Redeeming Love
by Francine Rivers
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Book Summary Information
Author: Francine RiversEdition: Paperback
Published: 1997-05-09
ISBN: 1590525132
Number of pages: 479
Publisher: Multnomah Books
Book Reviews of Redeeming Love
Book Review: Cheesy Romance Strikes Again
Summary: 2 Stars
Time is short, so I try to read books that will improve my thinking (i.e. the classics I missed out on earlier in life). Books such as "The Tale of Two Cities" and "Emma," among others, are usually first on my list. My sister was reading this novel and said it was wonderful, so I thought I would read it with her.
After a few pages and great expectation, I could see clearly where this book was going: the same old romance format using a Christian wrapping. (WARNING - I am going to give away the ending in the following paragraphs, but I'll bet you can guess it anyway!)
First, the style of writing is lacking depth in every sense of the word. Where are the wonderfully intriguing character studies that I so love in Jane Austin's books? Where are the complicated sentence structures? It was very, well, predictable.
She is bad, he is good; she is still bad, he is still good; she finally repents, he finally wins her heart. I know God is mixed in, but really, He doesn't talk to us like that. We are to search Scripture to find the answers, not hear them in our heads, and especially not in bold print in a romance novel.
I got through one half of this book and couldn't stand it any longer. The dialogue was extremely weak, boring me to tears (a different kind of tears than other reviewers seemed to have shed). I had to skip to the end to verify what I already knew would happen. He got the girl, they lived happily ever after, ta-da.
A more realistic ending would have been that Michael got syphilis from his lovely wife and became disillusioned at the least, at the worst, he would have died. A book with a memorable ending that comes to mind is Edith Wharton's House of Mirth. I didn't necessarily *like* the outcome, BUT it had a powerful impact. It was REAL.
Get this from the library if you must; just don't spend money on it. Well, actually, don't even spend time on it if you have better reads waiting on your shelf.
As for those who have said that this is the best book they have ever read - there is a world of romance out there, but it can be clothed in beautiful layers of rich silk and embroidery, not only in plain sackcloth.
Summary of Redeeming Love
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 CrosbyCan 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.”
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