Customer Reviews

Words Unspoken

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
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Those new to Elizabeth Musser's books will enjoy the plot-driven story and twists of Words Unspoken. Her fans, however, are likely to be blown away by it.

The strengths in her previous books (in my opinion) were the historical research and settings brought to life. For Words Unspoken it is also the plot twists that bring in the US, France, Italy and even Eastern Europe and China added in the mix.

I'm usually very critical of Christian fiction. Usually it's because of weak, artificial dialogues. I didn't find that in Words Unspoken. Such a welcome change! The way the characters talked with each other, themselves, God - very real, very believable. That's what really sold me on the book...and also the multi-dimensional view of the characters! It made them deeper, more developed, engaging and real.

Again, if you're a fan - hurry up! This one's awesome. If you're new to her books, this is a great one to start with. And lastly, if you're not usually a fan of Christian fiction - give this one a try. You won't be disappointed.

Musser's first few novels, while strong, were very much intended for niche audiences -- The Swan House and The Dwelling Place were written for Atlanta-philes (a fairly large crowd, as sales and multiple reprints will attest)and Searching for Eternity is for people who love Atlanta and Lyon, France (a much smaller group). If you were to hesitate to read Musser's latest novel from Bethany house, Words Unspoken, it would be a mistake.

Musser has crafted a story that will reach every reader on some level. Set mainly in Chattanooga, the novel tackles those voices we all hear in our heads. Those voices that say we aren't good enough, that bad things are always our fault, that we are failures. With deep, complex main characters whose lives are intertwined in ways that keep you guessing throughout the story, Words Unspoken has everything a reader would want.

Musser's descriptive imagery makes the story come alive for readers. You care about the characters and, most importantly, you can see yourself in these very real people -- some characters in this book actually get angry at God, a very real emotion that gets glossed over in so much of today's Christian fiction. You know the type -- fiction that romanticizes what it's like to be a Christian to whom tragedy has struck.

I look forward to more of Musser's work in the future!

Elizabeth Musser is one of my favorite authors, having penned works like Swan House, The Dwelling Place and Searching for Eternity. But she's outdone even herself. Words Unspoken unfolds like a rose, one layer at a time, revealing the beauty within. Filled with diverse, memorable characters, you meet one then another, until the cast grows to where wonder how all these people are connected. Then, when the first relationship is revealed, it's an Ah-Ha moment. I couldn't put it down. I had to keep reading to discover the next connection. And each one was just right--never "convenient" or contrived. Filled with twists and brilliantly written, Words Unspoken is a must read. As one of those books whose characters linger in my mind, it receives a five-star recommendation from this reviewer.

In this stirring novel, Elizabeth Musser has skillfully depicted the heartache, panic attacks, and guilt that torment Lissa Randall as a result of the accident that stole her mother's life and robbed Lissa of the joy of her own life, wrecking her present and her future, as well as her relationship with her father and her beloved Caleb. Teetering on the brink of despair, she calls driving instructor Ev McAllister for help in mastering her fears. The pearls of wisdom he offers, along with an array of seeming coincidences, cause Lissa to face the most basic question of life. Simultaneously portrayed are the inner struggles of a group of seemingly random individuals who are desperately trying to keep their lives afloat. A missionary mom, broken and paralyzed with grief; a stockbroker, for whom the golden carrot is agonizingly close; a society wife, discovering she doesn't have it all, after all; a young publisher, bent on making his family in the Old Country proud, no matter the price; and a mysterious best-selling author whose soon-to-be-released novel is already causing quite a stir. Does one life impact another? Surely life is random. . .or is it?

This is a wonderful book with a clear message of hope, forgiveness, restoration, and renewal. You do have to pay attention as the characters are introduced and then their stories are intertwined. It's not a book to read awhile and then put aside for a few days. Which is fine, because I doubt you'd want to. I found myself wanting to reach through the pages and encourage, admonish, scold, comfort, shake, and hug these folks who seemed so real. The timing of the book's release itself, although not deliberate, isn't random, for although it is set in the fall of 1987, the financial climate and the consequences of greed seemed as if they were ripped from today's headlines. I laughed at the actual quote from Lee Iacocca:

We can't keep romping forever on borrowed money. (p. 212)

Apparently, no one listened 20 years ago!

