Straight Up
Every once in a while I read a book so beautifully written that I wish I had written it myself. This book is one of those. When people tell me that Christian fiction is all trite and predictable, I point them to Lisa Samson’s work. Her books stretch me and make me think, and her characters are so real I feel I would know them if I met them on the street.
Straight Up is the story of Georgia and Fairly, cousins who are as different as they come. For both of them, life has taken unexpected turns, and both of them have found ways of coping that are harmful to themselves. God uses the circumstances in their lives to bring them back together and to give them a new understanding of His grace and mercy.
I don’t want to go into much detail and give anything away, so I’ll just say you should definitely read this book. Lisa Samson’s words wrap around you and make you oblivious of anything else. Just don’t plan on getting any sleep until you finish – I started this book on Sunday evening, and I stayed up until midnight last night to finish it. I read it so fast it didn’t even make it onto my sidebar.
“Jazz drives me crazy. Crazy like New Orleans on a day so hot the heat rises into your nostrils and steams your brain like a peach dumpling. You feel the humid heat waves as they spill onto the pavement from the lips of a saxophonist who loves his horn more than any woman he’s ever met because the horn never disappoints him. He may disappoint himself, his woman, his mother, and the holy church, but the horn stays true and pure and loving, shining into his heart with a brassy passion, licking his soul tenderly, lapping up his affection like creme de la creme.
And then he shares it with the world. Somehow, though his heart is sore – his mother left him when he was ten, his girlfriend cheated on him with the no-account drummer – he shares the love.
And the pain.
He shares the confusion, too, because sometimes pain and love hold each other’s hand, then sway like cat’s on a fencepost.
So when people say, “Jazz just sounds like a bunch of noise to me!” I want to show them a picture of my mother or the man on the street corner with nothing but a horn and his love.”
from Straight Up by Lisa Samson
This sounds incredible! It will be going on my wishlist for sure! Thanks for the review!
Sherry
October 17th, 2006 at 7:27 pmSherry -you’re welcome!
October 17th, 2006 at 7:32 pmI’m always looking for good books, thanks!
October 17th, 2006 at 7:48 pmMichelle – me, too. My to-read list is getting a bit ridiculous!
October 17th, 2006 at 7:51 pmHmm..sounds intriguing. I will have to put this on my List of Books I Want to Read (I have such a hard time finding good Christian fiction that is palatable.)
- The other Carrie from Semicolon linkage.
October 21st, 2006 at 3:12 pmCarrie – yes, this is a definite must-read!
October 21st, 2006 at 3:49 pmSo glad to know of another good Christian fiction author, especially with Christmas nearing. Thanks!
October 23rd, 2006 at 6:59 amI was able to interview Lisa Samson about “Straight Up” recently and blogged about it, including a sound clip of the interview.
I couldn’t agree more with this statement: “When people tell me that Christian fiction is all trite and predictable, I point them to Lisa Samson’s work.”
October 23rd, 2006 at 9:19 amHen’s Pace – you’re welcome! I hope you enjoy her books as much as I do.
Cindy – I listened to the interview at your site and enjoyed it very much. I just wish I could have heard the whole thing!
October 23rd, 2006 at 12:37 pmMy copy to review arrived in the mail today. I’m just 12 pages in (was reading in the carpool line when I went to pick up Emily) and it hasn’t “grabbed” me yet.
October 25th, 2006 at 3:54 pmKaren – it took me a few chapters, but once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down.
October 25th, 2006 at 6:27 pmThanks for the review Carrie!
Karen, my books do start out slower than some folks’. I steer away from the “bang out of the starting gate” formula, giving you the chance to get to know the character a bit before she begins her journey. Believe me, though, I know that kind of construction isn’t everybody’s cup of tea! And it may not be yours, but that’s okay! Thanks for reading it anyway!
October 25th, 2006 at 6:49 pmCarrie–Lisa’s books are amazing. I just posted about Straight Up, as well. You and I have similarly excellent taste!! Thanks and blessings.
October 25th, 2006 at 7:04 pm[...] 8. Miss Erin (The End)9. Carrie K. (Straight Up)10. Jen Robinson (Holbrook)11. Carol (Imitation of Christ)12. At A Hen’s Pace (Sigrid Undset’s Gunnar’s Daughter)13. Jennifer (Dreaming in Cuban)14. Cathy (The Giver and others) [...]
October 25th, 2006 at 8:29 pm