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"Love's Pursuit" by Siri Mitchell
Jun. 29th, 2012 07:32 pmSometimes when you reach the end of a book, you realize that the story you were reading was much deeper than you'd understood. It leaves you a little breathless, thankful to have read such a gift, and you know it's a story you'll be thinking about for a while. "Love's Pursuit" is one of those books.
There is more than one kind of evil in the world. There's the evil that everyone recognizes, the kind that wrecks lives out in the open. Then there's the insidious evil that masquerades as good and does much damage before it is discovered. Likewise, there is more than one kind of love. Love for your family. Romantic love. The love of God.
I identified with Susannah, our main character, right away. She struggles with knowing how to be herself because she was such a meek and good child that no one would ever guess that she was any different than that on the inside. I understand that completely. Being a good child means following the rules set out for you. Once you leave childhood it is such a different story. Unfortunately, Susannah did not have the options that young women have today. She wants to embrace the expectations to be a goodwife someday, and she wants to be a good Puritan. But there's a war within herself.
There are three men who are interested in winning Susannah's hand. There's John, the man she has dreamed of marrying. There's Simeon, a powerful young leader in their township. Then there's the Captain, a newcomer whose looks and beliefs fly in the faces of their religion. All are serious contenders as the plot progesses and it keeps things interesting.
In usual Siri Mitchell fashion, we have another first-person narrator, but this time it's someone you would least expect. Small-hope was abused and neglected as a child, and her only desire is to remain invisible. She's incredibly observant of those around her, though she does not wish to enter into relationship with them. She's a very different main character, but one that you come to cheer for.
This story is set in the 1640's in Massachusetts. The majority of the book revolves around the daily lives of the Puritans and how they coped with the threat of Indian attack. The depth of historical information is exactly what you'd expect from a Siri Mitchell novel. The plot is very much character-driven. The theme of salvation by works v. grace is skillfully woven into the story, not forced at all.
Susannah faces many challenges and changes over the course of the book. You hope for her, you fall in love alongside her, you ache for her. Through the ups and the downs and the uncertainties, she discovers the Love which has the most power in her life. The Love that pursues each one of us still today. Some might not call this a happy story, but it's a story that each one of us can understand. Love's pursuit is upon us all, and may each reader turn and embrace Him more fully through the reading of this story.
There is more than one kind of evil in the world. There's the evil that everyone recognizes, the kind that wrecks lives out in the open. Then there's the insidious evil that masquerades as good and does much damage before it is discovered. Likewise, there is more than one kind of love. Love for your family. Romantic love. The love of God.
I identified with Susannah, our main character, right away. She struggles with knowing how to be herself because she was such a meek and good child that no one would ever guess that she was any different than that on the inside. I understand that completely. Being a good child means following the rules set out for you. Once you leave childhood it is such a different story. Unfortunately, Susannah did not have the options that young women have today. She wants to embrace the expectations to be a goodwife someday, and she wants to be a good Puritan. But there's a war within herself.
There are three men who are interested in winning Susannah's hand. There's John, the man she has dreamed of marrying. There's Simeon, a powerful young leader in their township. Then there's the Captain, a newcomer whose looks and beliefs fly in the faces of their religion. All are serious contenders as the plot progesses and it keeps things interesting.
In usual Siri Mitchell fashion, we have another first-person narrator, but this time it's someone you would least expect. Small-hope was abused and neglected as a child, and her only desire is to remain invisible. She's incredibly observant of those around her, though she does not wish to enter into relationship with them. She's a very different main character, but one that you come to cheer for.
This story is set in the 1640's in Massachusetts. The majority of the book revolves around the daily lives of the Puritans and how they coped with the threat of Indian attack. The depth of historical information is exactly what you'd expect from a Siri Mitchell novel. The plot is very much character-driven. The theme of salvation by works v. grace is skillfully woven into the story, not forced at all.
Susannah faces many challenges and changes over the course of the book. You hope for her, you fall in love alongside her, you ache for her. Through the ups and the downs and the uncertainties, she discovers the Love which has the most power in her life. The Love that pursues each one of us still today. Some might not call this a happy story, but it's a story that each one of us can understand. Love's pursuit is upon us all, and may each reader turn and embrace Him more fully through the reading of this story.
