ABOUT THE BOOK: May Seymour graduated from college with the world at her feet and no idea what to do with it. A mission trip to Rwanda brought her a sense of purpose in loving others. So when the genocide began she chose to remain in the village, which was subsequently slaughtered. Only May survived.So, May journeyed to heal on the farm of Claudius Borne, a sweet, innocent old man who understood plants and animals far better than people.
Years later, having not stepped a foot off Claudius' farm, May learns an old college flame, now a death-row inmate, is refusing to appeal his sentence. Can she convince him to grab hold of life once again? Their surprising friendship turns the tables, for the prisoner, Eli Campbell, has a deeper faith from which to draw than she. Eli slowly begins to pull May from her cloistered existence. With the help of Eli, their tiny town, and ultimately a renewal of faith, May comes to life once again.
MY REVIEW:
Lisa Sampson poured her heart into this book. You can see that just by the depth of these characters. They are so thought out and poignant for the reader. This book carries issues that broke my heart. We see the poor black farmer, who lived his life alone, yearning for more. We see May, torn from faith and self, pouring herself into the people of Rwanda. We witness the torture there and we see how May must now not just live with the physical scars, but those buried deep within. We watch Eli, a sweet young man go off to war and come home a different man, trying to bury what he has seen, but cannot. It is eating him alive and he now makes a choice on one fateful day, taking the lives of others. He is imprisoned and on death row. We see these characters find life through death. We see them reaching for more and trying to release the past to get to the future. But is it possible without Christ? Without a strong faith?
I am not sure if I enjoyed this book. It was beautifully written, but for me it was painful to read. Nothing of this was on the back cover, and I wish I would have been prepared for what I was about to read. It is one book that will make you ponder about life, death and resurrection. For May, she found Resurrection. She found life again, and for that I can find beauty in this book. My favorite character was Claudius. He carried life within him although he was searching for more. He did find joy in May, in helping her, and just in her company. It was a blessing for him to find her on the road that day as she was crawling to find safety. She found it, she found it within Claudius and his love. He showed the love of Christ in for others and forgiveness in wrongs. He was just what the Lord ordered for May to bring her to resurrection.
This book was a gift from Thomas Nelson for it's review.
