An Amish Reunion: Four Amish Stories
Review by Nancy B. (niceladywithglasses)
First story: Their True Home, by Amy Clipston. Let me say, if this had been the first book I’d ever read by Mrs. Clipston, I wouldn’t have read any more. Now, with that being out in the open, this short story was barely Christian, in my opinion. Sexually suggestive phrases were constantly being used. This story just doesn’t help anyone draw closer to Jesus. I don’t recommend it. What I don’t understand is why did Amy Clipston go so far away from decent Christian writing in this story? It’s about 2 young adults, Marlene and Rudy, who develop a friendship that becomes more. You can tell they are “falling in love” by the increased sexual innuendos. The characters had no depth. Not much of a plot, either.
Second story: A Reunion of Hearts, by Beth Wiseman.
Gideon and Ruth, formerly Amish, have returned to their Amish hometown for a family reunion. Beth Wiseman did a good job of exploring SOME the depths of depression, sadness, anger, and denial, that must go along with the loss of a child. Yes, it was a serious book, to a point, but then it rather unraveled when the author decided to talk about the sexual attraction the husband and wife still had for each other. Kind of a bizarre turn to take from the path I thought she was on in this story. It could have accomplished so much more if she had stayed true to the original storyline. Most of her story is decent, but I don’t recommend it for anyone but MARRIED adult women, because of the focus on the sexuality between husband and wife, who had been separated but not divorced, for about 5 years. Mrs. Wiseman could have taken a cleaner path, but kept focusing on the fleshly nature, instead of the spiritual nature. So far, this book has left me feeling cheated out of a good read. Let’s see if A Chance to Remember, by Kathleen Fuller, is better than these two.
Third story: A Chance to Remember, by Kathleen Fuller
Such a good story, I didn’t want it to end so soon! Clean Christian fiction about the Amish and an Englishcher. This is about an 80 year old Amish woman living in Birch Creek, and a man from her past, who comes by for a visit, after not having seen each other for decades. Cevilla and Richard enjoy old memories, and find they have an attraction for each other, after many visits. Meghan, Richard’s granddaughter, watches over him and drives him to see Cevilla. They are on a little vacation away from California, and Meghan has some issues of her own she needs to settle. All in all, this novella was highly enjoyable, and the characters had depth, and real personality. I hope to be able to read more books by Kathleen Fuller.
Fourth Story in “An Amish Reunion”
Mended Hearts, by Kelly Irvin
I was very happy to see this story is a continuation of some of the character’s stories I read in “With Winter’s First Frost”.
So nicely written, and clean! Kelly Irvin really does a good job of writing Amish fiction. She did a great job of writing about the struggles of a young unwed mother, who, after going through a bann, repented and was forgiven by most of her community, although as we know, there will always be those who like to keep gossiping about someone, and tearing them up. Such was the case in this story too, but it wasn’t the main focus. The main story is about Hannah, the unwed mother, her friend Philip, and her ex-boyfriend, Thaddeus, the father of her child. Thaddeus refused to marry Hannah, and he skipped town, which embittered Hannah towards him. The story is truly about forgiveness, and about recognizing that we sin, when we refuse to forgive others. It’s a great story.
