Customer Reviews

The Face

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sarah, the main character (and the person implied by the title), was born with a very severe case of Treacher-Collins syndrome. Her mother dies after childbirth and her father, a civilian who works undercover for the CIA, is killed shortly after her birth. Sarah becomes the responsibility of an undercover agent and is a computer expert hidden away in a covert location, but her aunt finds her. That's the basic plot.

What makes the book so intriguing is how Sarah's disfigurement (lack of facial features) belies a deeper "disability" - an inability to understand facial expressions. The book isn't really a spy thriller, but there are elements of it. It has the briefest hint of romance, and focuses on friendship and what it means to be human. Emotional intelligence figures prominently (although it is never called that).

It is worth the read. The book has discussions points for reading groups at the end of the novel. Note: While Angela Hunt is usually known as a Christian writer, this is NOT a Christian novel. There is no bad language but there is some depiction of violence, some of which is extreme. Don't read this book expecting her usual fare.

Sarah Sims was born with Treacher Collins syndrome, a condition that gave her such severe facial defects she was expected to die. Now 20, she has lived her entire life in a secret CIA hideaway in an old convent on an island near Spain. When she was a child, her mentor, Dr. Glenda Mewton, oversaw enough facial reconstruction for Sarah to function, but people seeing her are shocked at her mask of a face with its scarred skin, thin and twisted mouth, and lack of symmetry.

Sarah feels secure in the nest of her CIA home, though. She never leaves it, not wanting to see people's reactions to her terrible face. Dr. Mewton is something of a chilly mother figure, and Sarah's adorable and funny best friend Judson is blind. Sarah is the resident computer expert. She loves her work and is inventing an innovative brain scan tool that will change how the CIA extracts information from subjects. Sometimes she fiercely wonders about her father, Kevin, who also worked for the CIA until his suicide soon after Sarah's mother died in childbirth. She has never truly missed the family she doesn't have and has no way of knowing that her aunt Renee, Kevin's sister, has believed all along that Sarah was a still-born.

Renee is a psychologist with a failed marriage behind her. Her only family is her beloved dog, Elvis. She is surprised when a storage rental business notifies her that she needs to clean out her deceased mother's storage unit, which she didn't even know her mother had. Inside, she finds old papers, including a letter that will change her life. That 20-year-old letter is from CIA officer Dr. Glenda Mewton, giving an update on Kevin's baby, Sarah. Dr. Mewton warns Kevin's mother that Sarah's prognosis is doubtful and asks her to sign the papers giving up rights to the baby so she can continue to care for her.

The news that her niece did not die at birth stuns Renee. She is absolutely determined to find out what became of Sarah. Of course, obtaining any information from the CIA is a very long and difficult process. Finally, in order to get the clearances she needs, she takes a job as a psychologist for the CIA. The door is opened to her, and she is flown to the CIA facility that is Sarah's home.

Although Renee is warned about Sarah's face, she is still shocked when she meets her niece. She is further appalled at the secluded life Sarah lives. Renee suggests a face transplant, but she meets resistance from Dr. Mewton. Sarah herself must ponder this life-changing idea: Is her safe, known life what she really wants? Or would she like to see the world and have new relationships?

Narrated in first-person present tense, Sarah and Renee's stories have an urgent immediacy, which makes THE FACE a compelling read. The two women are well-rounded, sympathetic characters. Thought-provoking questions arise: How important are memories, even if they're painful? What is the connection between facial expressions and emotions? Add some late, truly shocking plot twists, and readers may well find themselves devouring this excellent read in one or two magnificent gulps.

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon

I can sum up my reaction in one word: WOW!

A baby is born with such severe facial deformities that several operations must be preformed in order for the child to breathe, eat, hear, and speak. Twenty years later, her aunt, a psychologist, stumbles across the evidence of the child's existence, and begins a determined quest to find and love her niece, no matter her niece's appearance. But without an acceptable face, the young lady has never been in public; she's never learned to experience emotions.

Hunt's talented writing pulls the reader into this tender thriller with realistic characters and believable dialogue. She teaches me something new with each one of her novels. At the core of this novel, the reader considers the importance of life, love, and pain.

This is one of those hard-to-put-down books. John Grisham, move over!

I've read a lot of books by Angela Hunt and have loved almost all of them. I picked up "The Face" expecting it to be another intriguing Christian Fiction novel with Angela Hunt's knack for tackling difficult subjects. While she did do a good job tackling the difficult subject of social isolation, severe birth defects, and discovering the beauty within, she didn't do anything with the spiritual aspect of inner beauty and relying on God. There were only a few instances of someone praying and no instances of anyone relying on God or faith to get them through difficult situations. Spirituality was pretty much missing in this story that could've benefitted greatly from a touch by the hand of God.

Length:: 1:18 Mins

What if your entire world was no larger than the space between four thick walls of a CIA fortress?
What if you had no facial features? No ability to smile or frown, only a brilliant mind that made you invaluable to your CIA handlers?

What if you were told you were the last surviving member of your family... only to discover you'd been lied to for twenty years?
What if the CIA told you your only surviving relative was so "disfigured" she couldn't leave their care? How many oceans would you cross to find the truth?

An intelligent, dramatic suspense with a twist at the end so shocking it truly lives up to Hunt's "Expect the Unexpected" motto.

Highly Recommended!

Angela Elwell Hunt is one of my favorite authors of Christian historical fiction -- I have several of her books on my shelf. I normally don't read contemporary books, but since she hasn't come out with a new historical in a long time, and since I have enjoyed all her other books, I decided to give this one a try.

