BOOK REVIEW: Redeeming Love

Most modern plots can be traced back to Shakespeare or the Bible. Francine Rivers has retold the story of Hosea from the Old Testament in her novel REDEEMING LOVE.

In order to live, Angel had become a prostitute. The year is 1850; the place is California and the opportunities for a beautiful woman are few. Raised by a mother who was the mistress of a wealthy man, Angel had only known abuse and cruelty from men.

Michael Hosea is a man who seeks to obey God in everything that he does. When Michael is told by God to marry Angel and to save her from her life as a prostitute,  Michael rescues her from an ugly situation and marries her. Angel only expects the worst of any man and to her Michael is just another man.

As Michael slowly melts her heart, Angel’s feelings of unworthiness cause her to leave him. Several times he follows her to show his unconditional love. Finally she goes far enough away to be on her own. Michael knows that she has to find her healing in the love of God, the same as Michael knows it.

Francine Rivers has a simple writing style. Her main protagonists and some of her lesser characters were well enough drawn to keep my attention throughout the book. Even though I knew how the old story of Hosea and his prostitute wife Gomer tuned out, there were times that I felt Rivers had a different ending in mind.

The character of Angel was well done. Enough of her background is given to show why she hated and feared Michael as a man. The story felt more alive when it centered on her.

I was not as much impressed with Michael. For a man of God, he did some things that I thought were underhanded. For example, I found the fact that Angel was barely conscious during the wedding service to be troubling. Maybe the author could explain some of Michael’s traits by setting the story in 1850.

Francine Rivers started her writing career in the general market. This was her first novel as a Christian author. In this book she wants us to learn the same lesson that the writers of the Old Testament wanted us to learn: God’s love is unconditional and redeeming. Other than that lesson, REDEEMING LOVE is a fairly typical Romance novel.