An Amish Christmas by
Cynthia Keller
Kindle Edition, 256 pages
Published October 19th 2010 by Ballantine Books
ASINB003F3PK7M
About the book (goodreads)
Meg Hobart has everything: a happy marriage to a handsome, successful husband, a beautiful home in Charlotte, North Carolina, and three wonderful children. But it all comes crashing down around her the day she learns that her husband, James, has been living a lie—and has brought the family to financial ruin. Penniless and homeless, the Hobarts pack up what little they still ...more Meg Hobart has everything: a happy marriage to a handsome, successful husband, a beautiful home in Charlotte, North Carolina, and three wonderful children. But it all comes crashing down around her the day she learns that her husband, James, has been living a lie—and has brought the family to financial ruin. Penniless and homeless, the Hobarts pack up what little they still possess and leave behind their golden life for good. But it’s not the material things Meg finds herself mourning. Instead, she misses the certainty that she should remain married to James, who has betrayed her trust so thoughtlessly. Worse, she is suddenly very aware of just how spoiled her children have become. Meg wonders what her family has really sacrificed in their pursuit of the American dream.
A frightening twist of fate forces the Hobarts to take refuge with a kind Amish family in Pennsylvania, where they find themselves in a home with no computers, no cell phones, nothing the children consider fashionable or fun. Her uncooperative brood confined to the Amish world of hard work and tradition, their futures entirely uncertain, Meg fears she can never make her family whole again.
Celebrating life’s simplest but most essential values, packed with laughter and tears, this is a story of forgiveness and the power of love. You will never forget the special moment in time that is An Amish Christmas.
The Author Cynthia Keller lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children.
My thoughts:
I really enjoyed reading "An Amish Christmas". The story starts off with tragedy that leads the Hobart family to an unexpected stay with an Amish family in Pennsylvania during the Christmas Season. This book was informative for me as I learned about Amish ways and customs right along with the Hobarts. I loved the tranquil feeling and slow pace of the book that seemed to fit right in with the way this Amish family lives. This book was a good reminder that it would be profitable to step away from the noise and distractions in the world around us and get back in touch with what is really important--family. The book had a very good message to it.
Some quotes from the book that I enjoyed:
"Maybe the day you got to the end of your to-do list was the day you died."
"The horse trotted over the hilly roads, its hooves making their own music in the otherwise total quiet. The sun was setting, orange and pink streaking the sky."
"'You have been so good to us,' she said. 'I can never repay you.' Catherine frowned. 'Repay me? What a bad idea. That makes it sound like business.'"
"They knew how to just be. They knew what they valued: religion, community, work. They followed those values, and as a result they were completely genuine in everything they did. To be, rather than to seem. A far, far, harder ideal than Meg had ever imagined."
Book #36
Book #2
10 comments:
I downloaded this one to my son's Kindle too!!!! I can't wait to read it now after your wonderful review!
This one keeps grabbing my attention. I love the premise.
I like both the look (what a pretty cover) and sound of this, thanks for the recommendation.
Enjoy the rest of the challenge. You can see my 2nd book review at
http://pettywitter.blogspot.com/2010/11/hogfather.html
What a lovely blog you have!
I keep saying that I want to read Amish fiction. This sounds wonderful, and would be perfect for this time of the year. :)
I always enjoy fish out of water stories like Harrison Ford's WITNESS and I would probably enjoy this one. The excerpts featured were intriguing. "To be, rather than to seem."
Going back to that simple life seems like a perfect tonic for this world.
It would be interesting to see how a modern family coped without technology. Like David, I was reminded of Witness. BTW the opening lines of your post are repeated and the link on Barrie’s post didn’t work.
I really want to read this novel, now, and only partly because the description sounds a fair amount like LITTLE WOMEN!
Sounds like a wonderful book.
Now that I have my reading for this challenge behind me, I am venturing out to see what others have read.
I have to say that I have not read any Amish fiction before. This does sound interesting though. They always say there is a first to everything. This sounds like it will be my first since it definitely has my interest.
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