Customer Reviews

The Awakening

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
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The Awakening is a truly astounding work of art, all the more compelling as it arises from a genre, Christian literature, that has been a dim light in the field of literature, to say the least. I am reluctant to even write a review on this book as I feel completely handicapped in relating how much Angela Hunt means to me. Since becoming a Christian I became both lost and found; found in Christ, but lost in the world. Everything I had once loved, the literature, the art, movies, it all now lacked that God-spark and spirit. When I would reach for Christian fiction I was deflated by the lack of creativity, intelligence, percision of language, not to mention the ability to bridge my spirit. Books have always been my bridge to the world, my path to feeling connected and understood and so for the last 3 1/2 year I have been flailing as no contemporary Christian writer came even close to creating a connection in me. Then came Angela Hunt onto the shelves of my church library and what a blessing she is. She never cowers from asking a tough question that one of a weaker faith would fear to ask, let alone satisfyingly tackle.

In The Awakening we have Aurora, the significance of the name not lost, trapped by lies built up as stakes supposedly to keep her safe. I related deeply to this woman who connects to the world through books, and is somewhat wary of the human heart. She is in want of nothing, rich, intelligent, attractive, but she is disconnected from the world, from her heart and from her soul and her mind is becoming unseamed as it knows she needs the truth to survive, but is Aurora strong enough to let the truth enter her world? Gently a neighbor helps Aurora see the light, the light of truth, of God, of her own being and she lifts those stakes of lies and realizes she is not alone, she is not helpless. I would recommend this book to anyone as a testimony to the power of Christ and as a testimony that there really is a contemporary Christian writer who knows her way around a pen. Thank you Angela Hunt.

I'm a jaded reader, I admit, and one without a long attention span. Too easily I can put down even the most engaging of books. But there are some that pull me back every spare second I have. The Awakening was such a book. Angela Hunt has created a world within a world, guiding the reader through the life of an agoraphobic, and an appealing one at that. Ms. Hunt deals with faith issues with a light, yet authentic touch, which is highly appropriate considering the story itself is a parable telling of how much God loves us and wants to be with us. I find that Angela Hunt matures year by year, book by book.
I thought about this story long after I turned the last page.

Aurora Norquest, the protagonist of Angela Hunt's THE AWAKENING: A Novel of Discovery, has hit bottom. She has spent much of her twenties and thirties as her mother's caregiver, but after the Alzheimer's-stricken Mary Elizabeth dies, Aurora (herself stricken with agoraphobia) rattles aimlessly around their Manhattan apartment. Despite the nosy-parker attentions of her mother's oldest friend and neighbor Clara Bowman, and in spite of the much gentler inquiries from her newest friend and neighbor, Philip Cannon, Aurora finds that things for her are falling apart and she has no center.

One of the reasons Aurora has no center to hold on to is because her mother's death leaves her a de facto orphan. Her father, Theodore Norquest, a wildly successful popular novelist, left the family before she was born and she has never received any communication from him. Slowly, as Aurora begins to explore what she might do now, she rekindles the interest she has always had simmering about contacting her father.

This is where Philip, a software engineer of about her own age, comes in handy --- he knows how to help Aurora (who can't even make it down to her building's lobby) connect to the world via the Internet (she's been receiving groceries, medicines and other supplies for years from New York City's endless variety of delivery services). While Philip remains gentle in his inquiries and in sharing his faith with Aurora, he obviously wants to help her break out of her cocoon rather than enabling her to remain stuck.

However, the darkest horizon is still to come (did you think it was a coincidence that "Aurora" means "dawn?" Not a chance --- but more on that in a moment). Mesmerized by a beautiful woman in a nearby penthouse who has everything, but lives an empty, perhaps morally repugnant, life, Aurora questions whether there is any purpose for her own life and makes a bad decision. When Philip comes to her rescue, bits and pieces of light peek through, and she learns that some of her beliefs about the past aren't accurate. By the story's end, Aurora is living in a new day and, while she has a lot of work ahead of her, has regained her hope and humanity.

