Hennepin County Library paperback 298 pages
genre: Christian historical fiction
"When Nel Stewart returns home after the sudden death of her mother, she realizes her beloved father, Jakob, is struggling with dementia."
That's the first part of the back cover blurb. Nel as a character never really resonated for me. I was much more interested in the story of Jakob's childhood escaping the atrocities in Ukraine. "Told partially through Jakob's flashbacks of fleeing genocide-ridden eastern Europe at the turn of the twentieth century . . . " Jakob's life and story were what really spoke to me in this book.
For not having an "I LOVE this book" reaction, I sure put a lot of post-it notes in the pages . . .
I started noting the vocabulary words that were new for me. That was an odd sensation, reading a book and thinking, "what does that mean?" I was not familiar with "lapidary" but quickly used context clues to know that it had to do with gemstones, jewelry, etc. (M-W.com: lapidary - 1:
a cutter, polisher, or engraver of precious stones usually other than diamonds 2
: the art of cutting gems). This further bugged me because I kept thinking of butterflies (Lepidoptera) for some reason. Then "cabochons" came up numerous times! I understood that it was a certain piece of jewelry, but I didn't know what. The author finally defined it on page 168, after using it a half dozen times. Urg! (M-W.com: cabochon -1: a gem or bead cut in convex form and highly polished but not faceted; also 2: this style of cutting).
Then on page 86, "plangent" vibrations . . . what?! (M-W.com: plangent - 1
: having a loud reverberating sound 2
: having an expressive and especially plaintive quality). I should probably have known that, but I didn't! So I guess you could say this book was educational.
Page 45 - "Over the past year or so, it was Catherine who had been covering for him. The lines between past and present, real and not real blurred more and more frequently in his mind." This reminds me so much of my mom's struggles toward the end of her life. It's so sad to see someone you love become confused.
Page 47 - "He eventually realized the hole in the heart of a woman who longs for children is not something he - nor any man - could fill." Oh, this makes me think of someone I care about very much who is struggling with infertility. All I can do is pray and try to be supportive.
Page 85 - "God seemed to be everywhere around the dead, but Jakob had yet to find much evidence of Him around the living, besides on the countenance of his wife and a few other exceptions like Mattie." The truth of this overwhelms me! For so many people who do not yet know or love the Lord, they don't see the love and life and joy of Jesus! Believers need to shine the Light of the world!
Page 92 - "It's only because I say the prayers every morning and every night, whether I feel like it or not, that my heart has not hardened like granite." I love Peter and his attempts to get through to Jakob! I love this idea that you pray whether you feel like it or not. God is so good!
Page 94 - Jakob tells Peter about Faigy and what happened and how guilty he has felt. Oh this made me so sad!
Page 97 - "'It's easy when something bad happens, especially when someone you love very much dies, to become bitter and angry at God. . . . Because God does not cause the bad. Man causes the bad. God is always good. And so we are always to praise Him.'" This time, the wisdom comes from Mama before the evil hits home. (This is where Peter gets his faith!)
Page 151 - "'Do not let the evil harden your heart, my son. You must believe God is bigger than all this.'" Luda was another amazing character as the boys fled the Ukraine.
Page 181 - "Men, he knew, could do far more harm to humans than any machine." For Jakob to learn this at such a young age . . . how do children recover from seeing evil?
Page 190 - "She learned about missionaries like Stuart Hine from Britain . . . Andrey Sheptytsky . . . " This whole section made me want to do some research! These allusions to people I've never heard of who made an impact for God makes me want to know more.
Page 217 - "'Say it always. The words in your head will help the truth return to your heart. . . '" Peter again. I was crying by this point. The theme of forgiveness is so strong on this page!
Page 295-6 - "It's a grand shame most of us don't know the impact of what we're doing with a person until it's too long past or too painful to revisit, Jakob thought. Then again, maybe it's better not knowing and having done the thing anyway." I want to be intentional in loving people and sharing God's love to the best of my ability!
In her afterwords, Sorrells writes about her inspirations in writing this story. One of them references her grandfather. "The metaphor of a rough and unsightly rock or mineral being faceted and polished into something beautiful, and how Yahweh does the same thing with us is one that never grows old or cliche' to me." I'm so thankful to God for shaping and polishing me!
Also in the afterword, she listed books on different topics that came up in the story. Here are her recommendations on dementia:
* Still Alice by Lisa Genova
* No Act of Love Is Ever Wasted: The Spirituality of Caring for Persons with Dementia by Jane Marie Thibault and Richard L. Morgan
* Not Alone: Encouragement for Caregivers by Nell E. Noonan
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