Sometimes a book touches me
in a special way. That happened recently when I read Lynn Austin's
“Return to Me” - the first in her Restoration Chronicles series.
(I should actually say devoured – I finished it in two days)
It's the story of the Jews
returning to Jerusalem after having been exiled in Babylon for
decades. One would think it would be a joyous occasion. In one sense
it is – the children of God return to their Holy City. However,
families are torn apart when many of the Jews choose to stay in
Babylon. The journey itself takes weeks and when the travelers do
finally arrive, the leadership can't agree on what to do. Petty
jealousies abound and rifts begin to occur.
Told in multiple points of
view with vivid description and realistic dialogue, I was quickly
immersed in the story. Issues such as doubt, forgiveness, betrayal,
love, hate and redemption are woven throughout, and gave me much to
think about in my own life.
I haven't read a lot of
Biblical fiction, but I after enjoying this and Tessa Afshar's
trilogy I'm hooked. How about you? What have you read that changed
your life?
This sounds like a great book. I remember reading Exodus by Leon Uris when I was a teenager. It was about when Israel became a state. I've never forgotten it.
ReplyDeleteI read this for our book club last month. I finished it in 3 days. A good accomplishment for such a long book. It was well worth the read, and has got me started reading this genre again.
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