Book Recommendations

 Two Fiction Reads that Stir the Mind and Heart

It seems to me it is totally fine to find relaxation in reading material that focuses almost completely on entertaining. It is equivalent to watching a bake-off or house renovation.

But not all the time. Most of the books we remember speak to us; they provoke thoughts, enlarge opinions, provide knowledge or add information to a subject we knew little about. It cannot be disputed that gifted authors of fiction can do that. 

Here are two of them.

Naomi Benaron

Running The Rift 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Running-Rift-Novel-Naomi-Benaron-ebook/dp/B009PAZ6Q4 

When the movie Hotel Rwanda came out a number of years ago, a co-worker of mine shuttered and said she was not interested in going to watch the Hutus butcher the Tutsis. I agreed with her. But a few years later in reading this wonderfully written story, I gained extensive insight into what precipitated that ghastly event and how seemingly normal people can turn into temporary monsters when the right buttons of their psyche are pushed.

The story centers around Patrick Nkuba, who was born to run. And run he does, with nothing less than a place in the Olympics as his goal. But as a Tutsi in Rwanda in the years preceding the genocide of 1994, his family, his dream, every aspect of his life is affected by the increasing tension and restrictions. 

Since reading this story I have happened upon a few articles about Rwanda and the country it has become in the past few years. Both Patrick and Rwanda survived, never to be the same, of course, bearing heavy scars. But wiser, stronger, and with a future. 

 

Erin Bartels

We Hope for Better Things

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F3D88S1/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 

Do you mind a story that jumps between generations? If so, this book is not for you.

Otherwise, Ms. Bartels is another gifted story teller that chooses racial tension and segregation as her subject matter. But the setting is not the deep south, it is Detroit.  

During the civil war a young wife near Detroit is forced to manage the family farm, and also deal with the surge of slaves sent their way by her husband serving with the union army. 

In the 1960's, as that city is torn apart by race riots, a young black man leaves his wife on that same property to go search for his brother. As a gifted photographer he also decides to take pictures of history as it unfolds. 

About fifty years later as ambitious Elizabeth Balsam sets her sights on becoming a renowned journalist, two events rock her world. She is asked to deliver a box of decades old photos to a relative she doesn't even know, and she is fired from her job. This is the catalyst that sets in motion events to reveal long held family secrets, deeply rooted prejudices that caused heartaches and tragedies, but also set in motion events over time to bring about healing and closure.

As she gets to know and care for reclusive Aunt Nora and use her talents to uncover the past, Elizabeth finds her way back to the God she was taught to believe in.  She also finds her priorities vastly different than what she thought they were.