A Little Book Review

OK - Yesterday I told you that I was reading this book and that I was almost done. Well, I did actually finish it, And as with any of the books I have read by Emily Giffin I am impressed. 

Here are some of the reasons I so enjoy her writing:

1. She writes in the present tense. I wish I could write that way and do it as well. For those of you who are not sure what this means, it's difficult to explain. Let's just say that that she writes as if the action is happening now. Not as if there is a narrator who is telling about what happened. Emily is one of the few authors that writes this way and I thoroughly enjoy it - probably because I know how difficult it is to write that way.

2. She does not use gratuitous sex to draw the reader in. She uses imagery and romance to get the reader to fill in the necessary blanks. And that is exactly what a good writer should do.

3. She has just enough characters to make the story interesting. One more and it would be confusing, Fewer and it would be just plain dull.

4. She tackles the things most women think about but rarely voice. Issues like "If I am in love with my best friend's man, should I pursue him and risk the friendship?" OR "If my husband has an affair, should I leave him or forgive him?" And she tackles these issues in such a way that the reader 'feels' for each character, understanding their thought processes. And she, in my opinion, does a wonderful job in resolving each relationship.

I have come away from each of Emily Giffin's books with a new perspective about life and relationships. This one, "Heart of the Matter" is no different. As a believer, I know that many of the topics in these books are "sin" but at the same time they are "human." This book has me thinking about the value of a marriage. Each marriage has its seasons and we can be excited, bored, or just indifferent. Each season brings its challenges and we need to take it for what it is - part of marriage. And there should be nothing that separates us. Do we fall into temptation and sin? Occasionally we all do, don't we? Some sins are more evident than others, but sin is sin, right? But is there anything "unforgivable"? That is the million dollar question, isn't it?

If Emily Giffin, a writer who I don't believe to be a Christian, can see the value of forgiveness, not having accepted the forgiveness of Christ, then shouldn't we, as Christians, be the role model and show the world what true forgiveness truly looks like? I deal with the topic of forgiveness on a daily basis. Those of you who know my story understand that. I wish that my children and ex-husband could have extended to me the forgiveness they had been shown by others. If they had, then we could have been an example of how divorce can hurt a family but not destroy it.

I think I am going to have to take a break from Emily Giffin for a little while and let these thoughts marinate a bit. I don't want to get too overwhelmed in my though processes. Maybe I should read a little Stephen King to frighten me back into my shell.

Thanks for reading my thoughts when you could be doing something more adventurous, like exploring your own psyche. Because yours is probably way more fascinating.

Petra