Recent Reads {Grace in Thine Eyes}

Grace in Thine Eyes by Liz Curtis Higgs - Like the trilogy that precedes it, this novel is both a delight and an agony to read.  It is delightful because of the rich settings and beautiful imagery, compelling characters, and a storyline that draws you in and keeps you turning pages until the very end - and wishing there was another chapter.  But that same storyline is full of tears and tragedy, because it parallels the story told in the Bible of Jacob's daughter, Dinah.  Higgs reworks Dinah's story in a Scottish setting, and the main character is the daughter of Jamie and Leana McKie. Davina is mute as a result of an accident in her childhood, but she is also a loving young woman and a very talented fiddler.  Jamie arranges for her to spend a summer with relatives and while she is enjoying her time there, she catches the eye of a young nobleman who doesn't act nobly.  At least at first.  Davina's faith and capacity for mercy and forgiveness are sorely tested, and the faith and grace of her family and friends as well.  As I read, I found myself 'knowing' what would happen to a certain extent, at least if Higgs was going to be faithful to the story in Genesis, and not wanting to read a story so sad, but even when brought to tears, I felt that Davina's story was full of hope and faith, and as the title suggests - emphasizes the beauty of grace.

By the same author: Thorn in My Heart, Fair is the Rose, Whence Came a Prince