Redeeming Love
by Francine Rivers
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Book Summary Information
Author: Francine RiversEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-05-30
ISBN: 1576738167
Number of pages: 486
Publisher: Multnomah Books
Book Reviews of Redeeming Love
Book Review: Concerned Reader
Summary: 2 Stars
I first read Redeeming Love when I was 16--part of Bible class in a Christian high school--and at the time enjoyed the erotic moments between Angel and Michael. (What teenager wouldn't?) At that time I also appreciated the marriage metaphor as a way for me to envision my relationship with God. This was before I ever read the book of Hosea for myself.
It made me interested in the biblical text. I thought there was some fantastic love story I missed. I was alarmed by what I found there. Women as voiceless property and tools used by men (and God) disturbed me as they are portrayed in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Francine Rivers glosses over threats of domestic violence against Gomer (who would be Angel in her story) and omits completely Hosea's abuse of the children (whether they are his or not is uncertain--in Hosea 1 where Gomer gives birth to the children there is no evidence of her 'whoring'). Of course, we should remember Hosea is told only from the perspective of a jealous husband. Francine Rivers attempts with artistic license to retell this story from the other perspective (which we know nothing about).
For her non-literal approach, I was surprised at the end when Angel strips off her clothes (as Gomer was commanded to do by Hosea, but refuses) when returning to Michael. I disliked the ending for that reason because after all Angel goes through it puts everything on her. I also disliked the shifting names Michael has for Angel. It felt manipulative toward Angel--commanding her to be the type of woman Michael meant by that name. And I felt Michael was only ideal in fidelity to Angel, but she had certain assets and Michael had few other options. His character wholly fails to grasp what sort of pain Angel has experienced because he is so intent on making her love him. The biggest disservice Francine Rivers does to Gomer/Angel's character is not letting the reader feel the emotional complexity of only knowing abusive relationships with men. I gave Redeeming Love to someone else and went on my merry way.
Several years later as a theology student, I have re-read this novel to give an opinion on it as a modern hermeneutic of Hosea. I was shocked that I had read this in high school, but I was fairly naive missing the depth of the cruelty Angel has to experience. Angel only wanted freedom from being used. Freedom to be independent. The only women who are independent in the story are prostitutes and women who run brothels (presumably whores who worked they way up to that position). The lone exception is the daughter of the banker who helps Angel start a non-profit helping prostitutes take power over their lives and learn life skills beyond turning tricks, but the banker's daughter still has to associate with the socially unacceptable (in 'good' society) to be independent. Ironically, Angel who wanted that freedom never gets it. She is still confined to her marriage and is only fully restored when she fulfills her role as a dutiful wife. Yes, at the end of the book she feels love (or gratitude?) for Michael, but as noted above she strips her clothes (after her conversion experience!) symbolically (as inspired from the Hosea text) reinforcing if she had only removed them before she wouldn't have had to suffer...her suffering is her fault. I think Francine Rivers could have spared Angel the horrible childhood and better illustrated a woman resentful of marrying a man and wanting to return to her chosen profession (if you really believe prostitution is a preferred choice for women) being responsible for her own actions rather than an emotionally, physically abused woman who is supposed to forget everything in her past and enter a (forced) loving relationship with a man.
Besides my issues with the story, I think Francine Rivers captured the essence of Hosea in her Christian interpretation. The prophetic texts are meant to insult and evoke emotional responses. I worry those who wholly love the story as a romantic tale are missing the deeper parts of the story. I gave Francine Rivers for retelling the story of Hosea and Gomer in a way modern readers can relate to, but I only gave her two stars because I think she could have done more justice to Angel and Michael. If you think Redeeming Love is offensive because of the sexual content and 'dark subject matter' I encourage you to take a second look at the Old Testament.
Francine Rivers' Mark of the Lion trilogy is very good and if you disliked this book, I encourage you to read those.
Summary of Redeeming Love
Can God?s Love Save Anyone?Bestselling author Francine Rivers skillfully retells the biblical love story of Gomer and Hosea in a tale set against the exciting backdrop of the California Gold Rush. The heroine, Angel, is a young woman who was sold into prostitution as a child. Michael Hosea is a godly man sent into Angel?s life to draw her into the Savior?s redeeming love. This remarkable novel has sold over a million copies and is among the top twenty on the ECPA fiction bestsellers list for four years running. A six-part study guide, suitable for individual use or group discussion, is included in this bestselling novel.
ALSO AVAILABLE: Now own this beloved classic in the keepsake hardcover edition!
California?s gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to sleep.
Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution as a child, she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside.
Then she meets Michael Hosea.
A man who seeks his Father?s heart in everything, Michael Hosea obeys God?s call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. Slowly, day by day, he defies Angel?s every bitter expectation until, despite her resistance her frozen heart begins to thaw. But with her unexpected softening come overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. And so Angel runs. Back to the darkness, away from her husband?s pursuing love, terrified of the truth she can no longer deny: Her final healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael Hosea does?the One who will never let her go.
A powerful retelling of the book of Hosea, Redeeming Love is a life-changing story of God?s unconditional, redemptive, all-consuming love.
Story Behind the Book
?Writing Redeeming Love was a form of worship for me. Through it, I was able to thank God for loving me even when I was defiant, rebellious, contemptuous of what I thought being a Christian meant, and afraid to give my heart away. I had wanted to be my own god and have control of my life the way Eve did in the Garden of Eden. Now I know to be loved by Christ is the ultimate joy and fulfillment. Everything in Redeeming Love was a gift from the Lord: plot, characters, theme. None of it is mine to claim.?
In this splendid retelling of the biblical story of Hosea, bestselling author Francine Rivers pens a heartbreaking romance between a prostitute and the upright and kind farmer who marries her; the story also functions as a reminder of God's unconditional love for his people. Redeeming Love opens with the Gold Rush of 1850 and its rough-and-tumble atmosphere of greed and desire. Angel, who was sold into prostitution as a child, has learned to distrust all men, who see her only as a way to satisfy their lust. When the virtuous and spiritual-minded Michael Hosea is told by God to marry this "soiled dove," he obeys, despite his misgivings. As Angel learns to love him, she begins to hope again but is soon overwhelmed by fear and returns to her old life. Rivers shines in her ability to weave together spiritual themes and sexual tension in a well-told story, a talent that has propelled her into the spotlight as one of the most popular novelists in the genre of Christian fiction. This is one of her best. --Cindy Crosby
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