Rating: 
Summary: Ummmmmmmmmm
Review: Everyone who has read this book completly raves about it. But I see differently. The way the author writes this book makes it look like all God cares about is those who suffer and are Martrys. I don't mean to sound selfish, but it was pretty lame.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Judge This Book By Its Title
Review: Let's face it, the title "Safely Home" has a placid, unappealing sound to it. In fact, before seeing the cover, I thought perhaps Randy was delving into the Christian romance market. That all changed when I saw the Chinese writing on the dust jacket. Having travelled in China, smuggling Bibles and sharing my faith, I was intrigued. Then, I peeled back the jacket to discover the amazing picture of a Chinese believer held in Jesus' arms. Standing there in the bookstore, I was hit with emotion, with moisture in my eyes. Suddenly, the title "Safely Home" made sense. The persecution of the Chinese church is real, and Alcorn shows clearly the difference between the state church and the underground church. I've met some of these underground believers. Alcorn captures their heart for God in ways that I've never seen in fiction before. He captures much of the Chinese believers' humility and struggle in this heartfelt novel. The contrast between two former college friends, one a Chinese doctor, the other an American businessman, is credible and lends itself perfectly to the contrast in their levels of faith. Through the looking glass of this story, Alcorn forces us to weigh our own faith. Do we know what it means to stand for our beliefs? Do we know what it means to pay a price for our integrity? Although Alcorn can come across as preachy at times, he always has something worth saying. By mixing a fascinating cultural and spiritual struggle in a fictional form, he opens our hearts to hear the truth...The response is up to us.
Rating:
Summary: Reality Fiction
Review: Safely Home is a masterpiece. None of my friends and family who have read this book has been disappointed in it. All have been deeply touched by its timeless story of persecution. It will be read in the future alongside Foxe's Book of Martyrs and Through the Gates of Splendor. This fictional account describes and conveys a reality and moves the reader to action in a way that no stack of facts or statistics ever could. One of the most gripping aspects of this book is the description of China. Alcorn captures the current state of change in China and gives the reader a vivid description of the widely divergent lives of those in the cities compared to those in the countryside. As I read this book I almost felt the glitz of Shanghai and the gray of Pushan. Alcorn also accurately describes the state of longing of many Chinese. One particularly poignant quote is found on page 70: "Do not confuse China's skin with her bones. Yes, many people have a more comfortable life. The main goal is to make more money, to own more things. Posters of the money god are everywhere - on shopwindows, at businesses, in homes. Getting rich is the main topic on television...we still have our old idols, the demons that have plagued China. And now we have your idols also." The reality of persecution of believers around the world is at the heart of this book. In Safely Home the suffering is described in detail as well as the many ways it impacts those who are not imprisoned. Alcorn even dares to describe the pressure to remain silent facing believers in the United States. In his effort to portray the suffering of Li Quan, Alcorn almost gets bogged down in the telling of the tale. However, this is not a major fault; and the slowing of the pace may even serve to better describe (if this is even possible to do) the languishing times facing those imprisoned in places lacking the religious freedoms of the US. Books of this kind have little value if they fail to motivate the reader to action. I didn't know when I began this book that it was so closely associated with Voice of the Martyrs (although I began to wonder about half-way through). Just as Ben Fielding's faith meant little until he act upon it, this book will mean little to us or eternity until we act upon it. My wife has a poster hanging in her office. Written in Chinese it's a quote of Hebrews 13:3: "Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." We may not be a position to physically minister to them, but I believe that Safely Home was written to make us aware and compel us to continue to pray for those persecuted for the faith.
Rating:
Summary: 1 of the top 3 books I've ever read!
