Guest Author - Casey Manes
Francine Rivers is a big name in the Christian publishing industry. She has churned out best sellers right and left. Her works range from topics of redemption and modern day, but her forte is historical fiction.
If you enjoy intrigue, suspense, an intricately woven tale rich in history and character development, and all pointing back to themes of God's love and forgiveness, she is an excellent author to follow.
Her book, "The Last Sin Eater" is a historical book set in the late 1800s in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Rivers proves her master storytelling ability through the tale of a little girl who witnessed her sister's death, and is now blamed for it by her grieving mother.
Superstition and suspense pull the reader into this easy read. The character development is rich and there are a few different layers that all get pulled together neatly at the end. Though not exactly realistic in some places, it deals with the stranglehold sin can have on generations of ancestors, and how the Truth can set people free.
Through friendships with a neighbor boy, the main character, 10-year-old Cadi Forbes, forges a bond with the local "sin eater." Superstition in their hollow dictates that when a person dies, they will find their way to eternal rest in heaven if only the sin eater - a man cast out of society by an unlucky lot in life - will come and consume the food laid on his dead body before burial.
Through several, seemingly unrelated stories from the onset of the book, each incidence connects to the other in a seamless story written by a master storyteller, Rivers herself.
The book spirals into a nail-biting finish and shares a heartwarming tale of friendship, love, forgiveness and redemption amidst broken people living in community.
A movie has been made that accurately and superbly portrays the movie plot and characters, without any compromise. A great family film and a recommended book club book that will bring out many deep topics to discuss, "The Last Sin Eater" is definitely recommended!
