Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

Fic Paton

Cry, the Beloved Country is a beautifully told and profoundly compassionate story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom, set in the troubled and changing South Africa of the 1940s. The book is written with such keen empathy and understanding that to read it is to share fully in the gravity of the characters’ situations. It both touches your heart deeply and inspires a renewed faith in the dignity of mankind. Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic tale, passionately African, timeless and universal, and beyond all, selfless.

The Tree House by Douglas Thayer

LDS Fic Thayer

This must be autobiographical—such detail and familiarity.  Bare-bones story of a boy growing up in Provo who experiences the loss of his beloved father, tries to do what’s right, goes on a mission to post-war Germany and then almost immediately to the Korean War front, his loss of feeling for anything (and other awful losses), but then comes his redemption from despair.  Even though it ‘s almost completely unadorned, the story was engrossing.  I cared about so many people in the story.

 

 Leanin’ Dog by K.A. Nuzum

J Fic Nuzum

This story about overcoming great loss (and needing a dog to help do it) includes math, spelling, vocabulary, devotion, and a good dad.

 

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Fic Mantel

So many historical figures that the “cast of characters” was really helpful.  Thomas Cromwell is at the center, surrounded by Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII, Katherine and Anne.  Beautifully written, it reveals a perverse church and English scriptures trying to appear in spite of it.

 

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

History US 19th

A skillful recounting of Pres. James Garfield’s near-assassination and subsequent murder-by-negligence and ignorance.  He is revealed as an intelligent, principled, and good-humored man.  How often one demented man (the assassin-to-be) can single-handedly change history’s course!

 

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

History Military WW II

The ordeal of Louie Zamperini, the Olympic runner, shot down in the Pacific, adrift a record number of days, captured by the Japanese, enduring the pain and torture of Pacific POWs. How could they survive?  The story of ultimate peace reaffirms that only another, higher influence can affect such complete and joyful forgiveness.