Well, this afternoon I finished reading the last book in the trilogy (As Sure As the Dawn) and can't believe that since June 15th I have read right around 1500 pages between all 3 books. Phew. I'm not sure if I can pick up another book for a few days. That's a lot of reading! (We all know that will never happen--I already have a bookmark in book #36)
When I blogged about these books the first time, I said that I was having a hard time separating one book from another and that it would be easier to blog about them all at once. I was wrong. After reading the 3rd book, here's my revised statement: It's hard for me to separate the first two books and I'll blog about them at once. The 3rd book is so vastly different from the first two, I can't even imagine putting it in the same category as the first two.
I absolutely loved the first two books in this series and have never been so grateful that a friend shared these books with me. I can honestly say that a quick glance at the front cover and a quick read of the back cover would not have been enough to get me to read these books on my own. They are just not something I typically read. Let's face it--I read a lot, but what I read is typically light or at least modern. These books are neither, but when you have a good friend telling you that they are great, you step out of your box and you read them and I am so glad that I did. I left the second book teary and feeling good about what I had read, about the evolution of the characters, and the overall plot of the book. I loved that the epilogue explained what happened next (I really like to know what happens to characters after the story ends) and honestly felt as though the story has come to a nice end. I opened the 3rd book wondering where Rivers was going to take the story because she had wrapped everything up so nicely in book 2.
So here's what happens. In the 3rd and final book, Rivers reintroduces us to a character we met in book one: Atretes. He is a tough character for me to like and the entire book was about him! (There's a picture of him on the front cover of the book and it certainly made ladies stop and ask me about my book at the pool yesterday--they were intrigued to say the least!) As a result, this book was slow moving for me and not my favorite of the three. Even my dear friend who gave me these books admitted that this one was not as good as the others and likened it to a spin-off of a sit-com. How true she was with that analogy! Now the message was good, but I just found it harder to believe than the other 2.
Why? Each of these 3 books center around characters who are living to spread the word of Christ. Each struggles with this for various reasons, but throughout the books we see the characters evolve and come to terms with their faith and see them so strong in theirs that they are able to effectively spread the good news to others. They are 100% believable. Nothing seems contrived or artificial. Until Atretes. I did not believe for a second that he had accepted Christ nor could I ever believe in his ability to share the news of Jesus with others. His wife was very believable, but after reading two books and getting to know Hadassah, Rizpah paled in comparison.
Despite what I didn't like about book 3, there was one character who fascinated me: Anomia. She was the Julia from the first 2 books: pure evil wrapped in a human form. But, books need a Julia or a Anomia. They need conflict and deception. They are what hold our interest (sad, but true). These characters are the ones we read about and can't turn the pages fast enough to get more. They are typically so far removed from what we live and what we know that we can't help but read on about them. They are like the train wreck we can't turn our eyes from. Sadly, Anomia did not appear in book 3 until about page 350. We could've used her much, much sooner and I am sad that her character was not more fully developed.
She did remind me, however, of something I noticed while reading book 2. I adored Marcus and loved that he loved Hadassah as much as he did. I loved how pure and righteous Hadassah was and loved the stark comparison between her and Julia's friend, Calabah. At one point, Hadassah heals and I began to see her very much as a living, breathing, female version of Jesus. She is trying so hard to make Marcus believe in the power of Jesus. She was revered, although she didn't like that, and she did seem to have a "power." Calabah, on the other hand, seemed to be nothing but hatred, wanted only what was good for her, and let nothing stand in her way as she worked to get the most of out life. In this sense, Calabah became Satan for me and I had a hard time getting this image out of my head as I was reading. When Anomia appeared in book 3, I knew Satan was back, ready to try to destroy.
In addition to just being good stories to read, each of these books, even the third one, made me think about my own faith, and I am guessing that this is the exact point of the author. I will never be as good as Hadassah (and if she was likened after Jesus, we all know why), I can never see myself being as calm as she was in the face of death, and I am sure that anyone reading this will speculate that her faith in God and her belief in Jesus are just a lot stronger than mine are and will perhaps ever be. I would not dispute that for a second. I am sure that others reading this (and who have read the books) will tell me that if I just believe as she did, if I just give my life over to Christ, I too could be like Hadassah. I guess I am not there yet, as I found myself returning to one line that is repeated time and time again in all 3 books. Loosely quoted: sin is sin. This idea has been a source of many discussions in my house over the last 2 months and is one that makes my husband angrier than virtually anything else in the world. I just have a hard time believing that the sins Hadassah committed were looked upon in the same light by God as Julia's or as Calabah's. I just find this idea to be one that I grapple with a lot. For it to be repeated over and over gave me many opportunities to think.
One idea that appeared in book 3 also gave me cause to reflect. Since I was a little girl I have been asking anyone who might have the answer to why God would allow bad things to happen to people. Rizpah gives the answer, one I have never been told by a live person, that God allows bad things to happen so that we can see and feel his mercy. I am struggling with this idea, too, but it certainly is an interesting idea to ponder.
So, it has taken me right around 3 weeks to read this trilogy and I am certainly glad I did. I love that it made me think and feel things that I wouldn't have expected to think or to feel. I love that Hadassah and Marcus gave me hope like no two literary characters ever had. I am a better person for reading these books. You should consider reading them, too. Thanks, Pam!
No comments:
Post a Comment