Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

debut novels

When letters tell the story: Review of Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay

A new  year upon us means a new year of reading and books, and I’m thrilled to start 2014 with a review of a book I wasn’t sure I would like when I started it.

knightleyKatherine Reay’s debut novel Dear Mr. Knightley drew me in with its Jane Austen reference in the title. (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for my review through the Booksneeze program.) What I didn’t realize is that it’s written entirely in letters. The main character, Samantha Moore, is an orphan looking for meaning in her life. Thanks to a mysterious benefecator, she applies to the presitgious Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and is accepted. The condition of her endowment is that she write letters regularly to the benefactor, who has taken the name Mr. Knightley.

So, the story unfolds in Sam’s letters to this man, which end up reading somewhat like a journal because Mr. Knightley seldom writes back. It’s not meant to be a correspondance. And, admittedly, it takes some getting used to. But as an introvert and a writer, I came to appreciate the novel’s style. And the story is compelling as we wonder if she’ll make it through the rigorous journalism program and if she’ll ever discover who Mr. Knightley is.

It’s fun and different, and because Sam has such a love for classic literature, I found myself making a mental list of books I want to read or re-read. The characters in these classic novels are her friends and part of her identity, and I felt like I knew them better because of her attachment to them.

So, reading this book has given me a dozen others to add to my reading list for the new year.

If you’re a fan of Austen, I think you’ll like this one, especially if you’re familiar enough with her works to get all the references to characters and quotes from her books.

All I ever learned about Presbyterians I read in a book

A small-town southern church seeking a pastor assembles a search committee of seven parishioners who spend months secretly attending services at other churches auditioning candidates for the job.

A promising premise. Unfortunately, The Search Committee gets lost along the way. That’s not to say there aren’t some highlights of Tim Owens’ debut novel. Owens borrows three real-life sermons throughout the book, and I appreciated the messages in those sermons, as well as the messed-up lives of the committee members. Their struggles are the real struggles of churchgoers and nonchurchgoers alike. I could identify with aspects of several of the characters’ lives.

However, I think Owens spread himself too thin with the characters. I never got a sense that anyone was a main character, and trying to make seven people the main characters in a book left me feeling like I didn’t really get to know any of them. And because I didn’t know them, I didn’t care that much about them. I wanted things to work out well, I guess, but I wasn’t invested in their lives. I was hoping for more depth from one or two of the characters. It just didn’t work for me.

The whole concept of a search committee was new to me. Our church denomination doesn’t do things that way, and I was kind of surprised by it. The committee often admitted that it felt like it was trying to steal a pastor from another church. Maybe that’s more prevalent than I know. I also didn’t know much about the Presbyterian Church. Owens opens many chapters with excerpts from the Presbyterian Church’s Book of Order and Book of Confessions, which I found interesting but not exactly entertaining. I couldn’t decide if Owens was trying to educate readers about Presbyterians or if he was just drawing on his experience. (His bio says he was once a Southern Baptist and is now an elder in the Presbyterian Church.)

I wanted to like this book, but it fell flat. I stuck with it till the end, hoping it would redeem itself, but I was more relieved than rewarded to have finished it.

FAVORITES: One of the committee members keeps a running list of church signs the group sees on their travels. I get a kick (and sometimes a groan and a shake of the head) out of church signs.

FAULTS: Because of all the characters, the individual storylines felt rushed and underdeveloped. Even the resolutions seemed hasty. I wasn’t crazy about the dialogue either. Some of it felt unnatural.

IN A WORD: Disappointing. I was thinking the committee was going on a road trip in search of a pastor, not that they would set out on several Sundays over several months on day trips. Maybe my expectations were too high.

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In exchange for this review, I received a free copy of The Search Committee from Tyndale House Publishers.
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