Customer Reviews

Thorn in My Heart (Lowlands of Scotland Series #1)

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I have always known Liz Curtis Higgs as a humorist-having heard her on Christian radio a number of times. I had never read anything by her until now and what a fantastic read it was!

Thorn in My Heart absolutely grabbed me and wouldn't let go. This story is so rich and layered with meaning. I understand why it took Liz so wrong to transfer this plot from her heart to ours. Her thorough research of the Old TEstament story as well as 18th Century Scotland makes this book real and believable. And not only is the historical setting accurate-it carries the reader into 18th century Scotland and the hearts and minds of these proud, but God-fearing people.

You will laugh and cry at the characters on this stage. Liz brings out their real attributes every so slowly, not quick to make harsh judgments, but letting time and circumstance reveal them instead.

And if you know the Biblical account, Thorn In My Heart provides more depth to the people you thought you knew. Deceit, when displayed in full color, casts a far blacker shadow. And yet, you're often examining your own heart and asking, "What Would I Have Done?" And the pithy quotes at the beginning of each chapter leave the mind wondering what is to come next.

Thorn In My Heart doesn't shout the message-it allows for their subtle display in the good and bad choices of its human characters. There are no cookie-cutter heroes or villains, only sinners in need of God's redemptive grace.

I salute Liz Curtis Higgs for writing an elegant literary classic that will be talked about for years. Add this book to the stack on your nightstand and you will not be disappointed.

This is such a fantastic book! I bought it because I love retellings of Biblical stories and I really enjoyed Liz Curtis Higgs' "Mad Mary" and "Bad Girls" books. It took me a few chapters to get into the book because of the Scottish terms she used, but eventually I saw that they were fairly easy to define just using context. Once I got into it, I could not put the book down. My heart ached so much for Leana, yet she grew into a strong and resolute character. And the chapter-heading quotations are very appropriate. This book is definitely worth a read, even if you're not a Christian or you're not familiar with Higgs' work. If you have read anything else by her, this is practically a must-read & you won't be disappointed!

Heroines: varied

On the misty moors of eighteenth century Scotland a family saga unfolds. The highest hope of any daughter born in that day was to marry and marry well. But what is to be done when two sisters each long for the same man? How can happiness be found in such a bitter situation which threatens to drive a wedge between the most loving of sisters, forcing them to act in ways they never expected they could?

Can any man be worthy of such attention?

What worked for me:

I don't usually mention them, but I have to say I was very drawn to the cover of this novel both for its beautiful appearance and lovely feel. This is a quality publication in every sense of the phrase.

Each chapter was headed by highly apt quotes. I found myself referring back to them at the end of each chapter to see just what the author might have been hinting at when she chose those proverbs.

What texture the deftly interwoven archaic Scottish words added to the dialogue! And though the novel was of a heavy note overall, there were several snippets of speech which were quite amusing and lightened things up a bit. (However, as a hearing impaired person I don't think I could have managed the audio book version of this story. The Scottish dialect and words would have skittered off my ears and never even have entered my brain for examination.)

I also greatly appreciated the fact that this novel didn't appear to be whitewashed. There were healthy doses of the old superstitions that even the staunchest Christians of the day were likely to believe in.

Inspirational or otherwise, I'm not a fan of novels where I can feel the author standing on a soapbox with a bullhorn inside the story. However, despite the fact that this plot was plucked straight from the Bible (though altered somewhat to fit its new setting of 18th C. Scotland) with the exception of perhaps two pages out of the entire novel I felt that all the sentiments which came from the characters felt appropriate for them. In other words, I was hearing the characters and not the author.

Size-wise sisters Leana and Rose sounded to be a nicely-rounded average. But there was a real struggle over appearances as Leana was plain and Rose was the village beauty.

What didn't work for me:

For all the fighting done over him, I just wasn't a fan of Jamie. To me he seemed terribly shallow and immature.

I had a good sense of where the story was going but that still didn't alleviate the tension that built up as I cruised along through the novel. And the ending didn't really resolve all of it either because I was left wondering what happened to the other sister.

I've mentioned this in other reviews, but I'll say it again. I am not entirely comfortable with first cousin romances despite their appropriateness to the day and age of the setting. (I don't have anything against folks who have paired off with their cousins, mind you. I just can't see myself doing it is all.)

Overall:
A must-read for fans of Scottish Historical or Christian novels, though one need not be Christian to savor this wonderful story.

Warning: While it is clearly a Christian novel and does not go graphically into detail, the author does not shy from the physical aspects of marriage as they occur in the story.

If you liked "Thorn in My Heart" you might also enjoy "The Red Tent" and "The Bluebird and the Sparrow".

I have been a Christian for almost 10 years, and I can say with complete truth that I despise Christian novels. Every one that I have read in the past has been dripping with "cheesy" sentiment and unrealistic dialogue about life & God. Not a single one has succeeded at capturing my attention, let alone my heart.
UNTIL NOW.
I have read many, many books in my life, and not a single one has effected me as deeply as Thorn In My Heart. It is hands down one of the most amazing, heart-wrenching, thought provoking pieces of literature I have ever read (and yes, I feel it is so good that it deserves to be called literature). Not only does it present God & Christianity in a realistic and inviting light, but it also succeeds at not being preachy or annoyingly coy with it's message. ANY person, regardless of religion will find this book a wonderful read, and it will raise questions about God's purpose and will in their own life. The book was also a delight for me, as it made me reevaluate my perception of the classic Bible story. It never even occurred to me that things might have happened the way that Liz Curtis Higgs suggests, making it a great discussion book!
READ THIS BOOK - I promise that it will break your heart, and you won't regret it for a moment!

