Customer Reviews

The Narrow Path

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What intrigued me about reading this novel? Well, it's a romance about Mennonites. Don't look so shocked. Mennonites can fall in love as well as the next guy or gal. I know. It's my cultural heritage. But Gail Sattler added a twist. The hero, Ted Wiebe, is an Old Order Mennonite, not to be confused with Amish. Ted's community near Minneapolis is portrayed as quite modern, though the women wear head coverings in public. Not that they're in public much. For the most part, they're traditional housewives, wearing dresses. One thing about Ted's people, though. They care about their community and want to reach them for Jesus.

Enter the heroine, Miranda Klassen, who's been hired by Ted's church to help write and direct an outreach. Ted's pretty sure she'll be a fine upstanding young woman. After all, she's Mennonite, too, even though she's from a large church in Seattle. How different can they be?

[Cue the laugh line music here.]

Not only does Miranda not wear demure dresses and a head covering--or even sensible shoes for a Minnesota winter--she reads the Bible on her cell phone. (I've downloaded three different Bible version apps myself since Miranda gave me the idea!) Even Ted has to admit that her heart's in the right place, though they repeatedly clash over how this outreach program will be developed. What he never expects is that her heart will capture his.

The bumpy path this romance takes had me reading on my cell phone (ironic, eh?) as I walked my dog up and down our country road. Honestly. I enjoyed it that much. If I had a hard copy, I'd loan it to you.

The ending was what really made this story shine. It started out a bit slow and it wasn't until I was about halfway through the story that I started to really care one way or the other. I felt her frustrations at times and enjoyed the way Ted comforted her when she was hurting and how he tried to be a true friend. I enjoyed that the conflict was so black and white at times, but on occasion it also felt a bit like shoving a square peg into a round hole. Sometimes you could feel that it was a bit forced, like her reason for being at Piney Meadows in the first place.

At any rate, it was a sweet love story and I really enjoyed how everything came together at the end. The story was downright romantic. And those few kisses that were shared. Wow! They set the pages on fire because they were the result of restrained passion. That's my favorite kind...the type that builds and builds until it finally happens. :) And it's even better when it is surrounding an emotional situation, like when Miranda was so discouraged.

I loved how the author showed the strengths and weaknesses of both characters and how Ted didn't realize at first how much Miranda really did have strong faith in Christ. Why? Because he was determining her depth of faith based on her outward appearance. The scene where she tearfully responded as she sang the lyrics of the hymn was profound and emotionally moving. I loved how this situation started to really change Ted's perspective about real worship and how he realized everything he'd done recently had been more out of habit than from his heart. I loved how Miranda's faith stirred Ted's. She made him want to be a better man.

I absolutely loved this story line! It was so humorous from the very beginning! Ted is so traditional, in his faith. And Miranda a carefree girl that loves her life and her faith the way it is. The juxtaposition of the black hat, suspenders, and boots, vs the semi tight blue jeans, red high heels and lipstick was way too funny. I could just picture all of this happening in a movie.
And Ted being so dead set she should go back home, and everyone else seemingly liking her for who she was.
It is so true of how we judge people ourselves sometimes, and how ridiculous we must seem to others. There was so much flirting going on even when it wasn't obvious. You kind of felt they had that love hate feeling, but non the less laughing the whole time. They both where just fun characters. And when he thought he should fatten her up, oh my goodness, classic. The root beer floats were awesome and the dinners in his office were even more great. He was already was in love, but was too afraid to act on it. Him trying to get her to step on the freight scales. And her blurp, that he was not a stud muffin! I loved Stud Muffin- way too cute! But his kindness, far outweighed his outward emotions. Miranda was the same. You could just feel how much she loved him, and of course she loved how he looked in his black brim hat.! She mentioned that one more than once! There was so much fun with the cameras, the visit to the aquarium, and of course, the first kiss!! WoW! finally, finally He Kissed her and yes, she kissed him back! But boy, we really had to wait a while till the next kiss. But it was worth it!!
Could not put it down!!

A Delightful, Warm, and Pure Romance

The Narrow Path is a delightful, warm, and pure romance formed out of a clash of cultures, traditions, and personalities. Gail Sattler tells an improbable story of Miranda, a young cosmopolitan woman, who is inserted into the thoroughly unfamiliar world of an old order Mennonite rural community in an almost time-warpish way. Almost immediately Miranda knows she doesn't belong there, but the kindness and innocence of the local people convince her to stay--f or just one year. Ted, a young leader in the community and church, disapproves of Miranda's "foreign" ways and is ready to send her back to her hometown Seattle. Through the stresses of cultural adjustments, town gossip, and feelings toward each other, the two young people find their way down the Narrow Path--together.

