Customer Reviews

Solomon's Porch: The Story of Ben and Rose

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I recently finished reading Solomon's Porch and found it to be a beautifully written love story. Ben and Rose are a devoted couple through some very difficult times. Ben suffers from Guillain-Barre Syndrome and the love and care that he receives from his wife Rose is inspirational. The story is not told as a self-pity book, but rather told through the eyes of love while holding on to a sense of humor.

Caring for an ill loved one is a very traumatic experience. Trying to hold on to a sense of normalacy is difficult indeed. I would highly recommend this book for anyone that is interested in reading a story of adversity, hope, and love.

This review is by Lynn Barry, author of Puddles

Solomon's Porch by Jane Riley is a book that takes the reader through the experience of being a prisoner in your own body and loving and caring for someone who is. Riley's masterpiece allows the reader to feel as if they are actually inside the daily lives of Ben and his wife Rose. After finishing Solomon's Porch, the reader will be exhausted, almost as they had just been on a major roller coaster at a theme park. The pain and suffering and trials and tribulations this remarkable couple go through are lightened by their obvious love for each other and commitment to see things through, no matter how dark the journey may become.
Ben falls ill and test after test does not seem to bring the couple any closer to finding a reason for his pyhsical problems. He has very little control of his motor abilities from his shoulders down, almost as if he is paralyzed. And yet the couple keeps plugging along through procedure after procedure, hospital rooms, rehabilitation programs, and even surgeries.
The key the reader will soon discover is Ben's attitude about life. "I can make anything into a party," he says at one point in the story. And Rose's strength in caring for the love of her life is captured in the following, "...she visualized herself in the eye of a hurricane. Others were whirling around her but she was composed, aloof, and in control."
Riley writes with a style that literally brings the reader into the lives of these remarkable people and feels their minutes of joy here and there, and just plain entertains them with a story that could be riddled with self pity but instead triumphs in strenghths of mankind to persevere even when afflicted with Guillain-Barre' syndrome.
Riley effectively flashes back in time during the story to the early years in the lives of both Ben and Rose to further develop the uniqueness of their character and unbreakable spirits. This extremely serious story has many humorous moments, which further demonstrates that Riley is truly a gifted writer.

Jane Riley masterfully connects the reader with the roller coaster-like experience of Ben and Rose. Ben is eventually diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disease, but the trials and tribulations can be analogous to any serious disease, illness or condition. Seeing how Ben and Rose cope can help anyone else cope, whether the patient, care-giver or other loved one. Their "can do" attitude is an inspiration. They deal not only with the disease and the in-exact medical world, but also the prejudices heaped on the handicapped.

The story of Ben and Rose moves through a vast array of emotions as the characters traverse life's struggles and rewards. The story arouses both laughter and tears. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has experienced any kind of adversity. It is also a compelling love story.

A touching and beautifully presented "love story" of devotion, caring, self-sacrifice, and loyalty. Inspiring and uplifting. Sure to touch all readers. A must read for all!

The story of Ben and Rose in SOLOMON'S PORCH touches my heart deeply. This book is a riviting story of overcoming adversity and shows pure devotion and love enduring through trying times. I have never read a book that helps me see things through the eyes of the "care-giver," which puts quite a different "twist" on this wonderful book. The characters were "brought to life" as I read each page. Although the story is fictional, it is inspiring and educational, and I might add that it taught me many things I had never known about Guillain-Barre Syndrome. I smiled and I cried through-out the reading of this book. I would HIGHLY recommend anyone to read it.

A great book! Much feeling went into the writing of this book. A must read!

In this warm, personal story of a devoted marriage, a tragic illness, and incredible perseverance, Jane Riley presents us with the full spectrum of good and evil. But it is not done through high drama, or in complicated philosophic terms. Rather, with a constrained writing style she shows us how it appears in our ordinary, everyday, lives: good friends and devious friends; doctors guilty of deplorable malpractice and callousness, and doctors moved by unswerving concern for their patients; churchgoers who run the gamut from cruelty, hypocrisy and selfishness, to those kindhearted souls that harken back to the early Christians who met at Solomon's Temple and shared compassion and love for one another. All of this is dealt with, fought with, and savoured, in this story of a loving wife-mother-and-caregiver's story, which is gently and beautifully written (with a wonderful knack for dialogue), and -- as several reviewers have already noted - very hard to put down.

Ben and Rose face a long and trying battle with Ben's Guillan-Barre Syndrome. Jane Riley's sensitive yet constrained writing style reveal the strength and foibles of the characters, health care institutions and churches with no rancor. It is a book that I was not able to put down.

I just finished reading Solomon's Porch at midnight yesterday. It was a book that I could not put down. It was written in a simple, elegant, and engaging style. The author certainly brought all of the characters and institutions (the church, the rehab center, the hospital) to life.....highlighting their positive and negative traits in a loving way. It is a book that should be read by anyone who is facing a life threating illness with a loved one....and especially someone who is dealing with Guillian Barre Syndrome.