A Voice in the Wind -Francine Rivers
Book 1 in the 'Mark of the Lion' series: "A Voice in the Wind"; "An Echo in the Darkness"; "As Sure as the Dawn."
Francine Rivers is a very well-known author in Christian circles, and this is one of her most popular books. I remember reading this when I was younger, but Elise didn't know the story at all. To be fair, I only remembered some of the major beats, but it was interesting having the two perspectives - I asked Elise on occasion where she thought the story was going, and would think about what elements I knew as we went forward, realising for myself when moments of foreshadowing occurred that weren't necessarily too obvious on the first read.
The book follows three main characters: Hadassah (a Jewish Christian who is also a slave), Marcus (a Roman aristocrat who gradually falls for Hadassah), and Atretes (a German warrior who is forced to become a gladiator). Supporting characters include Marcus' family, particularly his self-centred and impulsive sister Julia, who owns Hadassah and who is involved in many of the book's more extreme moments. Something I didn't know until we were reading Voice in the Wind was that before she became a Christian, Francine Rivers had been a Romance novelist, and this shines through in the very effective way she portrays the emotional journey of the main characters - particularly Hadassah and Marcus' growing attraction. Rivers also avoids taking the cliché route with her story, portraying Roman in all its moral-less decadence, and refusing to "wrap everything up neatly", which means that the story rings more true, and is more impactful as a result.
Parts of the story are quite intense, including the fall of Jerusalem, Atretes fighting in various arenas, and various moments of tension and heartbreak (particularly when Julia continues to make bad decision after bad decision), but the book still has an undercurrent of hope and faith - Hadassah is hugely relatable as someone struggling to know how to express her faith in a culture that is extremely opposed to it (and one that looks even more like our contemporary culture than when Rivers first wrote the book in the early '90s). It is a story that tugs at the emotions, and stirs the faith, and is one that I feel could even be enjoyed by non-Christians - although the faith aspect may be hard for them to understand. The ending of the book is also very impactful.
A great read, though a long one, and one that was intense enough that Elise has requested something 'a bit lighter' for our next read, even while wanting to read the sequel at some point in the future.
Completed with Elise, 17 July 2021.
(Elise Books)
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