Review: You have to read this book! This is beyond a must read...it should be on everyone's bookshelf! Not only can you read this book several times in a physical sense, but it will challenge your thoughts, your spirit, and your soul. It will also challenge what you believe, why you believe it, and the reality of those who are treated wrongly due to their beliefs! Also, by buying this book you are helping a great cause VOM!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing book to show the power of the martyr
Review: This book was reccommended to me by a friend and I decided to try it. Little did I know how much it would affect me. It takes actual accounts from missionaries around the world, combines them with accounts from the early church of Acts, and creates a fictional story with very real situations. Despite being fictional characters, the testimonies are powerful and I couldn't help but be moved by the way Christians in other parts of the world are sacrificing so much for the cause of Christ. I highly reccommend this book to anyone who wants an exciting read that at times may move you to tears.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've ever read
Review: I had "Safely Home" in my bookcase for at least a year before reading it, which is amazing considering how much I loved Deadline and Dominion by this author. I've just never been too interested in the Orient, and when I saw that the story took place in China, I kept putting other books ahead of this one. Thank God someone happened to mention how good it was. I was completely captivated from the beginning. Li Quan lived and breathed for me...this hero made me really stop to think about courage and commitment to God. Watching the slow conversion of his visiting classmate from college days was so satisfying. Li Quan was the kind of man who preaches a sermon silently, through his manner of living and coping with hardship. The persecution of Christians in China is a sad reality. I honestly cannot see how anyone could help but love this book. The story line is exceptional, the characterization is superb, and the message is life-changing. You simply can't close the cover of Safely Home and not look for a charity that distributes Bibles to the Christians in China. Another thing you can't do is ignore the message: God may require the supreme sacrifice from those who truly love Him and follow Him with steadfast faith. Few of us will ever be called to give our lives for our faith, but we must be WILLING to do so. And it is our eternal destination that really matters. Safely Home will entertain you immensely, but that is the least of what you'll gain by reading it! Please do get this book, and pass it along to a good friend after you've read it.
Rating:
Summary: A Gutsy Look Deep Into the Heart of Two Chinas
Review: We read novels primarly for entertainment, but there are some that serve a higher purpose. Safely Home not only stimulates all the necessary senses to be a riveting work of fiction, but more importantly it will educate and inform the Christian about their spiritual kin across the ocean.
There are two Chinas. The one they want you to see and the one that they don't want you to see. Through the interwoven lives of two men, Ben Fielding and Li Quan, he takes you on a journey through the lives of Christian brothers who suffer hardship and persecution at the hands of the aging Socialist state.
Doing what few journalists have done, Alcorn highlights the moral failure of American businesses who give blind allegiance to the governments repressive regimes. Many who work in the factories are political prisoners. Some are believers who meet in in illegal house churches.
And yet the Chinese believers do not complain. Li Quan actually prayed for persecution, becuase it keeps the church pure. And he highlighted American Christians preoccupation with creature comforts instead of sharing God's love.
At the end of the day, I still believe in free trade with China, but only becauze I believe that God can use businesses and events like the Olympics to open the doors and change hearts in this communist country. However, believers should be wary of marketing China as free and modern. There are still many violations of human rights which are accepted as standard practice.
We as belivers need to pray for China. And read this book. It is a sobering education of China. I will now add those silent, suffering brothers and sisters to the top of my prayer list.
Rating:
Summary: A Mountain Top Experience, WOW!
Review: I never dreamed I'd get all I had out of this novel. For several hundred pages I got to be a persecuted Chinese believer! I finished this beautifully written book in record time and found my faith invigorated.
This book is more than an immensely entertaining read, it is a call to take our faith to the next level. Scared to tell someone on a plane about your savior? After reading this you'll be saying, "What's the worst that could happen? It's not like I'll be jailed or murdered."
Randy Alcorn is one of the best writers, Christian or secular, I have ever read and this book is in my top 3 of all time!
God bless you for this novel Mr. Alcorn!
Rating:
Summary: Life Changing Power
Review: For me this has been the richest read of several years. In a brilliantly woven story, the author tells a gripping tale of a self-absorbed business executive transplanted into the heart of an underground church in China.
The life-changing power of the Word of God is never more evident than in a place where that Word is suppressed. The unappreciated treasure of almost unlimited choices in translations in western culture, where we choose a Bible for the colour of its cover, then let it gather dust, has rarely been better illustrated than in this book that is both a literary and a spiritual treasure.
If any book besides the Bible itself deserves a MUST READ label, this is one I would put that label on without hesitation.
Rating: 
Summary: very good, but could be better
Review: The message of this book is wonderful, challenging, even life-changing. However, I felt that instead of using so much dialog to teach and preach, that the book could have used more action. I think that in real life no one could listen to all that Li Quan had to say and still stick around to be his friend like Ben Fielding did. I'm thankful for this book and how it made me think about my priorities and how superficial we can be with our faith compared to Christians who are being persecuted.
|