By setting Aurora in her high-rise apartment, giving sparse details about appearances and situations, and including a somewhat mystical element, Hunt has given her novel an ethereal quality that is very appealing. Does this sound like a fairy tale? It's meant to be: Hunt set out to write something completely different from her previous books --- a parable. Of course, the original parables told by Jesus were simple stories, and although Hunt does keep things simple in THE AWAKENING, her modern artistic viewpoint (and perhaps modern readers' needs, too) means that things are a little more complicated in Aurora's world. That's why it feels more accurate to call this an allegorical novel, along the lines of John Bunyan's classic, THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, than to call it a parable.

But in the end that's quibbling over literary terms, since this novel does teach a lesson: we are all searching for Our Father, and so often we don't know how hard He has been trying to reach us.

--- Reviewed by Bethanne Kelly Patrick

This is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. Hunt's books have the power to really bless the reader. An amazing story that is anything but predictable, but not so complicated that the message/symbolism isn't perfectly clear. Sleeping Beauty being my favorite fairy tale as a child drew me to this book, but this book is more than that. Aurora's dreams will suck you in, her relationship with Philip is romantic most in the way that it follows no formula you have ever found in any other book. I strongly recommend this book, and any by Hunt, she is an incredible author who never sticks to a prescribed formula. Her books will lift you up, and carry you to a place you've never seen before. I loved this book!

The book was slow to begin but took off in great wonders. The author was very detailed oriented - she made you feel as if you were sitting in the same room. It was a very good read.

What a captivating book! The story is intriguing and the characters are well written and well developed with realistic flaws and emotions. The heroine, Aurora, wasn't your typical beautiful princess/damsel in distress type that is found in so many other books. She was realistic and at times her actions frustrated me to no end, but that was what made the book so great. Ms. Hunt also does an excellent job of incorporating humor into the story. The book is a page-turner that never gets dull. Occasionally the dream sequences got a little unrealistic, however they were necessary to keep the story going.

Aurora Rose has been living in her mother's manipulative control her whole life. Although the Angela Hunt's intentions were to let one know God love us all and longs for the missing children he created, she has also crafted an intense book parallel to Parental Alienation abuse and the extremes a parent and others pulled into the sccenario will go because of their own hatred. It was a heartwenching book to read, offers insight to parents who do not understand what a child is going through who has been turned against them by the other parent. The child's fears and need to please the sick parent at all cost overrides their own doubts and longings, even as an adult. Aurora's joy upon the realization that her lost father has really loved her all along is overwhelming. An amazing connection to the long term mental and emotional damage that develope as a child to adulthood. A must read for anyone who may be estranged from a parent or anyone for that matter but longs for connection. After all, all may not always be as it seems.

I've read most of Angela Hunt's book, and this was my favorite. It was so interesting, and I liked how the main character grew in her faith and overcame her fears.

I liked this book but it didn't draw me in like the author's other books;The Debt and The Note. I know it was loosely based on the fairy tale characters from sleeping beauty but I just couldn't match it up. It is an interesting book though. I would recommend it to everyone.

Semi-spoiler!
Aurora Norquest has been bound all her life to a lie that she has believed. After the death of her mother, that lie starts to unravel and come to a touching end. It is a roller coaster ride until you get there, so buckle up and read!

In this book, Aurora's life spins out of control when her mother, suffering from dementia, dies. Aurora struggles with strange dreams, visions, and memories, and with agoraphobia.

I thought all of the symbolism in this book was very interesting. The memory of Aurora's father telling Aurora's mother, that she wanted nothing to do with love because she wanted nothing to do with faithfulness, was interesting. That parallels our relationship with Christ, when sometimes, we aren't as faithful to Him, and we can't feel His love at times. I thought the book written within this book, I Know She Weeps was very interesting as well, about the love between father and daughter. I thought that strongly paralleled our relationship to Christ as well.

The characters were great in this book. I loved Phil and his sense of humor when Aurora played "Walked Like An Egyptian" in the middle of the night as a way for Aurora to cope with her dreams. I loved how Phil was there for Aurora. I also got so aggravated at Clara for not letting Aurora be an adult. The characters were written so well.

And the ending was great, as Aurora did find love. The book focused on a lot on love, but not in a "boyfriend/girlfriend" sort of way.

I look forward to reading more books by Angela Hunt.