Book review: Love amid the ashes by Mesu Andrews

My 5 star review

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but Love amid the ashes surely is the opposite. The author's writing has transformed a well-known Bible book into a tapestry of vivid imageries and colour that leaves a lasting impression on the mind.

Love amid the ashes brings the story of Job and Dinah alive, giving you a glimpse of Job's experience in the most difficult time in his life. That the author has taken the time to study other books, and the timeline is a remarkable tribute to her ability and skill and a worthy testimony of Job's faith.

When we read the Bible, we forget sometimes the backstory and how everything fits together. The timeline interlinked to give you a broad picture of life and how everything fits together. Though I have read of Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, I never really gave her much thought. Now I am thinking differently about this beautiful woman and her faith. It felt like I was walking along with Job, as she nursed him back to life and a love so wide as the desert that formed against them.

Sitis was another wonderful woman worthy to be mentioned. We don't read about her other than that she told Job to curse God and die. Her name doesn't even appear within the book of Job. But through the historical background, we get a glimpse of this woman's path and her own restoration with God Almighty, before she left this earth. I think the author did a wonderful tribute to her as well. When you lose everything that is dear to you in one heartbeat, you lose it. I know a little of that myself. Therefore, my admiration for this woman just grew exponentially.

Job's path is written with so much empathy and understanding that I have a new admiration for this man who was loved by God. His strong character shines forth within each page. His relationship with God is a testimony of his true faith. What stood out most was the place where most of the story takes place, the ash heap in his kitchen courtyard. Here he was confronted with unbearable pain, rejection of his most trusted friends and betrayal of those who seek his position and riches for themselves. In the end, their greed and power hunger cost them more than just poverty or death.

On this ash heap, he had to learn to trust God unconditionally even though worms were eating his flesh away. The stench that accompanied him was unbearable to read but touching as you witness Nogahla and Dinah's devotion to care for him.

The supporting characters each played an integral part in this story, Aban and Nogahla, Nada and Sayyid, the widow, Esau, Jacob, Joseph, the three friends Bildad, Eliphaz, and Zophar. They created more depth and believability to the storyline and in the end, they all either withered or got to know El Shaddai through the lives of Job and Dinah.

The land of Uz played a big role in the story's buildup, as the author described the carved palaces and dangerous siq to enter the city. We don't always think about how life really was and the difficulties these people faced.

I love the role that the hoopoe played throughout the storyline. Its divine intervention at the most difficult times was always a sign of hope and trust in the divine plan of El Shaddai. A worthy ally who added greater depth to the plot.

A marvellous book that touches every part of our walk as we discover who God is and the relationship He wishes to have with us if we only let him.

Praise to the writer for this marvel.

Thank you for this wonderful gift.

Amazon 

Synopsis

Readers often think of Job sitting on the ash heap, his life in shambles. But how did he get there? What was Job's life like before tragedy struck? What did he think as his world came crashing down around him? And what was life like after God restored his wealth, health, and family?

Through painstaking research and a writer's creative mind, Mesu Andrews weaves an emotional and stirring account of this well-known story told through the eyes of the women who loved him. Drawing together the account of Job with those of Esau's tribe and Jacob's daughter Dinah, Love Amid the Ashes breathes life, romance, and passion into the classic biblical story of suffering and steadfast faith.