My feelings about the book swung back and forth as I read it. The book got off to a slow and difficult start - for the first 100 pages or so Sarah and the others at the top-secret CIA "convent" came across like unfeeling automatons rather than real human beings. However, I kept reading, and once Sarah's aunt Renee came on the scene things improved slightly. And as the story unfolded I understood why Hunt had depicted Sarah as an almost-robot in the beginning; her lack of emotion was supposedly an effect of her severe facial disfigurement.

In the middle of the book Hunt introduced a couple of other aspects of the story that served to distract from what I felt was supposed to be the main premise of the book. Just as Sarah was preparing to have a major, life-altering surgery that would give her a new face, she suddenly decided to try and find out what had actually happened to her father. At the same time, she continued to be heavily preoccupied with her work for the CIA (which was completely over-the-top in my opinion; more about that below). The way Hunt jumped between these three story lines felt erratic, and the way Sarah's impending surgery got pushed to the back burner when it should have been the focal point of the story didn't make sense or feel right to me.

In the conclusion of the book -- which I don't want to give away -- Hunt weaves together all three of these elements and I then understood why they had all been necessary. However, I still felt that her coverage of Sarah's surgery, which could have and should have been deep and emotional, was instead shallow and off-hand. Hunt's conclusion to the story was a bit sweet and sad, but it somehow lacked any emotional depth.

I think my disappointment with this book was due to my own expectations; I was expecting an emotional story about a young girl who is born with a severe disfigurement, and who goes through a life-changing surgery. Instead, the book was more of a mild action/thriller story about a young girl at a top-secret CIA facility, who just happened to have a severe facial disfigurement and who, oh, by the way, had cutting-edge surgery to give her a new face. I really wanted to feel empathy for Sarah, but I wasn't allowed to; Hunt just skimmed the emotional surface of the story and never tapped any deeper.

Aside from the book being a different kind of story than I expected, my other major dissatisfaction with it was Sarah's role in the CIA. That she was adopted as an orphan by the CIA and raised at their top-secret facility on an island off the coast of Spain (in her 21 years she had never left the island until her aunt showed up) was indeed far-fetched, but I was willing to buy it for the sake of an entertaining and interesting story. But that Sarah, who had no formal public education, and at only age 21, could be a top-level CIA employee, an absolute computer genius at a PhD level (or beyond), using language that probably Bill Gates couldn't even understand, strained credibility to beyond the breaking point. I couldn't suspend my expectation of realism to reach that far; as a consequence, the story never gained traction with me. Every time Sarah started spouting technical gibberish, I rolled my eyes mentally, as it were, thinking "oh, puleeez ......."

This book failed my bookshelf test (not a keeper) and I won't be buying any of Angela Hunt's other contemporary novels. I will wait for her next historical, however long that may be; she does much better with those.

I've never been disappointed when reading Angela Hunt. There's just something about her books that sucks me in every single time. I love that she's a versatile author, not sticking to one genre, but really goes outside of the box....which translates to some great books. The Face was different from anything else I've ever read by her. The story has this "top-secret" feel to it because a lot of it deals with the CIA, and definitely has a flare of "if you don't need to know, you're not gonna know."

The storyline gets a little emotional at times as I couldn't help but feel sorry for Sarah and the experiences that she's missed out on. Sarah has been living in such a secluded place because of her deformity that she's only ever met about 10 people in her entire life, and she's never had the thrill of tasting a McDonald's hamburger. When her aunt Renee finally finds her and begins to offer a whole new life, it all sounds a little to good to be true.

On a completely different note....I'm accustomed to reading nothing but Christian fiction by Angela, and I was a little surprised to see that this book was published by a mainstream publisher. Because of that, The Face really has almost no Christian references, except the occasional mention of going to church. But it does have a very clean storyline with no profanity and no sex, which I am accustomed to seeing in mainstream fiction.

All in all, The Face is definitely a 5-Star read. It's got all the aspects I love in a contemporary novel--some suspense, some emotional tugging on my heart, and some real-life true information. Oh, and it's also got a great ending....one I didn't see coming at all. :o)

Angela Hunt is one of my favorite authors, and once again she did not let me down. The story is well written, with a theme of redemption woven throughout. This is not overtly Christian Fiction - but would be an easy way to introduce Christian concepts to others. Once again I have gotten a book that will NEVER be on my shelf - will ALWAYS be in my "lending" program!

It was difficult to understand all the connections at first, however the book was one of her best...it showed compassion, trust, loyalty. I was deeply moved by all the sacrifices made by our government for our government. Our country. Anyone who thinks they have overwhelming problems should take the time to read this book to appreciate life. Arlene Angel

An Angela Hunt novel is guaranteed to surprise you if nothing else. This book is no different; its dept is in the question Hunt challenges the reader with - what is "normal"? Is "normal" the acceptance we receive because of our outward appearance, or is it something deeper. Why do we crave "normal" and how is it accomplished. You may not agree with Hunt's resolution, and that may be the author's point, as it will leave you considering the question long after you've left the book. As for the Christian perspective, yes, Hunt misses the opportunity to explain forgiveness from God's perspective, but the characters here were struggling with their own beliefs and the answers were not clear to them either. It is in the questions that we find our own answers, and the typical pat answers are not enough to conquer the depth of the questions asked here. Always a challenging and masterful storyteller...I have to recommend another great Hunt novel.