REVIEW "Sweet Mercy"

In my last book review (Revealing Jesus: a 365 Day Devotional) I mentioned that there were two types of books that I don’t like very much. The first was the “tie-in” book and the second was what my mother always called the “name exchange” book. That’s when an author, usually of romance novels, tells basically the same story, but simply changes the names of the lead characters.  When I picked up “Sweet Mercy” by Ann Tatlock to read and review from Graf-Martin, I suspected it might be another “name exchange” book. I am rarely so happy to be so wrong.

In the Prologue this story creates it’s foundation. An elderly lady entering an abandoned old country lodge with her young grandson, goes rummaging through the attic in search of a mysterious box. It appears like their task will take quite some time, so Eve’s grandson talks her into telling the story of the last time she was in the old lodge and why it’s so important for her to come back to retrieve an old box. That’s our cue to settle in for a trip to the past via the small town of Mercy, where Eve first came to live as a 17 year old in the early 1930’s.

Suddenly the cobwebs melt, the dust disappears, a breeze stirs her memories and all is fresh and new again as Eve remembers the summer she first came with her parents to live at  the “Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge” owned by her father’s brother, Cyrus Marryat.

Eve’s father, in the midst of the depression and laid off work, accepts his brother’s offer of a job at the Marryat Lodge on the outskirts of the town of Mercy. For Eve it is a safe haven to escape the gangsters and corruption that had taken over the streets of St. Paul Minnesota which were also responsible for Eve having witnessed a brutal murder that continued to haunt her. Thinking she has found the next best thing to the garden of Eden, Eve settles in to her job and new life in paradise unaware that her past, her fears, first love and adulthood are all just around the corner and completely inescapable.

With the scene set, Ann Tatlock breathes life into a period of history that few of us know much about by making it as familiar as our own neighbourhood and as current as our own teen years. And Tatlock doesn’t hesitate for a moment from inundating us with words and references that went out of use and style decades ago, but jump off the page with potency at the merest touch of her story telling talents.

A time when men wore pomade on their hair, fedoras on their heads, lived in Podunk towns, rowed punts, drove a jitney, shantytowns prevalent, the poor were willing to do a days labour for a plate of food, Rudolph Valentino was the big movie heart throb and people were fox trotting to “Keep a Song in Your Soul” by Duke Ellington with "some kind of dynamism"(*1).

The plot moves along at a steady clip, we get to know characters both interesting and recognizable and are educated about a time in history where prohibition was the law, the Volstead act was enforced and politicians’ pockets were lined with money from gangsters and rum runners.

But the best thing about Ann Tatlock is the way she seamlessly weaves history and fiction together, describes scenery so vividly that you know you’ve been there and does it without wasting a single word. She doesn’t subject us to long descriptive paragraphs when she can simply interject, “ a small steel bridge humped like the back of a frightened cat”(*2) to instantly draw a mental picture. Or a quick reference like, “ that life seemed far away like the torn edges of an early morning dream”(*3) to allow us immediate access into the heart of our heroine.

But Ann Tatlock’s techniques and talent aside, at it’s core “Sweet Mercy” is the quintessential coming-of-age story told at it’s best. We meet Eve when she is  vulnerable yet passionate and about to cross the line from carefree childhood to the adult life of difficult choices and joyous sorrows. 

But what Ann Tatlock truly excels at is all the feelings we have when we are first in love. The feelings of inadequacy, worry about never seeing the object of our affection again, a attraction so electric you can barely speak, floating instead of merely walking, those happy sighs and "this sense of connectedness, however fragile and brief, a blessed reprieve from solitude."(*4) and to be "lovelier than I might have imagined."(*5)
 
But if I could describe “Sweet Mercy” with one word it would be “infectious”. (Infectious as Eve's new friend, Marlene). But this is the kind of infection you will want to catch. It is the perfect book for a summer read. You will relate to the hot days by the water, the warm tender evenings, games, laughter, family vacations, barbecues and new summertime friends. But you’ll want to keep this book handy, because right about the time the cold winds come, when the snow is piled high, you have to dig out your car and you keep checking your furnace to see if it’s still working, the town of Mercy will be a wonderful place to visit again for your winter holiday.

A solidly written; thoroughly enjoyable read. I happily give it an 8 out of 10 Golden Christian Fishes.