Hopefully, the lessons of this book will speak to our hearts today.

This book is many stories woven into one. At the center is Lissa, a teenage girl who is traumatized after witnessing her mother's death in a freeway accident which Lissa feels responsible for. The catastrophe derails her life in every way possible, but now she is ready to take the first step to moving on with her life - learning how to drive again, without panic attacks, which will allow her to be independent, move out of her father's house, maybe go to college. To help her with this goal she is relying upon Ev McAllister, driving school instructor, who specializes in reaching troubled youths. This is just the primary interaction - Words Unspoken has several other stories of various interest levels which come back at the reader at various intervals.

I could just not get into this book. It is set in 1985, which just serves to make it seem old fashioned and out-of-date - it's not a yay, kick back to the 80s moment, it just adds to the yawn factor. There are a few two many stories, and the interweaving is not done as skillfully as with other authors. It's not a terrible book, but the characters and writing did not keep my interest well.

Ms. Musser has written another engaging novel with interesting twists and turns. She sets up an interesting challenge for her central character: how does she deal with being involved in an accident that tragically kills her mother? The author introduces a host of characters whose lives are intertwined, only the reader is not sure how.

My challenge with the novel was that the ending was too abrupt for some of the characters. I think the strength of Ms. Musser's earlier novels was that the faith transformation of the characters was believable. In WORDS UNSPOKEN, I think the author attempted to have too many transformations and skipped the necessary steps that the characters needed to go through to experience them.

Thought the protagonist's journey was believable, but those of the supporting characters were weak.

In a second Lissa's life changes forever when her mother is killed right before her eyes. A year later Lissa has not begun to recover from the tragedy that she witnessed, but not for lack of trying. After failing her driving test a third time, the driving instructor at the DMV gives Lissa a name and number of a local driving school, with an unusual instructor. The rest novel is told through a series of unconnected people who are bound closer together with every paragraph. The story moves from one tragedy to another ultimately centering around the mysterious Everett MacAllister. As Lissa progresses with her driving lessons, she begins to learn more about herself, and to truly heal, not simply learn to drive again.
The novel accosts the reader with tragedy from Katy Lynn's sudden divorce, to Janelle's depression over her lost child, to Ted Draper's insatiable need for wealth and success. However, as the message of hope becomes clear for Lissa, it also plays into the lives of the other characters in unexpected ways. Musser is all at once ambitious, and biographically obvious, all without ever being completely predictable. The secrets pour out from the beginning chapter to the epilogue, and each character is developed, shown and brought to some sort of conclusion. Even the most detestable characters have some redeeming trait. Perhaps, most importantly, each one has a hardship that speaks to those reading their story, much like the character's own identification with those in the is illusive S.A. Green's novels in the book.
Clearly, Musser has an appreciation for the power of words and maybe those that write them as well, as she has used her own words to create a world of people that are vivid, believable, and beautiful. As any novel, this was a labor of love, and it shows. The good messages are many, including, forgiveness, trust, and the ability to move on from the "now". An excellent choice for anyone, and well worth picking up.

In my humble opinion, this is Elizabeth Musser's best yet, and I say that with confidence having read all her others.

I dare you to put it down after the prologue--the sudden hailstorm on the Interstate, the nervous young driver, and the freakish accident that sets the rest of the events in motion.

Chapter one begins with the aftermath of that incident. Bright, high-achieving Lissa Randall's life has come to a standstill as a result of the wreck that took her mother's life--and because of the voices in her head that constantly tell her she's a failure and guilty. Those voices have basically trapped her in her home. She's unable to drive, unable to take any risks, unable to start college. The only thing that seems to motivate her is a desire to be able to drive and see the mysterious "Caleb," someone who apparently needs her desperately. But after once again failing the test to get her driver's license reinstated, Lissa hits rock bottom. In a moment of despair, she comes close to swallowing a handful of pills and ending it all, but instead decides to grasp at one remaining hope, a driving instructor named Ev McAllister who has been recommended to her. Lissa phones Ev MacAllister, a wise old man who seems to offer driving lessons as a ministry to troubled young people like herself. And so begins one of the most important relationships of Lissa's life.

