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Review Summary: A bit much |
Date: 2008-12-28 |
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Details: Though this book daintily picks up the hot topic of abortion (that and gay marriage seem to upset evangelicals more than rape and poverty), it doesn't really deal with it in a way that would resonate with most people, but keep in mind, Mrs. Palmer is a conservative Christian, and that is the audience she is writing for.
I, myself, am a Christian conservative, but there was no working through the problem of an unwanted pregnancy other than the author, through her characters, saying abortion is wrong, no matter what the circumstance, for I believe in the Ten Commandments, "Thou shalt not kill, nor do anything like unto it", the "it" referring to termination of unwanted pregnancies.
Though I do not condone abortion (except to save the life of the mother), I think it cruel for some Christians to judge a twelve-year-old girl who has an early-term abortion because she was raped by her father. I wouldn't expect any child to carry a product of incest. I couldn't blame a woman if she was raped, because rapists do still have rights to any child they may have created in an act of violence, and as long as that child lives, whether he or she is adopted out, she will be tied to her rapist. When a woman chooses to have sex, she is choosing to take the chance of getting pregnant, but when sex is forced upon her, that choice is taken away, so I believe the choice of whether to carry to term is hers. She should be able to take back control of her life, perhaps not at the expense of another's, but it is her body, not mine.
What I found interesting about this book was the time period, because if abortion was so wrong, why weren't those individuals who performed this procedure put on trial for murder? Obviously, even the populace back then didn't consider babies in the womb the same way they considered fully-formed human beings? It seems that the unborn had about as much voice back in this time as they do now, except if they were born out-of-wedlock back then, they were called b@st@rds and a woman was considered ruined.
It also seemed like the person who actually performed these life-ending surgeries was much more vile and in need of forgiveness than those women to him for help, and I'm sorry, but if people didn't go to abortion doctors, there would be no abortions, at least in the legal, medical sense. I feel the same way about Christians who go to R-rated movies. Don't get mad at the person producing them, get mad at the people going to them, when that ten bucks they put down to see a show could help someone in need.
This was a sweet book (a bit too sweet for my taste--I like a little meat with my milk, even if it isn't Kosher), and the story held my interest enough to finish, and though the romance itself was satisfying (I really liked both Clementine Laird and Paul Baine), the hot-button issue lacked a depth of discussion to the point of understanding Mrs. Palmer's point-of-view, or at least having compassion for those who do not see the world the same way.
I thought the author made it too easy for her audience to forgive Dr. Baine because the only reason he started in the practice was to help a woman who would be risking her life to have another child, etc. He was never in it just for the money, so he didn't need as much savin' (for lack of a better phrase) as someone who just did it for monetary gain.
Get this book from a used bookstore, or better yet, a library--worth reading perhaps, but not a keeper. |
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Review Summary: Rich little novella! |
Date: 2004-10-23 |
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Details: If you like Catherine Palmer, this book will not disappoint. The characters are rich and well developed. Clemma's world is small and mundane, and maybe her Christianity has become a little stunted too--enter Dr. Paul Blaine, a physician with a notorious reputation. Clemma's safe little world is shaken but she doesn't run from it as she would like but lays it at the feet of God, and therefore grows as a result of the encounter. I suppose it's a bit predictable but written with such skill that I didn't mind in the least! |
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Review Summary: Both have secrets, just different kinds. |
Date: 2002-10-20 |
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Details: Clemma is a young widow with secrets she dares tell no man. Filling her time as a lonely, conservative Christian widow with companions of water colors and flowers, she happens to meet the mysterious and "hated" Dr. Paul Blaine. His unethical practices have made him a village outcast but his need for citrus fruit in winter has driven him to the conservatory where Clemma paints. This is a light romance set in England and keeps a reader in suspense, even though the plot is a little syrupy and somewhat predictable. |
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out of 3 Reviews
