A Light To My Path (Austin, Lynn N.)

Rating:
Summary: insightful historical tale
Review: In 1862 South Carolina, Confederate soldiers warn Missy Claire that 6000 Yanks are marching towards her Plantation and arming slaves. Missy is angry and panicking as she orders her slaves but talks down to them as if they are cattle or pets, which is how she sees them. Field slave Grady informs house slave Kitty that he plans to run away and would like her, the woman he loves, to come with him to freedom. Kitty hesitates as she has lost the ability to make decisions having spent her life having her massahs tell her what to do.

As Kitty struggles whether to run off with Grady or stay with Missy, she reflects back to the early 1850s when she as a child met her young mistress. Kitty, called Anna, back then, had some kittens that Missy wanted, but her mother said no that anything owned by a darkie is diseased. So Missy tells her mom that she wants the darkie as her kitty. Since then Kitty has always done whatever her owner tells her to do, but now with war everywhere can Anna be resurrected from the dead?

This deep look at the lives of slaves and to a lesser degree their owners in the decade just before and during the Civil War is an insightful historical tale. Readers will be stunned by the incredible characterizations inside of a world turned upside down for so many people. The story line rotates between Anna-Kitty and Grady, but fans observe how others in their circle read. Fans of the Antebellum South will want to read the latest Refiner's Fire tale as Lyn Austin hits on all cylinders with a fantastic novel.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: A great read for fans of historical fiction and faith themes
Review: In A LIGHT TO MY PATH, the stand-alone follow-up to CANDLE IN THE DARKNESS and FIRE IN THE NIGHT in the "Refiner's Fire" series, Lynn Austin weaves themes of forgiveness, racial reconciliation, love, and faith together to create a compelling story of lives changed by God during the Civil War.

Austin switches points of view between two slaves: Anna, or "Kitty" as she is dubbed, a young girl who grows up as a companion to Missy Claire, and Grady, a young light-skinned slave torn from his parents at an early age. Both characters, living in the second half of the 19th century, respond to their slavery differently.

Lacking knowledge of any other way to live, Kitty, who was too young to remember her parents' deaths at the hands of slavetrackers, numbly accepts her mistreatment at the Fuller Plantation in South Carolina as her lot in life, loyal to the mistress who looks at her as no better than an animal. Kitty's desire to be loved is endearing, and her artistic bent adds an interesting component to her personality. The kindling of her anger over her slavery and her desire for freedom comes about only when the ones she loves are threatened.

Her opposite is Grady, a well-developed character who simmers with rage and yearns for freedom throughout the novel. Readers will resonate with Grady's anger as they see the desperate plight of slaves separated from their families, mistreated by slave traders, and sold into grinding work on southern plantations or into New Orleans brothels. It all helps build a believable case for Grady's rage against all white people, which eventually culminates in murder. Grady's love/hate relationship with music, his casual flirtations, and his fear of truly loving anyone again, lest they be taken away from him, are just a few of the ways Austin fully fleshes him out as a believable character.

One of the more dynamic figures in the story is the aging mammy Delia, whose strong faith will endear her to readers. As events in the South careen into chaos, Delia tells Kitty, "I don't waste time worrying. I pray," then adds, "Praying ain't about getting your own way. It's about asking God to have his way." Delia believes that "...the Lord is in charge." Everything that happens to Kitty, Grady, and herself is part of His divine plan. "I do know that we can trust the Lord, even when we don't understand why things happen the way we do," she says. Her belief in a God who is in control and her ability to forgive becomes even more intriguing as her past gradually unfolds to Grady and Kitty.

Of all of the characters, the most disappointing is Missy, the belligerent, spoiled mistress who owns Kitty, and who comes off as a bit flat and one-dimensional. It would be nice to see her more fully developed, as her childish tirades sometimes seem over the top, especially after Kitty has her baby. Even a glimmer of occasional kindness would have added authenticity to her character.

A LIGHT TO MY PATH is Austin's twelfth novel, and her experience in fiction shows through her careful attention to detail, vivid backdrops, and smooth dialogue between the characters. The pacing occasionally slows, especially toward the end, and one wishes the book were shorter by about 50 pages. The final scene between Grady and his father is particularly difficult to believe. Yet the plotline and characters are strong enough to keep the reader continuing to the end of the story. Fans of historical fiction with strong faith themes should find this enjoyable tale much to their liking.

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby ([e-mail])

Rating:
Summary: Shine
Review: It can be a common occurrance for people to think that God has deserted them in times of need, or to blame God for their station in life. Lynn Austin's A LIGHT TO MY PATH, the latest of her books about the Antebellum South, examines this while detailing the coming of age of two young slaves, Anna and Grady, who have given up hope that "Massa Jesus" hears their prayers or cares what becomes of them.

Anna's first memory is the day her parents were recaptured after an attempted escape from slavery. Since that day, she has had little faith that God could do anything to help her situation. While she was spared from death or the auction block, Anna's life is, nevertheless, one of biting criticism, harsh servitude, and endless longing. A glimmer of hope for something better comes along when she meets Grady.

Grady hates all white people after experiencing a tortuous auction where he was torn from his mother's care and later a stint as the assistant of a slave trader. Grady's stark reality leads him to believe that all white people are evil and that the only way to progress in life is to exact his revenge upon them someday. Once a ladies' man, Grady is stunned by Anna's beauty and he begins to change his ways. But Anna and Grady come in contact with numerous obstacles, including the Civil War. They must put their trust in God's plan in order to victoriously emerge from the battles.

A LIGHT TO MY PATH is historical Christian fiction at its finest, spanning time periods from Antebellum America into Reconstruction. The story never became dull, nor did it ever read like a sermon. Lynn Austin introduced all of her characters, both primary and secondary, and followed them through until the end, each lending a significant voice and contribution to this heartbreaking and divine saga. I was impressed with this book and hope to go back through the series and read all of the earlier installments. (RAW Rating: 4.5)

Reviewed by CandaceK
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers


Rating:
Summary: Not preachy, but...
Review: The good news first: Without preaching, Mrs. Austin manages to share her powerful message in a personal and realistic way. God never deserts the characters, even when they are in dire straits and renouncing Him. However, this is simply not a strong work of fiction. The dialogue varies from mostly believable to painfully modern, and the prose is less than captivating. The general scope of the novel is good, the characters have promise, but the writing itself is simply not up to par. It's a shame that this really is one of the best representatives available of modern Christian historical fiction; the people of God should set the standard for the rest of the world, not come off as second best.