The only part of Words Unspoken that might give you a problem is the second chapter--at least, if you're not expecting it. The story seems to be about Lissa and Ev and the driving lessons, but then in chapter two, we're introduced rapid-fire to several characters that seem unconnected to the pair or each other. There's a young missionary in France who has just lost her son, a wheeling-and-dealing stockbroker, an ambitious young man at a publishing company, and a socialite in the midst of a divorce. If you're not expecting the shift or if you don't like multiple points of view, you might feel a little lost. But trust me, the payoffs start to come soon as you discover, bit by bit, the fantastic story that connects all these threads and all these people.

One of those threads involves a sub-plot about a famous author named Stella Green, a reclusive woman who has published numerous best-sellers and received critical acclaim but who refuses to reveal her true identity, grant interviews or allow herself to be photographed. No one knows who she really is or why she's hiding her identity, but bit by bit we see that Stella Green's story touches all the other disparate characters in the book.

Some of the central characters are kind and giving, some are grasping and ambitious, but they all have another thing in common: the voices in their heads. We come to see that the ones who appear so noble may be trying to make up for some misdeed in their past, and the ones who seem so loutish on the outside are fighting their own mental battles.

Another unique feature of Elizabeth's novels is that they are "recent historicals." This one takes place in 1987, which may seem like a totally random date to you young folks. But to me I remember being very insecure in my job in 1987 and quite fearful of the future because of the stock market crash. So I figured that crisis was probably looming for these characters, too. As Elizabeth has mentioned in her interviews, she had no idea when she was writing just how timely this subject would be.

I suppose you've figured by now that I highly recommend this book. The characters and settings are rich and you'll keep turning the pages to pick up clues and try to piece together the mysteries.

I began reading this book with great expectations, having read others' glowing review of it. A short way into the book, however, I was getting very confused by the constant switch from one main character to another and separate, apparently unrelated stories. In addition, the author had the annoying habit of throwing a name in with no explanation of who the person was or why it mattered and not bringing it to light until much later in the book. I waded a good third of the way through the book before the characters started coming together and I was able to connect the dots a little. Then when all the "truth came out" I was a little let down that there was nothing more to it than that. Having said all that, amazingly I was captivated by the end of the book and glad that I read it. I felt like the characters were old friends by the end of the story. This author puts a lot of heart, soul and research into her work - no fluff here. I look forward to future offerings from Ms. Musser.

I have to admit, when I first started reading this book, I felt lukewarm about it. It seemed a little slow and I could not quite see where it was going, but I was intrigued by the characters and their stories, so I kept reading. When I finished reading this book, I had tears streaming down my face and felt richly blessed. The characters in Words Unspoken all had very difficult circumstances and they all needed one thing - Him. And He works on them and He speaks to them through the words of a reclusive author.

Lissa Randall is a teenage girl whose life was looking bright with success until the tragic car accident that left her without a mother. Paralyzed with fear every time she gets behind the wheel, Lissa seeks help from driving instructor Ev MacAllister. Ev is a man dealing with his own hurts from mistakes in his past, mistakes that continue to haunt him and his family. There are several other characters in this book whose stories seem unrelated at the beginning, but as the book continues, the author brings them all together into a moving, touching story about forgiveness, hope, and surrender. Elizabeth Musser's writing is flawless. She takes her time developing the characters and the stories, and the result is a beautiful story that I loved. I am truly touched by Words Unspoken and a bit surprised how much I love this book after what seemed like a slow start. As I look back, the book was not slow. There were a lot of important details that needed to be told, details that added depth to the book. I can honestly say that you will be blessed by this book and by the message Elizabeth Musser is delivering in the pages of Words Unspoken.