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Rating: 
Summary: Masterful!
Review: As with his previous novel, Father Elijah, O'Brien's Strangers and Sojournors is an instant classic. It is much different from his best-selling debut, however, for it deals with a woman who comes from England in the early part of the 20th century to live in the wilds of northern British Columbia. It is her story, the story of a human being dealing with the mystery of human existence. Hence it is our story, too, for, as the title belies, we are all strangers and sojournors on this earth. With this book, O'Brien shows his artistic side; one can almost hear the music and poetry behind the prose, which will reach deep into the heart of the reader. Noted writer Peter Kreeft has said that "No novel since Dostoyevsky has nourished my soul like Strangers and Sojournors." I agree. O'Brien is a spiritual storyteller of the most extraordinary calibre and this book is his best so far.
Rating:
Summary: unable to categorize
Review: I almost don't want to write a review for Strangers and Sojourners. Though I've taken O'Briens other books off the bookshelf to re-read them over and over again, I've only read Strangers and Sojourners once. This is not a sign to be taken that the book is bad. No, quite the contrary. I'm still digesting the deep pathos that have lodged themselves somewhere in my mind and heart, I'm scared to take the book back down(being more than a year) again for fear of disrupting the beauty and wisdom that is still growing within. The book is very strange indeed. I work part-time at a little grocery store where most of my work time is spent in the back of the store doing monotonous produce work. I spend the rest of my time as an artist/writer and re-emerging, struggling Catholic. I can give testimony that Strangers and Sojourners has helped me in ways that I do not understand. Events, moods, situations and characters from the book will just pop up in my mind from out of nowhere, while I'm in the middle of a hundred different chores at work or home. The most 'ordinary' things and people have gradually become more and more exciting and mysterious to me. I've come to cherish 'ordinary' things with a thankfulness that is quite alien to me. The sacrament of marriage(though i'm single)especially after reading this book is something so, so beautiful and heroic. This book in the future will emerge in families homes all over. There is no other place where it can emerge.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent Canadian novel
Review: I just finished "Strangers and Sojourners". I enjoyed the book; indeed, I found it profoundly moving at numerous points. The spiritual depth was extremely insightful. O'Brien is a masterful storyteller. However, for many, the flaws in this book would be difficult to overcome. I found the prose overly florid much of the time. I found some of the characterizations weak (or at least, unbelievable). I thought that the storyline dragged at bit at times. But overall, I considered my reading as time well spent. One thing that O'Brien does very well, however, is to issue a clarion call against the decay in modern society. I'm not sure that I completly buy into his eschatology, but I certainly agree with his characterization of modernity. An inspiring, but not brilliant book.
Rating: 
Summary: Too slow for me
Review: I read and loved Father Elijah, Plague Journal and Eclipse of the Sun. They were wonderful, faith-filled, and action-packed Catholic novels. Then I bought Strangers and Sojourners, hoping to continue the action. It started out with a bang, at a satanic ceremony in the main character's childhood. I thought that it would continue from there with more God versus Satan action. No such luck. The story is very slow and just didn't hold my interest. Twice I took breaks to read more interesting novels before continuing with Strangers and Sojourners, then I finally just gave up. I was over 200 pages into the book and still there was very little happening in the woman;s faith and not much action to speak of. It was just too boring for me. I was disappointed with this novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Definately NOT another Father Elijah
Review: I was reading this book alongside O'Brien's _A Landscape with Dragons_. Doing so might have been a mistake, as the "secret formula" of his storywriting stood out too obviously and awkwardly to me in _Strangers and Sojourners_, making it quite tedious. Or maybe it was just the plain old fact that it was slow! I wonder what happened to the literary device of "showing" rather than "telling" that the author used so masterfully in _Elijah_? Well, maybe with these three "Delaney" (Children of the Last Days) epics out of his system, O'Brien can get back to writing enjoyable novels. (By the way, although it is not a novel, his _Landscape with Dragons_ is superbly insightful, and subtly transmits the same genuine, deep mystical spirituality of its author, as did _Elijah_. I recommend THAT one to any parent, teacher or pastor.) It's fun to wonder what genre O'Brien will decide to use in his next novel. Perhaps an historical novel, with an actual Saint or two as its main characters? I, for one, would love to see more of the Elijah type character. Whatever he decides, I surely hope that he keeps that same sense of mystery and Providential foreshadowing that makes Elijah such an enjoyable, (and spiritually inspiring) read and re-read.
Rating:
Summary: A novel that challenges your mind and heart
Review: In Father Elijah, O'Brien showed us the sword. In Strangers and Sojourners, he shows us the heart. Anne Kingsley Ashton is a character that I will never forget-- in so many ways her struggles are my struggles. She is often overhwhelmed by life, both the daily struggles for existence and the spiritual questions of meaning and purpose. The battle she fights against the temptation of despair defines courage. What tools, if any, can Anne find to fight these feelings? And what is at the root of her discontent? I, too, have wondered these things about myself. O'Brien has given life to the process of healing the emotional and spiritual wounds we accumulate throughout a lifetime. And most of all, shown us the importance of courage. I would recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Too slow for me
Review: In some ways I loved this book.
Unlike many books depicting the struggles of poverty, we don't see caricatures of dumb people or religious fanatics, or a one layer tale told by someone who either romanticizes or despises poor rural people. Instead, we find a tapestry of real personalities who have depth and complexities in their simple lives.
That said, like many of O'Brien's books, the tales are episodic and don't quite hold together. O'Brien uses simple tales to discuss deeper ideas in his books. His characters are vivid and real, however, and stay in your mind as "friends" far after you finish the book (one way that I judge if a book is great, even when I find the initial reading of a book difficult).
Finally, as a family tale, it has few of the apocolyptic themes of O'Brien's later books. Those seeking "end of time" themes will be disappointed. Those seeking rich characters will find what they seek.
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