Wrapped in Rain

Okay, we all know that I love Charles Martin. I think he's amazing. Wrapped in Rain is the book that started it for me.

It's a story about a man who hates his father (for good reason), but has a maid/keeper who keeps him from being insane.

The love of his life (who he didn't realize was her) shows up on the side of the road, and suddenly he has to deal with a lot more than an insanely jealous ex-husband.

He has to deal with his issue, keep his woman safe, protect and love the five year old that comes with his love, take care of his brother who has serious mental issues, and come to terms with his past.

It's amazing. Let me just tell you. Ah-maze-ing.

Be aware, though, blatent Christianity. So if you're not into God, don't be upset that I didn't warn you.

Where The River Ends

There are certain books that I know I'm going to need to clear a couple hours out of my day, sit down, and just read. I can't pick it up and put it down, I can't read for an hour, then have to go to work. It'll drive me crazy, wanting to know what happened.

I have to admit, I've worked that into my schedule for Breaking Dawn. But on Friday, when the copy of Where the River Ends by Charles Martin came in, I knew I couldn't start it right then. After all, I was in the middle of The Killing Dance and had just picked up Faithful. And I had a lot to do and a party to attend. So I couldn't start reading it, not until at least today.

So I did. When I woke up this morning, it's what I read.

It takes place in Georgia and Florida, right along the border, on a river mostly. Doss is an artist, and Abbie is a debutante. Not a couple that you'd ever expect to get together, but they fall in love after he saves her. They spend the first ten years of the marriage happy. She's decorating, he's painting.

Then they find that Abbie has breast cancer, and it all spirals out of control from there. As time goes on, and they fight an unwinnable battle, the despair becomes apparent.

But as a last wish, Abbie wants Doss to take her back down the river, back to where they had their honeymoon. It's a harrowing tale, with stalkers, national news coverage, and they go through 3 boats, finally finishing the journey on a log. But they make it.

It's told with a back-and-forth style, one chapter in the present (the trip down the river), and the next chronicling their lives up to that point.

Martin writes with his usual depth, making me wish that I not only could go to this part of Georgia, but that men like Doss actually existed somewhere.

While I saw some of the same threads working through this novel that I've seen in others (the nickname Band-Aid, for instance, or the dying wife), it was still amazing.

It touches you in a place that is impossible to see, and just as impossible not to feel. It takes a lot to read, going through pages on the history of the river, or some ambiguous church, but the real story, the human story, makes it worthwhile.

Somethings are worth waiting for, and Martin's stories are ones I've always found worthwhile.

It takes about a year to get it out in paperback, so I'm going to have to keep requesting it. Sigh...

Oh. Right.

Chasing Fireflies

Charles Martin, the author of the book Chasing Fireflies is one of those writers I adore. His books are poignant, sad, and redemptive. The characters are real, the deal with real problems and don't always find the easiest solutions.

In Chasing Fireflies a man, Chase, lives with his foster family, but is haunted by two things. The first is who his father is, and why he gave him up. The second is why his Uncle Willee (the man who is the male half of his foster "parents") took the blame for a number of crimes that he never committed.

Chase is a reporter, and when a young mute boy is found by a railroad track, he takes that time to tell the world about what it's like to be an orphan, through Sketch's eyes.

When his best friend / "cousin" comes home from LA, Chase's world unravels as he slowly learns more about Willee then he ever thought he could know.

I love this book. From Tommye to Sketch to Chase, the characters are so believable that I want to move to swamp-land Georgia just to meet them. If anyone is wondering where my Southern obsession comes from, this author's books don't hurt it at all.

The revelations and the pure human emotion that comes through make you laugh, cry, and gasp, but finally leave a smile on your face.

And you really want to see Chase walk into that meeting wearing his jeans, a t-shirt, and flip-flops.