I can’t keep quiet about my latest review of Ryan’s Father. The author of the review is Mark Buzzard whom I met up with during WhiteFire’s recent scavenger hunt.
Review of Ryan’s Father by Mark Buzzard
I’d never heard of this author until last week. Another Christian fiction author was having a Christian fiction scavenger hunt online – they are fun, though I never win anything – and June was one of the authors participating. She was giving away a copy of this novel. so I entered to win and commented that I hoped to win it, as I also struggle with same-sex attractions as her main character in the book does. Next thing I know, she commented on my blog with an offer to review the book, which I took her up on.
I have long wished a Christian author would write a book like this. I actually started to write one, but never finished it. I am going to review this in a slightly different manner, splitting the review up as I occasionally do into parts:
The writing:
The book is well written, and I like the author’s writing style. Sometimes with smaller publishing companies, the editing and writing aren’t too great, but they are in this novel. Though not a suspense novel, I found myself engrossed in it as much as if it were.
The characters:
If an author doesn’t have likable and believable characters, the story can be a total loss. I found myself really liking the characters in Ryan’s Father, and especially Ryan, who I could completely empathize with. Often characters in books are too perfect, but Ryan’s flaws and struggles made him all the more likable.
The struggle:
I can personally attest what it is like to have this struggle. June did a masterful job of portraying the struggle and the anguish of a Christian wanting to do the right thing, yet gripped by desires they did not want or choose.
This is not a slam of the author, as she said the same thing at the end of the book: the speed of Ryan’s deliverance from same-sex attractions to opposite sex attractions is unrealistic. Though many men have changed enough to be able to marry a woman and make it work, it rarely – if ever – happens as fast as it did in the book, and many never are able to achieve that.
It is getting harder and harder to be a Christian holding a Biblical view of sexuality, and it takes courage for an author to write a book like this. Not all will like it, and the author has already received some negative comments. I am one who appreciates this book a lot. It does not give an extensive look into what it is like to have this struggle, but it gives a good enough look that maybe Christians reading it will better understand what we go through who do have it.
I very much enjoyed this book, largely in part because I could so much identify with it, but the author did a great job of addressing this very difficult issue through the medium of Christian fiction. I most definitely recommend it.
I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for my honest review.