a little and a lot

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

held hostage by paper

i have been captured by a book for the past four days.

when
leslie guinn handed “redeeming love” by francine rivers to me (and made me put this big honkin book in my purse during a wedding reception, i might add!), i was a little skeptical. i had read one of rivers’ books a while ago and wasn’t a big fan. i thought she was a little overrated. and when i started this book, the first chapter had me feeling a little unsure. but i figured, leslie’s an english major--i usually trust her judgement...so i kept on reading.

a few days later, i have just finished, and my heart is exploding. “redeeming love” has challenged the way i think about love...about God’s passionate pursuit of me...of how i model that love to the people around me...of the idols that i place above Him in my life, all to often.

i might be the last person on the face of the planet to have read it, but if you by chance have missed reading this intense fictional retelling of the story of hosea, i strongly recommend getting caught up in its pages! be warned, however, that the story of hosea is a little scandalous (pg-13!)...and also be warned that it just might change your entire outlook on the way love is to be given and received!

"come, let us return to the LORD...let us press on to know him..." (hosea 6:1,3)

5 comments:

Matt Elliott said...

Okay -- here's an honest question: are these Francine Rivers books ones that guys would like? (I hope that question doesn't across too offensively...)

Jesse Faris said...

good question, matt...not offensive at all.

rivers' books seem to be geared toward women. i tend not to like "girly" books, so i have not been a huge fan of hers in the past. i think "redeeming love" is good enough for both genders (it is written from both gender perspectives), but there are a good but of romance novel-ish qualities to it. still, it made the story of hosea *real* to me--it captured the emotions of both sides. rivers really endears her characters to you. it is not an exact replica of hosea...it just alludes to the story.

so after all of that, i guess my short answer is: "not sure." (since i'm not a guy!) maybe a better answer: "i hope so."

amanda said...

i read 'redeeming love' recently and while probably geared more for women, i think it's got enough man perspective to be relevant to the gender!

Anonymous said...

YAY! I'm so glad that you liked this book!!

A prerequisite for me agreeing to marry Patrick was that he read redeeming love. Not really, but it was on my list of things to look for in a mate. and he really enjoyed it. My dad is currently extremely into the "Mark of the Lion" trilogy, and one of my heroes, Jim Brinkerhoff, enjoyed this Rivers' series as well. My dad thinks she "writes like a man..." So I'm definitely on the side of males reading her!!!

Matt Elliott said...

Kristy:

You had me at "Jim Brinkerhoff."

:-)

Just requested a copy from the local library.


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