Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Fiction

St. Francis 101: Review of Chasing Francis by Ian Morgan Cron

Everything I knew about St. Francis of Assisi before reading Chasing Francis can be summed up in these words:

I may be an evangelical Protestant, but I know that Francis is a Catholic saint from the thirteenth century who’s famous for holding up concrete birdbaths in people’s backyards. (38)

And with that, Ian Morgan Cron captured my heart with his wit, writing style and cleverly convicting observations about the church today. (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of Chasing Francis from Zondervan through the Booksneeze program in exchange for my honest review.)

chasing francis coverChasing Francis is fiction but it reads like a memoir. Chase Falson is an evangelical pastor of a New England church he started, and his faith is crumbling. When he makes some controversial remarks in a sermon, he’s asked to take a leave of absence. Not knowing where else to turn, he calls his Uncle Kenny, a Franciscan priest living in Italy, who encourages him to travel to Italy to meet someone who can help him through his time of doubting.

He’s surprised to learn that the person his uncle had in mind was St. Francis of Assisi. The rest of the book is an account of Chase’s pilgrimage to sites important in Francis’ life and the life of the Church.

How much did I love this book? I recommended it to three people before I was halfway through it. It’s that good. I’ve heard good things about Cron’s memoir, Jesus, My Father, the CIA and Me, but I haven’t read it yet. “Yet” being the key word. It’ll be on my list now.

Not only is Chasing Francis a convicting look at the state of the Church today, it’s also a primer on the life of St. Francis. The book includes a study guide at the end with extra snippets of information about Francis’ life and thought-provoking discussion questions. I would love to read this book in a group and discuss the study at the end. I dog-eared dozens of pages, sometimes two per page, to record the wisdom written there.

Two of my favorite lines that relate to the setting of the story and give you an idea of Cron’s genius:

Gelato is what heaven would taste like if someone froze it and crammed it into a paper cup. (124)

When God created language, he neglected to include words that could do justice to the dazzling beauty of the old city of Florence. (36)

A warning: Chasing Francis will create a longing in you. A longing for authenticity, for beauty, for encountering God outside of the walls of your local church. Be prepared to desire a pilgrimage of your own. But don’t let that scare you. Chasing Francis is a must-read for the Church today. Surprisingly (or maybe not) we can learn a lot from a long-dead Catholic saint.

How God works for good: Review of Trouble in Store by Carol Cox

Life doesn’t always work out the way we want.

And sometimes, that’s a good thing.

trouble in store coverAuthor Carol Cox illustrates this theme in her latest novel, Trouble in Store. (Disclaimer: In exchange for my honest review, I received a free copy of the book from the author.)

Melanie Ross is a governess for a wealthy family in Ohio when the mischief of the boy in her care causes her to lose her job. Her powerful ex-employer vows to end her prospects for working as a governess, but he leaves her with enough severance pay to start over. Melanie recalls a letter from her cousin, now deceased, who was part owner of a mercantile in Arizona. She decides to take a train out West to appeal to the surviving partner for a job and a place to live. But when she arrives, she finds that her cousin’s partner is also dead and the store is being managed by his nephew, Caleb Nelson.

I enjoy the situations Cox puts her characters in, and Melanie’s predicament showcases Cox’s ability to ruffle her character’s comfort and create conflict, both internal and external. Melanie and Caleb clash from the beginning, which means we’ll see sparks of a different kind fly later in the story. The romance factor is a bit predictable, but the overall story is uplifting and enjoyable. The setting, 1880s Arizona, is captivating and I find myself drawn to these cozy western stories.

Melanie is a confident–and sometimes overbearing–female lead in this story, but it’s fun to “watch” as she and Caleb dispute ownership of the store and try to make it work to the best of their abilities. There’s an element of danger, too, as the store has been the target of anonymous threatening notes and rumors about the causes of its previous owners’ deaths. Caleb and Melanie find themselves fighting on the same side for the sake of the store.

And eventually, though neither of them planned for life to work out the way it did, both of them discover that God’s plans work out for the best.

I think this theme is best reflected in Melanie’s revelation:

How like the Lord to create beauty from the ashes of her despair and turn her heartache into rejoicing. (133)

What an encouraging reminder of the way He works.