I am privileged to be a part of the launch team for a powerful new novel that you might want to hear about.
I rarely read fiction. Most of you know by now that I'm a theology/sociology sort of girl here with a dash (OK, a huge bowl full) of Tolkien and Austen thrown in there for fun.But I read this one -- and stayed up far too late for this lady two nights in a row. That's when you know a novel's got me.
Mercy's Rain is tough stuff. It is not your standard Christian fluff novel. And for that, I am thankful. I said "without the calories" because of the absence of empty sweetness. It is sweet -- in the sense that truth and love always win -- but not in the sense that they win effortlessly.
Mercy has suffered unspeakable abuse, and her story doesn't sugar coat it. It does, however, offer hope for healing. Cindy Sproles tackles terrible circumstances and barefaced evil without flinching. I appreciate her willingness to look hard at issues most of us avoid.
I love that Cindy fearlessly deals with issues that were real then (it's historical fiction) and are still so very real today. I love that she admits they exist in the church and that there is where we need the courage to stand against evil of our own. It's a raw honesty that rarely exists in Christian fiction, and I find it refreshing and releasing for those who, like Mercy, live in great pain. The path Mercy takes is also honest--broken, difficult, back and forth, and victorious in the end.
It's perfect that she tells it in first person, as the reader gets the real sense of what she thinks and feels, something that could never come through as well in another voice. The author portrays both the evil and the atmosphere of redemptive love in this book clearly and believably. A debut novel worth a follow up!
You can find Mercy's Rain here.
And more about its author here.
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