Heather and Snow / Far Above Rubies (George MacDonald Original Works) [Facsimile] [Hardcover]

George MacDonald (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 443 pages
• Publisher: Johannesen (August 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1881084426
• ISBN-13: 978-1881084426
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,967,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From beginning to end, a love story., November 6, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Heather and Snow / Far Above Rubies (George MacDonald Original Works) (Hardcover)

MacDonald presents the story of the Barclay and Gordon families in such a manner as to readily and plainly contrast the path of those who follow the ways of the world with the pilgrimage of God's beloved children.

Kirsty Barclay, daughter of David and Marion Barclay, is, in the eyes of the world, an uneducated, ill-bred peasant, while her older brother, Steenie, is judged as "not quite right," or "not all here." But the world is a poor judge, indeed, when it comes to the things of God. For in Kirsty is to be found far more of value and worth than the entire Gordon family-the local 'Laird' and his mother-who reside midst the faded splendor of Castle Weelset.

This is, first and foremost, a tender and heartwarming love story through which is woven various subplots, all of which eventually arrive at the same point-the love of God. Kirsty, although uneducated and, no doubt, unacceptable to the aristocracy, loves God, loves nature, loves her simple parents, and dearly loves her brother, Steenie, for in these people and these things she sees God through His children and His creation. For his part, Steenie does not begin to understand, and acknowledges as much, the theology of the institutionalized church. Yet Steenie also loves God, for he spends his days and nights searching the hills and dales as well as the heavens for He whom Steenie knows as the "Bonny Man."

Heather and Snow is not a love story in the fleshly sense, and is not without its pathos, its sadness, its sorrows, and its disappointments. Although Francis Gordon proclaims his love for Kirsty, it is not until he begins to know God that he can truly know love, for true love is born of God and must be lived through Him.

I invite you to join Kirsty and walk amidst the hills of Scottish heather as she strives to learn the lesson's taught in God's classroom. Nature is an unparalleled teacher if one will but, in solitude, be attentive to her sights, sounds, and silences.

Sit aside Steenie, whose heart is so filled with love that it may burst, as he, in quiet isolation and softly embraced by the deepening night, gazes enraptured into the heavens from which he expects, at any moment, to see the "Bonny Man" return to claim His own. Steenie is enthralled by the very prospect of encountering the Son of God, and spends very waking moment in this sacred quest; while, in slumber, his dreams transport him to the place where he will no longer be considered "abnormal."

Struggle with Francis Gordon as he strives to learn that most valuable of lessons-that to know God is to love God is to obey God. If he is unable or unwilling to grasp this most basic of truths, he will never know love, nor will he ever make Kirsty his wife, for Kirsty is neither enticed nor enchanted by wealth, position, intellect, or possessions, but the heart of God shining through the eyes of another.