Love Amid The Ashes by Mesu Andrews ~ review

Product Description


Readers often think of Job sitting on the ash heap, his life in shambles. But how did he get there? What was Job's life like before tragedy struck? What did he think as his world came crashing down around him? And what was life like after God restored his wealth, health, and family?

Through painstaking research and a writer's creative mind, Mesu Andrews weaves an emotional and stirring account of this well-known story told through the eyes of the women who loved him. Drawing together the account of Job with those of Esau's tribe and Jacob's daughter Dinah, Love Amid the Ashes breathes life, romance, and passion into the classic biblical story of suffering and steadfast faith.



My take on this book:
I can count on one hand the Biblical fiction novels that I have read, but I am really starting to like this genre. While the stories are works of fiction, the reader learns alot about the characters that the author is writing about. Realizing that "Love Amid The Ashes" was the story about Job and Dinah I found myself thinking about their stories in the Bible, while Job's story was one that I was pretty familiar with, a man who suffers many trials and tribulations but never waivers in his faith in God. Dinah on the other hand was someone I never thought alot about, I remember her story, as the daughter of Jacob and Leah, she was defiled by Shechem, who was later killed by her brothers. For me I never really thought about how Dinah's life might have been altered by the act.
I found this book something I really enjoyed reading. The author provides the reader with a genealogical chart at the beginning of the story, that helps keep the many characters straight. I liked the way that she opens each chapter with a Bible verse allowing me to relate the chapters to the verses. The author allows us to see these biblical characters with heart and feelings by drawing us into their stories. This debut novel will certainly be a hit for anyone who enjoys biblical fiction, but its also a good story for anyone who likes a compelling faith filled story.

Available March 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.