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Belonging To Heaven (2000)

by Gale Sears(Favorite Author)

4.19 of 5 Votes: 1

languge

English

genre

review 1: This was a book that seemed to be a bit confused about its message and purpose. It had some lovely parts and I learned a lot about the history of the early days of the LDS Church in Hawaii. But, the structure was somewhat confusing; the first hundred pages or so focused on one particular character, but then he mostly disappeared from the rest of the book as the focus switched to a different character. The book included detailed footnotes (some of which I found rather trivial and unnecessary), but also made use of letters that were not obviously fictional (they were). There were also events that seemed as though they needed larger treatment, but didn't get it, and plenty of material that easily could have been separated out into equally compelling, more tightly written nove... morels. I kept getting the sense that the author wanted to write fiction, but was afraid to stray too far from a hagiographic view of the past and too far from accepted facts). I thought that was a shame because early Church history outside the U.S. is sorely underrepresented in historical fiction, and while this book is an admirable start, we really could do much better than this. I would rather read a more intimate, character and event-driven novel focusing on one place and time; it would give much better insight into the people of our past and inspire a greater desire to learn more. Instead, after reading this I mostly thought "meh"
review 2: This is a wonderful book and I am glad I read it.The story is told from the perspective of George Q Cannon and Joseph N. It is about the Church of Jesus Christ and its growth in Hawaii and how it effected the lives of many people. Mostly it is about George Q Cannon and his initial missionary work and Joseph N and his conversion and service in the church, his family and the leper colonies on Hawaii. There are many inspirational stories and it is well written and easy to read. The story is not a dry history but beautifully told experiences. No language, No violence, No sex. There are detailed descriptions of leprosy. less

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