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Mysterious Ways by BJ Rowley -- Richard and Mary Shepherd, along with their two children, are a happy North Dakota family, content in every way. Deeply in love, and committed to a lifetime together, the couple see nothing but a positive future for themselves and their children. Then, one day, their world falls apart. Richard learns that the bus on which his wife and children are riding is involved in a terrible accident -- his family has been destroyed.
Needing a complete break from his environment, Richard moves to Montana where he lands a new job and makes new friends, but he can't seem to shake the depression, the loneliness, left by the loss of his family. His co-workers and neighbors try to befriend him, but he remains distant and aloof.
His friend and co-worker Staci is also having problems. Her husband, a close friend of Richard's, has left her. Staci is young and beautiful, but something of a flirt. When it becomes clear that she is not able to have children, her marriage falls apart. Both lonely and alone, it is not surprising that Richard and Staci drift toward each other. And the mutual attraction is very evident.
When Richard and Staci find themselves alone for the Christmas and New Year's holidays, they make a plan to spend some time together. But then one night two escaped convicts make their way into Richard's house, desperate for food and a means of escape, and they see in Richard a useful hostage. Taking his vehicle, and Richard, they flee the state. Richard's attempts to escape are met with severe physical punishment.
What follows is a grueling, often gripping account of cruelty and abuse, a hair-raising tale of desperate men doing terrible things.
As the story progresses (and not wanting to give away much more of the story), it becomes evident that this book is not so much a dramatic tale as it is a morality play, a parable of sorts, of the overruling power of divine providence in our lives. The divine Hand is seen throughout Richard's ordeal, as well as in Staci's life. Richard's encounter with a deeply Christian family (I suspect they're Mormon, but this is never stated explicitly), and his ongoing emergence from the grief of losing his family, make for a nicely-told tale of love, loss and redemption.
Throughout the book, the importance of community and acceptance is strongly portrayed. After the loss of his family, Richard wants to "go it alone," as they say. But as his Christmas week proceeds, he learns anew the centrality of faith, hope, friends and love, and the poverty of a life of anguished solitude.
At first I thought the ending of the book was a bit contrived -- obviously I won't tell you how it ends. But then I reflected on the nature of parable, on how situations are designed to teach lessons, rather than to be entirely believable at a factual level.
One tiny mystery remains -- what is the actual title of this book? The spine and cover proclaim the title to be "Mysterious Ways." But the page headers have it as "In Mysterious Ways." I don't think I've ever seen this kind of discrepancy before.
Rowley's book is a wonderfully written and nicely realized bit of fiction, a real delight to read. I don't normally enjoy stories like this, but he manages to pull off a very difficult task -- produce a morality tale that isn't in the least bit preachy. Nothing turns me off more than the preaching of pious pap disguised as storytelling. "Mysterious Ways" manages to bring home solid ideals without resorting to the heavy hammer of overt religiosity.
This is a wonderful book, so long as you're willing to suspend credulity (as mentioned, the ending of the book comes across as somewhat contrived, but so what?) and let the spirit of Christmas take over. I'm very glad to recommend this book.
Jeff Needle ∙ Association for Mormon Letters
jeff.needle@gmail.com
www.aml-online.org
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