𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘪𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥, by David Richards, tells the story of the author, and how his life spirals out of control, following a happy, albeit, unsettling childhood, among a tribe of marine warriors. He carries an inner resentment, blaming his father and the Marines for his lifestyle, unaware that his father was only doing his best. As he grapples with a life in disarray, where infidelities, broken friendships and deep insecurity leave him drifting aimlessly, David perceives his entire life as one spent ‘ walking on a beach looking for a single, specific grain of sand.’ Shortly before the pandemic, he discovers a photo on Instagram of a woman who will change the trajectory of his entire life, a woman he’s sure he has seen before.
The author’s narrative, explores art, civilisation, war, Marvel movies, comic books and evolution, trying to make sense of it all and satisfy a deep longing and a chasm within that he cannot quench. He describes how he wrestles with his ‘night of the soul’ until his mission starts to make sense. He must unite the nations of Abraham. This exploratory path awakens his identity and cements his salvation. As the pandemic spreads like wildfire across the planet, David begins to understand the direction his life should follow.
This novel is divided into five books, connecting all the major religions and contains some thought-provoking historical elements. The author describes his struggles with faith and identity and how he battled emotionally and I could sense his despair throughout the book. I had envisioned a novel steeped in Christian text when I chose to review the book and was surprised to discover that the author’s difficult journey towards Christianity was the crux of the story.
I found this engaging book, intriguing, the depth of it spoke to my soul and I commend the author for his skill in achieving this. I was relieved that the poignant longing of the author for what seemed an eternity was finally quenched. The poetry and philosophical elements were interesting, however, it didn’t always follow through and could be monotonous and confusing at times. There were some grammatical errors and clarity was lacking. I felt that the full story had not been told, for instance, what happened to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the role she played in the story, I therefore, rate this book four out of five stars deducting a point for the reasons mentioned.
This was a compelling read notwithstanding the aforementioned points, and I highly recommend this piece to those who enjoy thought-provoking themes of philosophy, Christianity, poetry and history, intertwined with a search for self-actualisation. This book would also appeal to those across the religious divide.
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Love Letters to the Virgin Mary
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