Redeeming Love in Easley Library Bookworms

Aug 18, 2023 Werner rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction

Note, Oct. 5, 2023: I've just edited this review to correct two typos.

Francine Rivers (b. 1946) was raised in a Christian home, but came to a personal faith in Christ only as an adult, in 1986. By then, she was already a successful author of romance genre novels, and writing was a central part of her life. Her new-found faith led to serious questioning about how (or whether) writing would fit into it. Ultimately, she came to realize that she still wanted to create stories, but wanted them to ref Note, Oct. 5, 2023: I've just edited this review to correct two typos.

Francine Rivers (b. 1946) was raised in a Christian home, but came to a personal faith in Christ only as an adult, in 1986. By then, she was already a successful author of romance genre novels, and writing was a central part of her life. Her new-found faith led to serious questioning about how (or whether) writing would fit into it. Ultimately, she came to realize that she still wanted to create stories, but wanted them to reflect her new understanding of faith and life. Her first novel written after her conversion, Redeeming Love was written as, in her own words, "a form of worship." Since then, she's gone on to write numerous other successful and well-received historical and contemporary general fiction novels for the "Christian fiction" market, and is a major figure in the genre (and a winner of the Christy Award, though not for this book --the award didn't exist when it was published in 1991). Never having read anything by this author before, and having had this novel on my Goodreads to-read shelf for 13 years, I was delighted to finally have a chance to fit it into my reading!

The "Christian fiction" labeling, though, may require some clarification, at least for readers who may associate the term negatively with syrupy-sweet, ultra-sanitized writing. This novel definitely has Christian content. Some important characters are Christians who speak frankly of their faith, and it plays a positive role in their lives; and the protagonist's spiritual journey is a central theme of the tale. But although we're spared explicit descriptions of sexual acts, and Rivers doesn't directly quote foul language (and we don't have much direct reference to violence), the subject matter isn't sanitized in any other way --and the subject matter is premised on the background of the Old Testament book of Hosea. In the Israel of the eighth century B.C., Hosea was a faithful prophet directed by God to marry a prostitute, and to remain faithful to her and reclaim her after her various abandonments and infidelities. The biblical symbolism is of the faithfulness of Yahweh to his bride Israel, who repeatedly prostitutes herself to pagan gods.

Rivers eschews the allegory, keeping the focus on the two central human characters and their individual relationship to each other and to God. She also moves the story forward in time by nearly 3,000 years, to the 19th-century U.S. But she keeps the basic premise; and where the O.T. prophetic book gives us only the bare bones of Hosea and Gomer's story --it's mostly prophetic oracles and sermons in poetry-- here our author's whole focus is on the realistic life experiences of Christian pioneer farmer Michael Hosea and the young woman who as a little child was called Sarah. So the telling of the tale will obviously involve what movie raters refer to as "sexual situations," and the milieu where they take place is a morally grungy one, honestly depicted.

We begin with a Prologue set in New England and New York City in 1835-1840, which is basically 33 pages of concentrated emotional and physical misery, that follows Sarah from the time she's about three years old to the time when she's eight, the age at which she's raped (that's not directly described, but we're not left in any doubt about what happened!) and trafficked into prostitution. She started out as the out-of-wedlock daughter of a wealthy (and married) magnate who wanted her aborted, and resented the fact that her mother didn't accede to that order. From a very early age, she picked up the impression that she shouldn't have existed, that she was responsible for coming between her parents, and that romantic love was a sure guarantor of misery for the woman. The downward spiral of suffering inflicted on both of these females by human selfishness and sexual double standards isn't pretty. I started out reading this book aloud to my wife. She bailed on it long before the rape, and I understood why. (If you thought Jane Eyre had an awful childhood, it was a picnic compared to Sarah's.) Readers should be aware of this going into the read.

Our main story begins in 1850, in the gold rush boom town of Pair-a-Dice in northern California. (I don't know if Rivers is California-born, but she went to high school there. She and her husband moved to the northern part of that state shortly before her conversion, where they still live; and much of her fiction is set there.) "Angel" (the name she was given by her rapist) has escaped one brothel in New York only to end up in another one a continent away. Michael, coming into town to sell his produce, sees her passing down the street on her occasional walks for exercise (with a thug bodyguard to ensure both that she doesn't bolt and that no males try to sample the merchandise for free). He's smitten by her beauty, but more so by her indomitable, unconsciously regal bearing; and he feels led by God to marry her. The story of these two people which ensues will be a gritty and unpredictable one, with passages that aren't much cheerier than the prologue. It will be at times a dark one, with strategically disclosed revelations of things done to Angel (and sometimes by her) in the 1840-1850 years, and one that will at times make you profoundly angry and disgusted with humankind. It's also enormously fascinating, gripping, immersive and powerful.

IMO, the literary quality of River's writing here is quite high (and I've read a lot of novels, and am used to evaluating and comparing their quality!). Her characterizations are very sharp, realistic, and nuanced; besides a couple of psychopaths, few significant characters are depicted in faultlessly all-good or all-evil terms. (Michael's a pretty good person, but even he has his struggles.) She handles prose well, with a flowing style that's descriptive, grim, or lyrical where it needs to be, and she spins a realistic plot that's no cakewalk for our heroine and hero; we're often frustrated with the inability of both to catch a break, because we've come to care about them. The emotional impact and involvement the tale evokes is enormous, and the author's understanding of the deep, complex psychological baggage Angel (and many real-life prostitutes, from what I've read) carry is astute, and depicted with understanding and compassion. The insta-love factor on Michael's part is a bit problematic, but Rivers makes it credible. And while the storyline fits the time period (which is faultlessly evoked), many of the spiritual, psychological and social themes depicted are as relevant today as they were in 1850, and indeed are timeless.

If you don't want to read about sexual exploitation of women, even in the context of redemption from it (given the title, that shouldn't be a spoiler!) or see a prostitute as a sympathetic character, this novel won't be for you. Ditto if you hate religious belief/believers. But for most readers of any faith, or no faith, this novel would have my highest recommendation. (And don't be put off by seeing that it's often shelved as "romance;" it's not like a typical mass-market Harlequin!) ...more

24 likes · Like · see review

Aug 08, 2024 Alandra rated it liked it

Very mixed feelings about this book;

Negatives:
Some things were just not handled well, I feel. It seemed there was a lot of victim-blaming in the language, especially in a couple plot elements (the Paul character and also Angel's father) and that bothered me a lot.
There are lots of disturbing elements and triggering themes. Because of that, this was not an enjoyable read for me and I was anxious to finish it. It was a lot of back and forth, with seemingly the same things happening over and over ( ...more

Like · see review

Jul 12, 2017 Lynne rated it it was amazing

Like

Jun 02, 2014 Amber added it

Like

Apr 13, 2013 Emily Sears Cook marked it as to-read

Like

From the Bookshelf of Easley Library Bookworms…

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

What Members Thought

Easley Library Bookworms