I have enjoyed Liz Higgs's previous novels, and this one was a most engaging read, especially after I caught on to the Jacob-Leah-Rachel connection. The Scots dialect made for some difficult going at times, but the characterizations partook fully of the cultural flavor - stern, upright, demanding, principled - and echoed well their Old Testament analogues.

I especially enjoyed the problems that loomed as the end of the story approached; after all, Jamie cannot marry both sisters - he's Presbyterian! The author's solution faces the problems squarely: The agonies and ecstasies of people in love, and the schemes that come back to plague the schemer, fill these pages. And the ending met my ultimate test: I found it satisfying and right.

Higgs has set herself a daunting challenge and responded to it with style. For me, the novel was not quite a home run: Her amazing way with humor was not a real option for this story, so she rounded third and then had to hold up. But I've always found a triple more exciting than a home run anyway, and this book represents an impressive change of pace for her. Color me enthusiastic!

First of all, I read this book because my aunt was reading it one day, and she let me look it over, and then let me borrow it. So I was first drawn to the cover. ;)

But it was a good judgement. The story of Leanna and Rose and Jamie sounded very character driven and interesting.

Best of all though, the story had good values, a wealth of good and evil within the characters, although mostly good, and the story was well written.

I would have enjoyed the story anyway, without being well written, because the story was based on one in the Bible. It was a good story, with different twists and very human.

The fact that it was well written, and had quotes at the beginning (thoughtful, meaningful, interesting quotes) really added to my enjoyment. I love quotes at the beginning of each chapter!

I enjoyed the book so much that I borrowed the second and third book from my aunt as well. Even though I was in school and she was going back home so I really had to squeeze in reading them.

It was well worth it.

I highly recommend this book and the entire series. Very well researched & written. I couldn't put it down. You may as well order the other 2 books now, because you won't be able to stop with just one.

I have never written a review on a book before but I felt compelled to write one on this book. Because I think of lighthearted humor when I think of Higgs, I was surprised in the best sort of way as I got into Thorn in My Heart. Higgs really did her homework before attempting such a project as this story. Right down to the quotes of the old masters of literature at the beginning of each chapter, the story is rich in every way. I loved the book and hated to see it end. It's one of the best books I've read in a long time. It's got depth, is colorful, entertaining and heart wrenching. It was fun to realize early in the book, the takeoff that it was on Jacob and Esau...right down to the same first initial of the characters as those in the story from Genesis. I can't wait until her 'Fair is the Rose' comes out and the opportunity to revisit Leana, Rose and Jamie.

When I picked up this trilogy I didn't know it was the story of the Biblical Jacob, but the author made it so obvious I picked up on this fact within a few paragraphs. Then I got excited because the love story of Jacob and Rachel is one of the most beautiful in the Bible. I still do not understand why the author chose to place the story in eighteenth century Scotland. The author was tediously paralleling Jacob's life in the beginning then heads into alternate Biblical history which I find disconcerting. The stories of the patriarchs should not be altered. Oh, and the middle English spellings of words was really annoying.

Why I hate Leeana (Leah) in this story. Over and over, the author keeps writing that Leeana should have been the choice of Jamie (Jacob) because she was the epitome of sacrificial love. Let me tell me how in the story Leeana was the MOST SELFISH OF ALL. First, when her father promises her hand in marriage to a man she is not physically attracted to, she doesn't try to love him and even refuses the marriage once Jaime comes to live with them - even though it is obvious from the first that Jamie is smitten with her younger sister Rose (Rachel). Jamie rebuffs her attempts and tells her plainly he's not interested, yet she keeps trying to win his affections. After Jamie becomes engaged to Rose, Leeana professes her love to Jaime, asking him to marry her instead, and is soundly told by Jaime that he loves only Rose. When that doesn't work, she hides herself under Rose's bride veil and presents herself in a completely darkened room as Rose to a sleeping, drunk Jamie who thinks his wife has finally arrived to consummate their marriage.

How is she the self-sacrificing one? The one full of love? She becomes obsessed with Jaime, stalks him after he's engaged to her sister, refuses to obey her father in marrying another, and then jumps naked into the bed of a drunk bridegroom.

On the other hand, Rose doesn't want to marry Jamie because she's too young but obeys her father and tries to find affection in her heart for her future groom. She spends much more time with him and grows to romantically love him by their wedding only to find out that her sister took advantage of her drunk husband and is now his wife.

What is scary is that the author creates Reader's Notes at the end to let you know that two side characters, Neda and Duncan, are supposedly to help everyone do what is right in God's eyes......But, Neda is the one who tells Leeana to jump into Jaime's bed and steal him for her husband. God would never give that advice.

The story ends with Jamie having an emotional affair with Rose while being physically faithful to his pregnant wife (except for kissing). The novel ends with Jamie's son's birth and him deciding to try and love his wife and put Rose behind him.

It is very obvious who the author is cheering for: Leeana. It appears she wants to re-write the Biblical Leah's tale and have her become the victor of Jacob's heart. I almost had to put the book down when the character Jamie says that he didn't know what love was until Leeana loved him for love was sacrifice. But I can't see this. If Leeana sacrificed her own obsession with Jamie, she would have let the two people who loved each other get married. She put herself first. Jaime and Rose's misery was because of Leeana's selfishness.

We knew she could write humor, but Liz Curtis Higgs demonstrates a mastery with fiction as she retells a familiar story in an unfamiliar setting. Two brothers battle for a father's blessing. One brother flees and discovers what it means to be on the other end of betrayal when he falls for a girl, only to be given the hand of her sister. He must face the enormity of what he has done and open his heart to forgive others, but even more so, himself.

Beautifully written. I couldn't put it down until the last page.