Rating: 
Summary: Ummmmmmmmmm
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: Reality Derived From Fiction
Review: I have never been a fan of the fiction world, but the book is so different. It takes the reality of persecution and allows us to see life from the vantage point of those involved. I read this book months ago and still think about the words, circumstances, and suffering. Randy Alcorn has reminded us that there is a suffering world out there that we cannot ignore. Thank you Randy, for that challenge. I am now eagerly awaiting his next release Heaven!
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