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Loading... City of Tranquil Light: A Novel (edition 2011)by Bo Caldwell
Work InformationCity of Tranquil Light: A Novel by Bo Caldwell
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. City of Tranquil Light, reads smoothly and consistently as it tells of the story of an American missionary couple's work for the Mennonite church. Caldwell focuses on their love and kindness as they face difficulties like famine, illness, and bandits. The book is nicely written but I have a preference for books with more inner conflict in their main characters -- Will and Katherine were believable but sometimes a little too tranquil. There's more on my blog, here. Another lovely book about China by this great author - This one was based on her grandparents and their missionary work in a small Chinese city in the early 1900s - The story was always engrossing and the marital relationship was inspiringly tender and loving - I was moved by the couple's faith which was challenged in many ways as they felt called to live and work in a strange and often harsh new world filled with hardship, suffering, and ultimately with great reward - The author did a beautiful job of presenting loving people who lived a deeply spiritual life yet expressed their humanity, failures and successes fully. This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I loved Caldwell's first book, so I was excited to get an ARC in the mail. This book, like the first is about family and China. In this case she uses her grandparent's experiences as missionaries as a premise and writes a story from there. The book is Narrative from Will and Diary excerpts from Katherine. It tells about love, loss, hardship, and victories living in China in early 20th century. I wasn't sure I was going to like it because I'm not sure about missionaries. I believe cultures should be able to keep their identities and customs. That is what makes the world so interesting. But I see the good they did, showing love, forgiveness, healing, and compassion. The people were drawn to them because of that and I feel good about that. Caldwell is honest; brutal and gentle. I enjoyed this book more than I expected and am waiting for her next book. This is a story about the best of humanity. To make "good" characters seem real, believable, and likable is a challenge and Caldwell has come up to the task. Usually interesting characters display all kinds of character flaws. Will's main character flaw seems to be a bit of pride mixed with a bit of impatience. Katherine's weakness is physical. These are probably two of the most genuinely good people I have ever encountered in fiction. I thoroughly appreciated the author's portrayal of the Mennonite faith and how that faith was put into action. Although my acquaintances have never made the sacrifices required of Will and Katherine, I have been fortunate to encounter a number of individuals who exhibit the same kind of peace, humility, and dedication. This story is totally believable and told without the least bit of cynicism. This is a story about individuals who put their faith into action told by an author who refuses to preach or resort to being didactic. It's a straightforward story about two individuals who first love God, then learn to love each other, and eventually love a country and people far different than the close Mennonite culture where they were raised. I gave this book a four simply because I wasn't particularly fond of the story told alternately by Will and Katherine. I suppose this gave the reader "both sides" of the story, but to my mind, it was just awkward. However, good read and highly recommended. no reviews | add a review
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Will Kiehn is seemingly destined for life as a humble farmer in the Midwest when, having felt a call from God, he travels to the vast North China Plain in the early twentieth century. There he is surprised by love and weds a strong and determined fellow missionary, Katherine. They soon find themselves witnesses to the crumbling of a more than two-thousand-year-old dynasty that plunges the country into decades of civil war... No library descriptions found. |
LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumBo Caldwell's book City Of Tranquil Light was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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For the most part God gets a pass, evil and loss are mysterious whereas fortunate turn of events are divine grace. At least part of the fortuitous events are due to a benevolent bandit, although the characters do not reflect on the source of those particular acts of grace.
If you are looking for a deeper exploration of the missionary movement I recommend “The Poisonwood Bible,” “At Play in the Fields of the Lord,” or “Dancing at Lughnasa.” ( )