Although the plot seemed a bit fanciful, I was thrust into the scenes by consummately believable main characters with strengths and vulnerabilities. The Narrow Path is a good mix of story and character with a light dosing of well-placed humor. I enjoyed it.

In "The Narrow Path," Gail Sattler has written an old-fashioned romance--of course, it helps that it's set in a Mennonite town where the men wear suspenders and the women plain dresses. But she avoids the cliches and brings a story about opposites-attract with humor and believability. I especially enjoyed reading from Ted's point of view.

My only quibble is the introduction on the last few pages of a new character who has "an interesting story to share," that somehow never gets shared. So I'm left wondering why the character was even introduced at all when he added nothing to the story and only frustration to me as a reader, as I'm left hanging as to why we met him at the climax of the story.

But the rest of Narrow Path makes one forget such minor irritations and wish that Ms. Sattler will soon return us to Piney Meadows.

When I was told that The Narrow Path was a "Mennonite Romance," I thought that sounded pretty incongruous--and therefore intriguing. But really, why not? In fact, the tensions and tenderness of this particularly unlikely romance end up being more satisfying to read about than more typical love stories. Yes, it moves a little slowly--but so does the culture it's set in. Before I was done, I was looking up YouTube videos of Mennonite a cappella singing and more.

All she did was accept an invitation. Miranda Klassen, dedicated daughter of a Seattle Mennonite minister, is a talented musician. A noted songwriter. She's excited to have been offered the challenge of helping an Old Order Mennonite church prepare and publicize a Christmas musical that will draw new people and new life to its staid congregation.

A completely modern Mennonite, Miranda loves red, her computer, and her cell phone. What awaits her in Minnesota is like something out of Little House on the Prairie. The women cook and sew and dress like they stepped out of the last century. The men open doors for the ladies, wear old-fashioned but strangely appealing hats, and sit on the opposite side of the church from their wives. What on earth has she gotten herself into?

Ted Wiebe wonders the same thing. No matter how talented Miranda Klassen might be, it was a mistake to bring this modern woman to his community--and especially to his church. She wears pants. Her lips are red, along with her boots and much of her clothing--which does not include a proper prayer kapp. She's attached to her laptop by some kind of invisible cord...and she reads her Bible on a red cell phone!

Two people from different worlds, with opposing points of view on just about everything. They have committed to getting through an important project. But after meeting one another, neither of them is thrilled about the prospect, especially since they'll be forced to spend a lot of time together.

But God works in mysterious ways....

Gail Sattler brings a warm and endearing look at a closely knit, wonderfully loving Mennonite community. She explores the difficulty many of us have in accepting that our way may not be the only right way. Miranda's impact on Ted's life and the lives of his Mennonite "family"--and their influence on her--touches, amuses, and entertains. The Narrow Path is a well-written, informative, revealing look at a way of life most of us can only imagine, and an enjoyable exploration of what happens when two worlds collide. Enjoyable reading.

Miranda Klassen is a talented worship leader and song writer and she has written and directed many cantatas. When she is hired by a Mennonite church in Minnesota, she isn't expecting or prepared for the snow when she arrives. Seattle gets little to no snow, and she only has open toed heels and a thin jacket with her.

Ted Wiebe is the music director at his Mennonite church and he is Old Order. He is not expecting a thoroughly modern girl, in jeans, and a tight t-shirt to be the Mennonite music director his church hired. Miranda seems to have every electronic gadget available. He doesn't expect her to last a day in his community, let alone a whole year.

To Ted's surprise, Miranda is welcomed, and she embraces the community with open arms even though she causes raised eyebrows. But while Ted grows to care for her, how can it possibly work when he is Old Order Mennonite and she is a thoroughly modern girl?

THE NARROW PATH is the first Abingdon Press novel Ms. Sattler has published, and it is good. Ted is a rather dull, drab hero, made even more so by the colorful heroine. Ted is steady, stable, and a smart business man, while Miranda is more flamboyant, stands-out in the crowd, and is not happy unless she's going a thousand miles an hour.

The romance was kind of flat, without sizzle, and Ted's dialog was very stilted, though I think Ms. Sattler did that on purpose. Still, it was fun seeing two people from very different worlds as they struggled to understand the other.

The first rule of writing is to write about what one knows, and this is what the author, Gail Sattler, does here so well. I really like the interplay of characters and the two main ones' different Mennonite Christian religious cultures. The only thing I was mildly unhappy about was how much Ted and Miranda gritted their teeth--both will need major dental work at very young ages!

Thanks for great read!

Oh just finished reading this book. A great story. I laughed through this book very good read. I will purchase more of this Author. Very fast moving story. never got bored with this author.