Hope Road

Dwelling Places [Vinita Hampton Wright]

Dwelling Places by Vinita Hampton Wright ***

Slip into the quiet world of Beulah, Iowa, and the private lives of Rita, Mack, Jodie, and Kenzie - a grandmother, father, mother, and daughter who each have their own journeys to take and battles to fight. This is the story of one family and three seasons, seasons of grief and pain and loss and learning and restoration and wholeness. It is a story of farming, of suicide, of misdirected love, of brokenness and healing.

The style of this book is one that made me breathe a little sigh of relief whenever I could escape between the pages. It is slow, yet propels the reader on with surety to turn the next page, and the next, and the next. It offers many more questions than it does answers. It sketches pain in bold, tender relief. There is beauty in it.

This is the first secular contemporary fiction book I have read in a long time, and it may be the first one I have chosen to read on my own (rather than having it assigned to me). I am always leery of reading contemporary fiction because I never know what kind of material lurks behind a seemingly innocent cover. I was disappointed. The book could have still been raw and honest if it had left out a few key passages and choice words.

Another, more subtle problem with the book is its cheap, fluffy Christianity. It tries so hard to be real, transparent, and raw. It rightly emphasizes community and questioning and accepting the unknown, and the value of liturgy and spirituality. But it downplays truth. And truth is immeasurably valuable. Still, by leaving many questions unanswered, Dwelling Places avoids straying very far into unorthodoxy.

In essence, this is a deeply saddening but hopeful story.

Recommended age level: 18+. There are several passages in the book that I think are completely unnecessary for anyone to read. The other more “adult” content is discussed generally and discreetly. Other than those issues, readers should beware of occasional profanity.