Evidence of Grace
by Candace Armstrong
204 pages
Genre: Novel
Price: $14.95
Publisher: Book Baby
ISBN: 978-1-09833-595-3
To Order: Amazon.com or BookBaby.com
Reviewed by Michael Escoubas
Early in our marriage my wife and I were told, by so-called “experts,” that we would never be parents by natural means. Upset, we went through a lengthy period of desperation. Our desperation eventually resolved itself when we adopted two wonderful sons. If you have ever felt “desperate” in the special world of desiring to begin a family, and at every turn, a roadblock presented itself, you have the core experience of Candace Armstrong’s debut novel, Evidence of Grace.
Armstrong owns the special skill of identifying with people. It is as if she has lived their struggles. Even the book cover speaks to Armstrong’s theme. Note the train rails’ long length, extending into evening’s fading light. This is a journey. Not merely a journey, in the literal sense of a Norfolk Southern train traveling at breakneck speed toward a destination. Not just a journey about a silver-gray minivan careening wildly, ending up crosswise on the tracks. Not just the nerve-jangling sounds emanating from the ensuing crash. This is a journey about human beings whose lives would be changed forever within a split second’s time.
It is the story of knowingly doing something wrong. But since consequences seemed remote in the moment, and with the prospect of quenching the dry thirst of disappointment, a key is turned, unlocking the door of no return. Now, it was a matter of time, for illumination’s squeaky door to open.
Can you want something so much that you turn a blind eye to the truth?
What about secrets closeted away, hoping the key to the door will never be found, let alone opened?
Is there a single event that can blow a sleepy town’s psyche wide open?
Is there a place where people can go, where an entire town can go, to seek understanding, to find closure?
As I worked my way through the novel these questions surfaced. They did so because, I too, like the characters in Evidence of Grace, have experienced similar questions.
The action takes place in the small town of Tillman, Tennessee. The Tillman Tattler is the town’s voice. There is plenty to tell. Secrets abound here. Armstrong weaves her story like a chef serving a rich array of food. She whets the appetite, gives the reader time to digest the morsel properly, before dispatching the wait-staff with the next course.
Charlie and Mae Jericho are hurting to beat a “system” that seems aligned against the life-fulfillment they desire. This relationship is worth the book’s modest asking price. For example, Charlie never learned to read. Why? His last name, Jericho, reminded me of the Biblical town whose walls “came tumbling down,” when the prophet Joshua laid siege to it. Would Charlie Jericho’s personal walls hold up under pressure? The answer may surprise. Mae is headstrong. Her judgment is subject to question.
Within the lives of these core protagonists, Armstrong weaves a riveting tale around the fate of “Amy.” Amy, who has another name, is inextricably tied to the incredible crash that opens the novel. It is a name that umbrellas this novel in unexpected ways. The ending will surprise you. Don’t expect Hallmark Channel charm in this one. Armstrong is too good a storyteller for that. What you can look for is answers to the four questions posed above.
And by the way, for what it’s worth: the so-called experts were wrong about my wife and I being unable to have a family by natural means. After 20 years of marriage, our two sons welcomed their sister into their lives, by natural means.
Likewise, in Evidence of Grace, there is an element of time in play. This novel will not disappoint. There is a harvest in its pages waiting to be reaped. |
