The Arms of God
Lynne Hinton
(Reviewer - Narayan Radhakrishnan)
2005 St Martin's Press
ISBN: 0312347952

A tale of the spirit of motherhood. A woman, abandoned as a child & now raising her own daughter, is confronted by the mother who left her.

Sr. Associate Reviewer Narayan Radhakrishnan writes:

It's not often you get to read fiction which makes one think & ponder, & at the same time is a fast paced & stylish read. In The Arms of God, Pastor Lynne Hinton delivers a poignant tale of family values, & about the spirit of motherhood.

I've often wondered about the special bond between a mother & her daughter, a bond which, I as a son, knew existed, but could not identify; & now as a first-time father of a baby girl I feel it there between my daughter & my wife -- which, again I cannot identify. & all others are strangers to this special bond.

It is a tale of this ‘bond of motherhood’. Alice is a family woman who enjoys & relishes the love & companionship that exist in her family, & for her, her daughter Anna is life personified.

Alice survived a strange childhood. Her mother had abandoned her, decades earlier at a day-care center, so it was one foster home after another for Alice. & if she wants one thing out of life, it's just to be a perfect mother for her own daughter.

& so when one early morning, when Alice's mother shows up at her door, Alice's whole life turns topsy-turvy. Olivia seems a changed woman, although Alice senses there's something wrong with her,& that she just cannot accept the fact that her mother has come back to her life.

When Olivia dies three weeks later, Alice suddenly feels a void in her life, which she never knew existed. & when one day she sieves through her mother's belongings, she slowly comes to realize who her mother actually was: the girl in Olivia, the woman Olivia, the mother Olivia, & finally, the person Olivia, comes to light. Alice slowly understands the causes that prompted her mother to abandon her, & she begins to appreciate the courage it took for her mother to find her.

The Arms of God is a grand read & a lovely, deep look into the spirit of family values & spirit of motherhood. I believe a woman reading this book might empathize with the protagonists, & men might too!

Sublimely beautiful & sedately stunning, The Arms of God is one great read.

More from Lynne Hilton:
The Last Odd Days
Friendship Cake
Garden of Faith
Friends Forever
Things I Know Best
(11/20/05)

Narayan
2005©Narayan Radhakrishnan
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Associate Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
I am a 26 years old lawyer practicing in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Along with my legal practice, I have finished post-graduate studies for both Business Law & Human Rights. I am a self proclaimed numero-uno legal thriller lover & am the proud owner of all of Grisham's & Turow's novels. I enjoy John Mortimer's Rumpole & relish an occasional Martini & a rare Scot(ch)t-oline with a Patterson on the side.

My work A FICTION OF LAW is now about 500 pages in length & features 500 lawyer authors & 2000 legal thrillers covering a 300 year period - inclusive of entries from the USA, UK, Asia, Europe, China, Middle East etc. Still in search of a publisher.
www.keralatourism.org