BOOK QUOTES PAGE REFERENCES:
(*1)- page 59
(*2)- page 24
(*3)- page 54
(*4)- page 102
(*5)- page 102

Laura-Lee's Special Treats LINKS:

CBD Link below - $9.99 - lots in stock

Sweet Mercy By Ann Tatlock

Sweet Mercy (First 28 pages) in PDF file

"Keep a Song in Your Soul" by Duke Ellington at YouTube


More Information LINKS:

ANN TATLOCK Official Website

SWEET MERCY Profile at Baker Publishing Website

Graf-Martin Communications (Promotion)

Ann Tatlock

    

“No Safe Harbor” by Elizabeth Ludwig

It was a cold and snowy day when I began to read this latest book sent to me to review. I had never read anything by author Elizabeth Ludwig before so I was anxious to get started.
They always say the sign of a talented writer is the ability to capture the readers’ interest quickly. It took only a couple sentences before Ludwig had me hook, line and sinker.

“No Safe Harbor” is a fictional romance set in the late 1800’s which begins as Cara Hamilton arrives at Ellis Island. Cara is a young, Irish woman who has set sail from Liverpool in order to come to America in search of her brother. It takes very little time before she starts encountering several helpful people.

Douglas Healy recommends her to the boarding house of Amelia Matheson and she meets the attentive and attractive Rourke Walsh who takes the time to escort her there. Cara Hamilton is cultured, well brought up and moral and finds the surroundings of New York both rough and crude. But with her personal determination and the help of several interesting characters she sets out on her quest to find her brother.

But things (and people) are not all that they appear. There are other people also looking for her brother and the meeting with Mr. Walsh was no accident. Yet Rourke’s owns purpose becomes cloudy when he develops feelings for Cara and is torn between spying on her in the hope she will lead him to her brother and his desire to protect her from his malevolent employers.

Elizabeth Ludwig unwinds the knots of Cara’s life with an easy flow of prose and sense of intrigue. Her characters are drawn from life as well as her knowledge of human nature and the unexpected turns life takes when God is involved.
 
Ludwig seems a little light in the details and knowledge of this era in New York history but her perfect balance between romance and mystery and the steady and pleasant rhythm of her writing makes it an enjoyable read.

Elizabeth Ludwig

 
I not only recommend you read “No Safe Harbor” but suggest you pick a time when you will be undisturbed and wish to relax as you allow Elizabeth Ludwig lead you into a suspenseful yet encouraging retreat.

This is Book One in the “Edge of Freedom” series so, if you enjoy it, keep watch for Book Two.

Follow the link below for more information:

GRAF-MARTIN COMMUNICATIONS

It rates 8 out of 10 “Secret Christian Fishies”.

Please feel free to leave a comment about this Review or this Book. I appreciate your Feedback. (Remember you can comment anonymously)

GRACE: More Than We Deserve; Greater Than We Imagine

Heather and her father, Kyle, were both doctors doing missionary work among AIDS patients in Zimbabwe. When Heather’s father became very ill she finally convinced him to get on a plane back to America for treatment. She went along to care for him on the trip and became very ill herself while on the plane. Soon she had to rush to the on board washroom where she began to vomit profusely, while her father remained in his seat with a 104.5 fever. From where she lay on the floor in the airplane washroom, Heather prayed to God for help. At some point she was found in the washroom and both her and her father were attended to by the 100 doctors who also happened to be on that plane!

With stories like that and many others, Max Lucado reveals to us God’s luxurious Grace in his new book, “Grace: More Than We Deserve; Greater Than We Imagine”.

In a world where the meaning of Grace can be easily misunderstood or even twisted to the point of being unrecognizable, Lucado explains the difference between the human version of Grace, which usually involves strings attached or the idea of earning God’s favour, and God’s idea of real grace.
“Grace is simply another word for God’s tumbling, rumbling reservoir of strength and protection. It comes at us not occasionally or miserly but constantly and aggressively, wave upon wave.” (page 99)

Lucado goes even farther back to explain why we need Grace in the first place. We, as humans, are riddled with sin which “is not a regrettable lapse or an occasional stumble. Sin stages a coup against God’s regime. Sin storms the castle, lays claim to God’s throne, and defies his authority.” (page 34)

In order to rid ourselves of our entrenched sin we often think we can win God’s favour, just as a boy scout wins his merit badges. But if we “[make] the assumption that God rates on the merit system” then “some thorny questions surfaced. If God saves good people, how good is ‘good’?” (page 46 – excerpts)

I became familiar with the writing of Max Lucado about 20 years ago when I first read his book, “God Came Near”. Through the years I have read 9 more of the more than 60 books Max has authored. I refer to him as “The Point Man” because he weaves together anecdotes, human interest, jokes, current events and Bible stories in an almost seamless way in order to meld emotion, common sense and theology into a sharp point. I was expecting more of the same with this book and was not disappointed.

