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Tessa Afshar’s name has become synonymous with
exceptional Biblical fiction. Her newest novel, In the Field of Grace (River North), follows the beloved story of
Ruth, Naomi and Boaz and has already garnered much acclaim, and rightfully so.
Penned with emotional authenticity and historical acuity, Tessa Afshar
transports readers to the fertile fields of Bethlehem to walk amongst those
whose obedience and surrender established Christ’s lineage.
Ruth, a Moabite, marries an Israelite man and is welcomed in to
his loving family and adopted as true daughter by her benevolent mother-in-law
Naomi. When tragedy falls upon their house and both women are left as childless
penniless widows, Naomi decides to return to her home in Bethlehem, releasing
Ruth of all duty to accompany her mother-in-law to a life of unknown and
guaranteed toil. However, Ruth is unfalteringly loyal and declares the now
hallowed words “Where
you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my
people and your God my God”, thus forsaking all she knows. Her love for Naomi
would not allow her to abandon the only true mother she has known and loved
even though she is destined to live on the periphery of society, branded an
outsider. She dedicates herself to a life of serving Naomi, who has lost all
her radiance in her impenetrable cloak of grief and embitterment.
Boaz is a highly revered and wealthy landowner living in
Bethlehem and is kin to Naomi’s deceased husband. He too has suffered great loss
and has remained a childless widower for ten years, never tempted to bind
himself to another woman after the loss of his Judith and children. That is,
until he sees the effervescent Ruth gleaning in his fields and hears of and
witnesses her humble and self-sacrificing nature. His unfaltering generosity
towards Ruth and Naomi and the gentleness of his spirit whispers to Ruth’s
heart until she is irrevocably in love with him. What follows is an exquisite
love story that is testament to the power of surrender to God.
Sometimes when a story is so familiar to an audience it can
lose the poignancy of its message and the virtues of the characters are taken
for granted. What Tessa Afshar has excelled at accomplishing is reinvigorating
veneration for this treasured book of the Bible. She follows the Biblical
narrative closely and takes few artistic liberties so that the integrity and
lessons remain intact. She portrays Ruth, Naomi and Boaz’s as complex and
emotional individuals whose lives cannot be contained to the page. No, these
three personalities and their companions walk alongside the reader and beckon
them deep into their journey of healing, belonging, hope and love. Tessa’s
intricate descriptions engage all the senses so that the scent of tilled earth
and roasted barley tickle the nose, the sweet juice of dates and figs sing on
taste buds and the faint brush of fingers tingle up reader’s
arms.
In the Field of Grace ministers to readers’ hearts and
relates a relevant and applicable message for every person who is entreated to
draw near. Tessa’s
writing provokes an insatiable need to return to the Word and discover the
truths waiting to be revealed to each person’s heart. Tessa Afshar is a tour
de force in her genre and continues to amaze readers with her gifting of
making the old new again.
Lydia Mazzei is a
Canadian high school teacher by day and a blogger by night. She has been a
lifestyle blogger since 2007 and began her book blog The Overweight
Bookshelf in 2009 to share her favorite past time with fellow book
addicts. As the name of her book blog indicates, Lydia has a voracious appetite
for books that has resulted in bookshelves so heavy, they just might crash
through the floor supports. Lydia also serves on the Advisory Board of the
Inspy Awards.