Inspiring stories of people saving one another from physical and spiritual peril.
Two novellas about losing and finding God in unlikely ways.
Both these stories by debut author Walker ask the question: If we ignore God, will he ignore us? In “Mack’s Destiny,” Macklin “Mack” McGregor is a pleasure-seeking man who was born into a Christian family, but he’s long since strayed from the religious path. His story alternates with that of his lifelong friend Destiny Harding, a single mother whose poor choices have left her with two children by two different men. She recently took a vow of celibacy until marriage—something Mack can’t understand—and she hopes to make better choices for herself and her children in the future. But the past keeps stalking her: Her ex-boyfriend Tucker tracks her down, determined to “see [Destiny] dead before he let anybody else have her.” As Mack develops feelings for Destiny despite himself, he also faces Tucker’s violent jealousy and anger. In the end, however, Mack’s attachment to Destiny might just save Mack from himself. The second novella, “Reva’s Journey,” explores similar themes. Reva Mitchell is on the run after she witnesses a shooting in a Detroit club. The police put her in protective custody, and she abandons her city life and heads to rural Indigo Beach, Mich., where a kind pastor named Deon and a born-again Christian named Melvin Harris offer her safety and inspiration. As she pieces her life back together, she encounters Destiny Harding (from the previous novella), who once more plays a pivotal role in helping a lost soul. These tightly written stories work best when they address the metaphorical dangers that a person faces when he or she loses his or her way. Each is well-written and exciting and they both offer adventure, surprises and messages of religious inspiration. These highly readable, thought-provoking tales will hit home with spiritually minded readers.
Inspiring stories of people saving one another from physical and spiritual peril.Pub Date: July 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-1449798451
Page Count: 252
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2016
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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