Left Behind : A Novel Of The Earth's Last Days
Written: Nov 18 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: good writing, vivid characters, emotional depth, surprise ending
Cons: somewhat predictable at times
The Bottom Line: It digs down deep in the emotions. It will cause you to either hate it or love it.
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| tortillaboy's Full Review: LEFT BEHIND Books |
There may come a time in a man's life when he looks out over the cliff of his past and sees, amidst the myriad of experiences and mundane details, a time when he was more like the man he wishes was still. Causing emotions and passions to rise from the ashes like Phoenix, rekindling the desires for a purer life.
A life with direction and purpose...
A life with vision...
A life worth living...
It is at this cliff I find myself now.
I was brought to this place by a book. One I approached with caution, judging as a bit of fluff elevated by wishful promoters of a faith. The book is fiction, yet calls upon truths and deep felt passions that I have known in my life. This book cannot claim to be of superior writing, for in fact it is simply good writing. Yet, at the same time, the emotions and expressions of the characters have rung deep in my soul. The struggle of human arrogance overcome by a truth that defies all "logic". But then this truth suddenly becomes so completely logical, you wonder why it was never seen before. An experience best described by the analogy of parachuting...an experience that is only known by one who has done it.
You can put a parachute on, fly in a plane, and even spend years studying the process of parachuting, but you don't really know it until you jump. You may know how the packed parachute feels on your back. You may have been in strong winds and imagined the earth rushing towards you. You may have flown in a plane and watched others as they leapt into the sky. But you still will not have known what it was like to parachute. Until the one day when you step out of that plane yourself. You suddenly experience it. You can never go back to being "one who hasn't parachuted." But also, and most importantly, you suddenly become one who is aware of both sides...those who have and those who haven't. It has once been said..."A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument."
Now back to this book..."Left Behind"
It started out interesting enough, the sudden disappearance of people on an airplane destined to Europe. What was most peculiar of all it that their clothes were left in the place they were last seen, as if they vanished right out of them. Turns out, this happened all over the world, resulting in massive worldwide despair and chaos. The rapture of God's people as described in the Biblical book of Revelation. Left Behind closely follows the personal struggle of the pilot of this airplane as well as one particular passenger, a flight attendant, and later, the pilot's daughter. The struggles of, not only coming to the acceptance of what has happened, but the realization that they have been left behind.
While the book is of course fiction, it hinges on some truths about life that are ignored by many in this comfortable existence we inhabit. The struggles and attitudes of the individual characters in this story are different, but in many ways they are very similar....stubborn and intelligent...self-sufficient and reasonable. Then they are faced with something that defied all they held on to.
I don't know if it was the book itself or just the place in life that I find myself right now, but it touched me deeply. You know how when you are reading a story and at the time it is all very real in your mind? Well, this story, because I have seen both sides of the "God-fearing/God-ignoring" coin, shredded into my heart like a cheese grater. I wanted to call this work of fiction "cheesy" when I first decided to read it, but after I was through I realized that I'm the one who got sliced.
While I can't say that it will have the same impact on you, especially if you are hostile to the Christian faith, but a small amount of humility or at least an attitude of non-aggression would go a long way in enjoying this book.
FACTS:
First Published: 1995
Book One of a Series now numbering 8.
Written By: Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Website: www.leftbehind.com
Paperback: 339 pages
Price: $7.99 US
ISBN: 0-8423-4270-2
Thanks for reading! :^)
Check out what else I'm reading at: www.TortillaBoy.com
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tortillaboy
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Member: Steve
Location: Pueblo, CO
Reviews written: 72
Trusted by: 93 members
About Me:
I was born, I grew up, and now I write at Epinions. :^)
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