Scan barcode
A review by estherfilbrun
These Nameless Things by Shawn Smucker
5.0
Summary: A beautiful, heart-wrenching read.
This book came at a very inconvenient time in my life, but after following the author for multiple years and enjoying his work, I knew I wanted to read his books. And oh—what a pleasure to finally get to do so! Shawn Smucker has told a tale with many threads, but woven together so skillfully that I doubt you could come away with anything less than hope—even though the story itself sometimes seems to lack that very element.
What I loved about this story the most was the characters. They shone here, in both their strengths and their imperfections. And though I feel like not a lot happened in the first part of the book, the characters and descriptions pulled me through, making me want to keep reading. Badly. Even when I really didn’t have time. I’m fairly certain I read the first third of this book in about one sitting—forgetting about everything else. Thankfully, dinner somehow still managed to get on the table in time that night!
In many ways, this book was one after my own heart. It shows how much unforgiven hurts can lead us to be stuck where we are, and only through forgiveness can we find the way forward. There are many deep things touched on in this story, and if you enjoy reading fantasy with a depth of truth to it, I’d recommend you check this out. Some parts of the setting are weird, but in the end, it’s one that I think a lot of us can learn from. And that’s not counting the fact that the way this story was written is achingly beautiful and almost merits a discussion in its own right!
Overall, I recommend this book. It isn’t necessarily a Christian story (although, if you’re like me, you will probably find a few allegories along the way), but it is a relatively clean read. I enjoyed it, and I’m looking forward to trying out other books by this author.
I requested a free review copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.
This book came at a very inconvenient time in my life, but after following the author for multiple years and enjoying his work, I knew I wanted to read his books. And oh—what a pleasure to finally get to do so! Shawn Smucker has told a tale with many threads, but woven together so skillfully that I doubt you could come away with anything less than hope—even though the story itself sometimes seems to lack that very element.
What I loved about this story the most was the characters. They shone here, in both their strengths and their imperfections. And though I feel like not a lot happened in the first part of the book, the characters and descriptions pulled me through, making me want to keep reading. Badly. Even when I really didn’t have time. I’m fairly certain I read the first third of this book in about one sitting—forgetting about everything else. Thankfully, dinner somehow still managed to get on the table in time that night!
In many ways, this book was one after my own heart. It shows how much unforgiven hurts can lead us to be stuck where we are, and only through forgiveness can we find the way forward. There are many deep things touched on in this story, and if you enjoy reading fantasy with a depth of truth to it, I’d recommend you check this out. Some parts of the setting are weird, but in the end, it’s one that I think a lot of us can learn from. And that’s not counting the fact that the way this story was written is achingly beautiful and almost merits a discussion in its own right!
Overall, I recommend this book. It isn’t necessarily a Christian story (although, if you’re like me, you will probably find a few allegories along the way), but it is a relatively clean read. I enjoyed it, and I’m looking forward to trying out other books by this author.
I requested a free review copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.