MY REVIEW:
I have sat at my computer for awhile trying to decide how to write a review that will even come close to doing justice to this magnificent book. It is at times like these that I know how inferior my writing is by comparison and I almost hesitate to put my thoughts to the page.
When I saw the cover of “Long Way Gone” I knew it was a book I wanted to read, a story I had to hear. I was certainly not disappointed because the words within the cover were every bit as powerful as the image on the outside. My daddy loved music and my mama sang in the choir so my sisters and I were exposed from a very young age and music is still very important to us. I have never quite heard music described as eloquently as Charles Martin expressed in this novel. I was thoroughly hooked before I even got to the meat of the story.
As many have said, “Long Way Gone” is a contemporary story of a prodigal. It is a tale that will bring most readers to tears at one point and have them laughing at another. Then there are those Holy Ghost moments where you just want to throw up your hands and praise God. I pretty much loved everything about the book and can already think of several people who MUST read it.
“Long Way Gone” really needs a soundtrack. Descriptions of Cooper’s and Daley’s songs left me wanting to hear them. It would be wonderful if movie negotiations were in the works so that it could come to pass.
“Long Way Gone” is probably the best book I have read in years and I have read a lot of books. Do yourself a favor and buy a copy for yourself and your reader friends who love music.
A free copy of this book was provided for review by the BookLook Blogger Program of Harper Collins Christian Publishing. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
“No matter where you go, no matter whether you succeed or fail, stand or fall, no gone is too far gone. You can always come home.”
At the age of eighteen, musician and songwriter Cooper O’Connor took everything his father held dear and drove 1,200 miles from home to Nashville, his life riding on a six-string guitar and the bold wager that he had talent. But his wager soon proved foolish.
Five years after losing everything, he falls in love with Daley Cross, an angelic voice in need of a song. But just as he realizes his love for Daley, Cooper faces a tragedy that threatens his life as well as his career. With nowhere else to go, he returns home to the remote Colorado mountains, searching for answers about his father and his faith.
When Daley shows up on his street corner twenty years later, he wonders if it’s too late to tell her the truth about his past—and if he is ready to face it himself.
A radical retelling of the prodigal son story, Long Way Gone takes us from tent revivals to the Ryman Auditorium to the tender relationship between a broken man and the father who never stopped calling him home.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Charles Martin is the author of nine novels (Unwritten
