Hillary
Written on Feb 9, 2017
I have to admit that this is my first Taylor Caldwell book. I thought I was well versed in Christian Fiction but I guess not. I liked the premise of this book. I thought it was going to be in a novel format, but it was short stories each dealing with one soul and the unburdening of themselves with the "man who listens."
I was shocked at how relevant the stories seemed to today's climate. I saw on GoodReads that her books were originally published in the 20's and so I thought it would be dated, but no, the stories were applicable to life in today's world. The language used to tell the stories is dated somewhat, It is in a stuffy tone, but I can overlook that.
The stories themselves I found myself sucked in and wondered if this was gonna be the soul that the "man who listens" tells the person to go do you know what to themselves but he never did. What that always amazes me is that no matter how far away the person may have been that at the end that the "man who listens" never turns them away, I know that this is an allegory for God NOW but I was slow on the uptake ok. About half way through the book I started to have my suspicions then I looked it up on Goodreads and was like OHHHHH NOW everything makes a 1000 percent sense.
I enjoyed the stories themselves. It is broken up into figures from the Bible, and it is meant to show how some of the Bible's teaching could be applied to modern day life. Like I said it was written and published in the 20's, but the stories could still apply to today's world and especially in today's climate.
Especially in today's political climate. It was somewhat comforting to know that people in the past had faced dark times also and the world has kept spinning. And no matter how hard the events of the time may have rocked the world eventually the good people have won time and time again. This was something that I needed to hear especially considering the events of the past few months.
I did not have a favorite story. I liked them all. I felt that they all had something important that they were attempting to convey. Even if you are not religious, I believe that this book can offer comfort and hope during these troubled times that we find ourselves in. I know I felt the best I have since November after I read this book. I find it immensely comforting to know that there is always someone who is listening and that no matter how bad things may get that "the one who listens" always have things under control and that the platitudes used are not, in fact, empty but rather are the truth.This review was originally posted on Adventures in Never Never Land