The Preacher's Daughter (Annie's People, Bk 1)
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Religion & Spirituality
Book Type: Hardcover
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Religion & Spirituality
Book Type: Hardcover
At first, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I enjoyed the writing style. The i"creative lisence" nclusion of slang and somewhat poor grammar into the overall narrative (not just the dialog) gave the feel of the place and people of the story. Although many of the subjects and themes of the story were serious (wife and child abuse for one), the prose was warm and engaging. The characters were not to deep, but good and human. The conflicts faced by some of the characters seemed real.
The beginning page intregued me with an old mystery of a little boy who disappeared.
Then, years later, Annie, an Amish preacher's daughter with a talent for art begins a first-person account about her conflicts about wanting to paint, which was viewed as a sin in the conservative Amish community, causing her to hide her studio in a "English" friend's house, and wanting to please her family and her community. A visit by an "English" pen pal, an art instructor who is tired of her life that her wealthy family has arranged for her, including an arranged engagement and who wants some peace in her life, pushes the "art vs Amish rules" delima to a head.
Meanwhile, one of her best Amish girlfriends is finding out that her husband is a wife and child beater. (I could feel a bit of compassion for him occassionally. He was the older brother of the little boy who disappeared years ago, and his father blamed him for the tragedy. Unsolved issues and a need for healing...an understanding...but not an excuse!)
Everything pointed towards a decent, complex, perhaps thought-provoking story.
After the first chapter, the prose switched to third person.
But, towards the middle of the book, the homesy-folksy writing style was getting a bit tedious. The story itself seemed to be dragging.
But, the worse thing was that the major issue of the book was unsolved.
As a fine artist myself, I was drawn the the "art vs. sin" theme of the book. This issue was put on hold...or rather, "to be continued" in other books of this series. Annie promises her father to set aside her painting for six months in order not to be kicked out of her home and community. So, the art part of the story begins and ends with Annie's first-person struggles, which sandwiches the story with almost the same conflict beginning and end.
Oh, come on!
As for the old mystery of the missing child, well, the body was finally found, but, except for causing further problems for the disturbed husband/father mentioned earlier, causing his wife and children to flee, and Annie's father refusing to show him where they burried the remains (something I didn't understand at all. I cannot blame Zeke for being upset!), nothing was resolved (like, gee, who was the perprtrator?). There was no reason for the inclusion of this mystery.
Yes, I realize that this book is the beginning of a trilogy, by I hate it when authors do not finish the stories in their books. In other words, give me a stand-alone novel any day, whether or not it is part of a series. With unresolved issues and teasers, I, as a reader, feel cheated.
The beginning page intregued me with an old mystery of a little boy who disappeared.
Then, years later, Annie, an Amish preacher's daughter with a talent for art begins a first-person account about her conflicts about wanting to paint, which was viewed as a sin in the conservative Amish community, causing her to hide her studio in a "English" friend's house, and wanting to please her family and her community. A visit by an "English" pen pal, an art instructor who is tired of her life that her wealthy family has arranged for her, including an arranged engagement and who wants some peace in her life, pushes the "art vs Amish rules" delima to a head.
Meanwhile, one of her best Amish girlfriends is finding out that her husband is a wife and child beater. (I could feel a bit of compassion for him occassionally. He was the older brother of the little boy who disappeared years ago, and his father blamed him for the tragedy. Unsolved issues and a need for healing...an understanding...but not an excuse!)
Everything pointed towards a decent, complex, perhaps thought-provoking story.
After the first chapter, the prose switched to third person.
But, towards the middle of the book, the homesy-folksy writing style was getting a bit tedious. The story itself seemed to be dragging.
But, the worse thing was that the major issue of the book was unsolved.
As a fine artist myself, I was drawn the the "art vs. sin" theme of the book. This issue was put on hold...or rather, "to be continued" in other books of this series. Annie promises her father to set aside her painting for six months in order not to be kicked out of her home and community. So, the art part of the story begins and ends with Annie's first-person struggles, which sandwiches the story with almost the same conflict beginning and end.
Oh, come on!
As for the old mystery of the missing child, well, the body was finally found, but, except for causing further problems for the disturbed husband/father mentioned earlier, causing his wife and children to flee, and Annie's father refusing to show him where they burried the remains (something I didn't understand at all. I cannot blame Zeke for being upset!), nothing was resolved (like, gee, who was the perprtrator?). There was no reason for the inclusion of this mystery.
Yes, I realize that this book is the beginning of a trilogy, by I hate it when authors do not finish the stories in their books. In other words, give me a stand-alone novel any day, whether or not it is part of a series. With unresolved issues and teasers, I, as a reader, feel cheated.
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