In the Field of Grace by Tessa Afshar

Reviewed by Martha Artyomenko

 
Book Description:
Destitute, grief-stricken, and unwanted by the people of God, Ruth arrives in Israel with nothing to recommend her but Naomi’s, love. Her loftiest hope is to provide enough food to save Naomi and herself from starvation.
But God has other plans for her life. While everyone considers Ruth an outcast, she is astounded to find one of the most honored men of Judah showing her favor. Long since a widower and determined to stay that way, Boaz is irresistibly drawn to the foreign woman with the haunted eyes. He tells himself he is only being kind to his Cousin Naomi’s chosen daughter when he goes out of his way to protect her from harm, but his heart knows better.
Based on the biblical account of Ruth, In the Field of Grace is the story of a love that ultimately changes the course of Israel’s destiny and the future of the whole world.
My Review:
Tessa Afshar is very skilled when it comes to the retelling of a biblical fiction story. She can make you dig deeper into the bible, find things hidden in the story that you never thought about before. There are many biblical fiction stories written on the book of Ruth, but this one find some other tidbits that you will marvel at. Once again, I found myself thinking about how there were some really incredible women from history and in the bible, that really were quite amazing. This story will get you thinking about how brave two young widows were, when one older, one younger struggled to survive in a very hard time. They became the forerunners of King David and ultimately, the line of Jesus. This story is very chaste, and is not full of romance, but has an underlying theme throughout of love and devotion, much like the bible has. If you let your teen daughters read the bible, they will enjoy this story that makes them want to dig into their bible more.
This book was given to me for review from NetGalley. The opinions contained herein are my own.