Divine Appointments is staid, cliché and static at best. The book introduces us to Josie Brooks, a fast-approaching 5-0 year old efficiency consultant dealing with the throes of menopause and a life devoid of normal human interactions. Brought up by a strict military lifer, Victor, Josie prides herself for her independence and self-reliance. Through a series of events throughout the book- particularity through the possession of a mysterious snow globe- she learns that life isn’t just about herself- that no one person is an island.
A bunch of secondary characters round out the cast of this book- all of them a cartoonish cliché of humanity. There is Barb, the do-good helper whose default is to pray for her peers in an over-bearing, goody-two-shoes way. There is Frank, the crotchety old mail delivery man who loves to gossip. Marsha is the newly divorced mother of two adult children coming into her own through boorish fictitious writings. Then there is Lyle, the bleeding heart antagonist who finds himself drawn back to his starry-eyed dreams of youth.
Every chapter was a new entry into self-inflicted boredom. The plot moved slowly, characters were predictable and one-dimensional and the ending conventional. Other than the occasional mention of prayer, this Christian fiction novel was strangely void of God, religious theology or ideology. This book is definitely worth passing up!
"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review"
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
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