May Seymour graduated from college with the world at her feet and no idea what to do with it. A mission trip to Rwanda brought her a sense of purpose in loving others. So when the genocide began she chose to remain in the village, which was subsequently slaughtered. Only May survived.
So, May journeyed to heal on the farm of Claudius Borne, a sweet, innocent old man who understood plants and animals far better than people.
Years later, having not stepped a foot off Claudius’ farm, May learns an old college flame, now a death-row inmate, is refusing to appeal his sentence. Can she convince him to grab hold of life once again? Their surprising friendship turns the tables, for the prisoner, Eli Campbell, has a deeper faith from which to draw than she. Eli slowly begins to pull May from her cloistered existence. With the help of Eli, their tiny town, and ultimately a renewal of faith, May comes to life once again.
My Review:
I jumped at the chance to read this book after attending a conference where Lisa Samson was the keynote speaker. She was simply amazing and I’ve wanted to read her books ever since. Resurrection in May was as captivating, stirring and heartwarming as Lisa’s keynote addresses.
At first, I wasn’t sure how to react to the author’s unique writing style and creative use of point of view. The main character, May, is first introduced through the eyes of an old bachelor farmer, Claudius. We see the world and the spunky May through his eyes for a good half of the book and only catch a little of May’s thoughts until a certain point.
For me, this made it hard to connect with May at all. I actually had several parts where I had to push myself to keep reading even though I liked all the secondary characters. I wanted to connect with May but couldn’t. That is, until Lisa’s brilliance in writing is revealed with the point of view switch and you are as connected to Claudius as May is. Then, we dive deep into May’s life as she struggles to overcome the wounds of her experience in Rwanda.
The exchanges between May and Eli are heart-wrenching and so real. While this certainly wasn’t a light-hearted novel, I still walked away with such hope and admiration of Lisa’s amazing writing. This story unfolds with memorable characters, surprising twists and turns and satisfying moments that testify to God’s grace.
A great read of redemption and hope. Highly recommended.
Disclosure: Thomas Nelson provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, which is exactly what you’ll see here!
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