irony here and there. I was tempted to give up a couple of times but kept going despite the lack of coherent story.. and enjoyed some interesting insights into people whose lives - albeit caricatured - are far removed from mine.

If I come across another in this series second-hand, I might well consider reading it...

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 11th October 2013

Happily ever after (by Gary Chapman)

(Amazon UK link)

I have read and enjoyed various books by Gary Chapman over the last few years. He is probably best known for his book ‘Five love languages’ and others on the same topic, but he has also written or co-written some good books about raising children. When I noticed that one of his books was available free for the Kindle for a few days back in June, I decided to download it.

‘Happily ever after’ turns out to be a book about marriage, a topic with which my shelves are already someone over-stocked. The subtitle is, rather cheesily, ‘Six secrets to a successful marriage’. After over thirty years I think my marriage probably counts as reasonably successful, but there’s no harm in a few reminders from time to time. So I read it over a couple of weeks recently.

The book is divided into six broad sections, with the first one being the most useful in general terms. It talks about the unpleasant inevitability of most marital arguments, how nobody ever ‘wins’ even if one partner emerges as the apparent victor. When someone beats down a loved one with words, there’s a nasty taste left in both mouths, and a new scar in the relationship.

Chapman acknowledges that we all have negative traits, and that probably every married person in the world wishes at least one thing was different with his or her spouse… and, unusually, rather than talking about love being beyond such things, he suggests that in a good relationship it should be possible to address potential changes over time.

The first sections cover listening skills and empathy, the importance of feeling understood, and some techniques to encourage mutual respect and expression of love. Naturally enough there’s a brief summary of the famous ‘Love Languages’, the ways in which people express and receive love, and a reminder to figure out and use one’s spouse’s primary ‘language’ regularly (with a sprinkling of the others). All good stuff, and something I find myself thinking about and discussing more often in the context of parent/child relationships, where understanding and empathy are every bit as important.

I felt less enthused when I read about trying to negotiate for change in one’s spouse, in a way that seemed to be rather manipulative, albeit cloaked in plenty of love and respect. In many cases, I simply don’t think it would be helpful; moreover the author didn’t even mention those cases where a relationship becomes abusive in some way, where change simply isn’t going to happen. There are long lists of things that typical spouses wish they could change about their partners; it was quite interesting and, in places, eye-opening - but I do wonder how many people would actually take the time to follow the author’s suggestions, and whether their loved ones would simply see through their apparent loving to the underlying manipulation.

The other sections cover various topics on which couples typically have big disagreements: finances, in-laws, raising children, and so on. I felt that there was some good advice in this, mixed with some rather obvious statements, and some which I disagreed with. This isn’t necessarily a problem, and for a newly married idealistic couple this could be a good book to work through together. But most of it didn’t feel particularly relevant to me. I particularly felt that the section about finances seemed unrealistic, assuming that people wanted to acquire ‘things’ beyond their means, and helping them figure out how to avoid them. For those of us who live (and prefer) a somewhat minimalistic lifestyle, it was a section to skim.

I like Gary Chapman’s clear writing style, which has sufficient anecdotes to be interesting, and is well organised content-wise. But given the number of marriage books already available, I didn’t think that this said anything new or different - so would not particularly recommend it above any of the others. In particular, I didn’t feel that it was as inspiring or constructive as the author’s ‘Four seasons of marriage’, which I recommend very highly.

However, if this book becomes available free again, or if you come across it inexpensively in a charity shop, it’s not a bad book at all. For those trying to figure out how marriage works, there are a few gems which may be helpful.

Note that the Amazon links are to the paperback edition; the Kindle version is not much cheaper at present.

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 2nd October 2013