Even though his writing skills have continued to grow I do have a few reservations about “Grace”. It seems to me that grace has three sides to it. All of them in perfect balance. Max discusses it’s cost and it’s results but there is little emphasis or practical advice on how to pass it on. As is the case with most things of God, we learn the most, get to the heart of the matter, and find their greatest power in the sharing of them. Max briefly discusses this in chapter 9 by encouraging us to be “generous” and “forgiving” and a “Billboard of God’s mercy” (page 166), but fails to delve into it much deeper or give practical advice on exactly how to live grace out on a daily basis.

He also discusses the “cost of grace” and the fact that grace was paid for by Jesus on the cross. Through an enhanced story of Barabbas, Max Lucado demonstrates that Jesus was sinless and died for each of us personally. But I wonder if a person can truly understand the massive cost of grace without identifying with our Heavenly Father who allowed his only Son to be murdered in order to purchase that grace for us? Max excels at showing different points of view, yet he misses out on helping us view things from God’s view. The view of a Parent, sacrificing one innocent, beloved Child for the sake of a rebellious, evil one.

As Max puts it,

“ ‘Cheap grace’ comes from misunderstanding the enormity of the sacrifice.” (page 169) AND

“The gift is the Giver.” (page 150) [emphasis mine]

I am also concerned with Lucado’s use of so many different translations of the Bible. He seems to use whatever version of the Bible best suits his immediate purpose. Whether it be NIV or The Message, he used whatever version best made his point. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be the first step down a slippery slope to slanting the Scriptures to mean what what we want, instead of us wanting to get to what they mean.

At the end of “GRACE: More Than We Deserve; Greater Than We Imagine” the book is further enhanced by a “Reader’s Guide” written by Kate Etue. It reviews each chapter with sections entitled, “Scripture Review” (which gives further Bible verses on the topic), “Ask” (which poses probing questions), and “Call on God” (which aids in beginning a conversation with the Lord).

Kate Etue picks some very pertinent Bible verses and her sincere way of starting us in a personal prayer time is both insightful and eloquent. However, I feel slightly manipulated by some of the questions in the “Ask” sections. As if I am being routed into conclusions and assumptions that I am might not come to on my own.

For Example: The question is asked,

“How is spiritual rest a holy assignment?”

When perhaps it should be phrased,

“Do you think spiritual rest is a holy assignment? If so, how?”

Yet, who am I to question the opinions of Cal Thomas (USA Today columnist), Sheila Walsh (author, speaker and singer), Colt McCoy (NFL Quarterback), Mandisa (American Idol singer) and the other 18 people who spend the first 4 pages of this book singing it’s praises?

In conclusion, I must admit that I always enjoy a book by Max Lucado, including this one. He is honest, refreshing and very funny. His topics are both timely and necessary and I feel encouraged by what he has to say. I can most definitely recommend “GRACE: More Than We Deserve; Greater Than We Imagine” as a good read and a welcome addition to my home library (because I will want to read it again).

Or as Max says, “ I know we shouldn’t complain. But, honestly, when someone hands you a bar of hotel soap and says, ‘This is for you',’ don’t you detect a lack of originality? But when a person gives a genuine gift, don’t you cherish the presence of affection? The hand-knit sweater, the photo album from last summer, the personalized poem, the Lucado book. Such gifts convince you that someone planned, prepared, saved and searched. Last minute decision? No, this gift was just for you.” (page 149)

I suppose the same thing applies to God’s grace too. Let us rest in the presence of his affection.

I’m giving this book 8 out of 10 “Secret Christian Fishies".

For further information contact:

Graf-Martin Communications Inc

HERE'S A VIDEO FROM MAX LUCADO HIMSELF

** NOTE: Please feel free to leave a comment. I would like to know what you think of this book AND the Review. (Remember. You can leave a comment Anonymously)