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Sometimes A Light Surprises (2009)

by Jamie Langston Turner(Favorite Author)

3.91 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0764203878 (ISBN13: 9780764203879)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Bethany House

review 1: Sometimes a Light Surprises by Jamie Langston Turner is a poignant and beautifully written novel about how the quiet faith of just one person can make ripples and touch everyone around her. Ben Buckley has removed himself for the most part from the emotion of living after the murder of his wife Chloe twenty-one years ago. He turned over the care of his four children to his mother, allowing her to make excuses for his absence until he's no longer a part of any of their lives. Kelly Kovatch has lived a sheltered life in a Christian home-schooled family of eleven children until her mother's diagnosis of cancer forces her to seek a job at Ben's store as a designer. He initially gives her the job out of a bit of pity, but her unshakable faith and gentle spirit brings change to ... moreeveryone who works at the store, including Ben's crotchety secretary Caroline, who decides to investigate Chloe's murder for herself. This is not a wildly romantic or action-packed novel. It almost feels like peeking into someone's real life and watching in wonder. Every character is fully realized; no stereotypes or caricatures here! Ben has filled his life with rituals and busyness to escape the gaping hole in his life left by the murder of Chloe and the defection of his children. His quiet awakening corresponds with the emergence of Kelly's confidence. The story builds quietly, one small piece placed upon another until it ends, naturally, wonderfully. It's a terrific book to lose yourself in for an afternoon.
review 2: I generally enjoy Turner's slower paced plots and well-developed characters. In this book she chooses, for the first time, to employ an omniscient narrator rather than a single point of view (or an alternating single voice). I found this much less satisfying, though I can't quite put my finger on why. I didn't think I got to know any of the characters as well as I would have liked, and many important scenes happened "off stage". It seemed to me that she did a lot of telling rather than showing. I highly recommend some of her earlier books, but can't give this one a glowing recommendation. I think most will find it dull. less

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