A straightforward rendering of one woman’s spiritual journey.
A debut novel offers a Christian perspective on the eternal war between good and evil and how salvation remains a choice.
Jeriley O’Connor is thrilled for a fresh start. Longing to escape a dark past—a series of “mistakes” that are often referenced but never explained—she packs her bags and heads south to start a new job. On her first day in the unnamed picturesque beach town where she now lives, Jeriley spots the handsomest man she has ever seen. The next day they cross paths at the beach, and she is formally acquainted with Stephen, “an easy spirit” with “an uncanny calming effect.” Within a few hours, Jeriley also meets Adrian, a dangerously sexy bachelor with a wicked grin who works “in the business of procurement.” Little does she know, her suitors are actually representatives of God and the devil, battling on behalf of their masters for her soul. While Stephen fights with compassion and understanding, Adrian counters with seduction and bad-boy sex appeal. Stephen receives some help from Lydia Jordan, Jeriley’s assistant and a devout Christian. Just when he has finally convinced Jeriley to dig up her grandmother’s Bible, a meddlesome fallen angel named Zain orchestrates a horrible car accident that leaves her in a coma. Now, both Jeriley’s mortal life and eternal soul are in limbo, and it’s up to Stephen to convince her that “nothing could ever compare to the greatness and goodness of God the Creator.” In the spirit of religious parables, Jeriley is a sort of Everywoman, and Sweat elects to paint her life in broad strokes. For instance, her job on the “editing team” at a place called Donovan is characterized by “projects” and “paperwork.” It’s a device that works insofar as it limits the book’s focus to the religious message, but it may not satisfy readers looking for character development or elaborate plotlines. Furthermore, while Jeriley’s choice is clear by the story’s finish, other loose ends—like a main character’s fate—are left untied. For these reasons, this will likely please fans of Christian fiction but have limited crossover appeal.
A straightforward rendering of one woman’s spiritual journey.Pub Date: June 9, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5127-4182-7
Page Count: 190
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
These letters from some important executive Down Below, to one of the junior devils here on earth, whose job is to corrupt mortals, are witty and written in a breezy style seldom found in religious literature. The author quotes Luther, who said: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." This the author does most successfully, for by presenting some of our modern and not-so-modern beliefs as emanating from the devil's headquarters, he succeeds in making his reader feel like an ass for ever having believed in such ideas. This kind of presentation gives the author a tremendous advantage over the reader, however, for the more timid reader may feel a sense of guilt after putting down this book. It is a clever book, and for the clever reader, rather than the too-earnest soul.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1942
ISBN: 0060652934
Page Count: 53
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1943
This first novel, ostensibly about the friendship between two boys, Reuven and Danny, from the time when they are fourteen on opposing yeshiva ball clubs, is actually a gently didactic differentiation between two aspects of the Jewish faith, the Hasidic and the Orthodox. Primarily the Hasidic, the little known mystics with their beards, earlocks and stringently reclusive way of life. According to Reuven's father who is a Zionist, an activist, they are fanatics; according to Danny's, other Jews are apostates and Zionists "goyim." The schisms here are reflected through discussions, between fathers and sons, and through the separation imposed on the two boys for two years which still does not affect their lasting friendship or enduring hopes: Danny goes on to become a psychiatrist refusing his inherited position of "tzaddik"; Reuven a rabbi.... The explanation, in fact exegesis, of Jewish culture and learning, of the special dedication of the Hasidic with its emphasis on mind and soul, is done in sufficiently facile form to engage one's interest and sentiment. The publishers however see a much wider audience for The Chosen. If they "rub their tzitzis for good luck,"—perhaps—although we doubt it.
Pub Date: April 28, 1967
ISBN: 0449911543
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1967
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