Works of historical fiction have taken up a good bit of my bookshelf space lately. From the Civil War to Lindbergh's flight. Recently, I read Stella Bain, which took place during World War I, and I felt the gripping horror of that war from the inside of a field hospital tent. Some have made the blog, others have not----mainly because parts of the book might cause a check in my spirit for an all out positive recommendation.
Literary musings compiled below are from works, that did not make a full review--
1. King’s Mountain, (© 2013) a historical fiction account of the the American Revolution by Sharyn McCrumb.
Maybe I wasn't sure about the book in it's entirety, though the accuracy of her research was well documented and she's a NYT best-selling author.
But.......I had taken notes as if some phrases with spiritual meanings for me just jumped off the pages and seem worthy of sharing---
“Your faith will be your armor.” A sentence repeated often to the reluctant ones (mountain men) who were not Tory sympathizers and were willing to fight the British. Yet, setting out for the task of a war, a war they believed in, was still difficult. (p.123)
(in spiritual warfare, believers need to be clad with the full armor of faith in the Lord. Ephesians 6:11)
The Whigs and the Tory sympathizers did not battle a faceless enemy but their own neighbors in the backwater counties known as home.
John Sevier who embodied the American pioneer Spirit wanted his “recruits” to know, “There’s a lot of trust in soldiering. Your life depends on them and theirs on yours.” (p.139)
(Trust, among members in the community of faith, is essential to battle against the "mighty unseen powers of this dark world." Ephesians 6:12)
"But politics is even more troublesome than war, because most of it is done while you’re your back is turned, and the enemy isn’t always easy to spot." (p. 321)
(Our enemy "prowls around seeking to devour" (1 Peter 5:8) and can take on many forms in order to destroy those who love the Lord. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.)
2. A realistic fiction set in England is always a draw for me, especially when there's a map on the frontispiece.
"For years they had been in a place where language had no significance" describes, in a nut shell, the relationship of an Englishman's marriage in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. (© 2012) Fry's pilgrimage often became a life changing exercise of "just putting one foot in front of the other." But, while on his journey to see an old friend/acquaintance, Fry learns much ----about others and himself. "Harold could no longer pass a stranger without acknowledging the truth that everyone was the same, and also unique; and that this was the dilemma of being human."
One goodreads review called it a "story of one man's faith in his feet." An old man, at that, so some readers might not appreciate a book about one of medicare age who becomes a hero....as the book becomes somewhat predictable, until the end.
This past week as I was continuing my meditation on the Lord's Prayer from Matthew 6, I saw the word evil in a new light---or more like darkness.
