Get Ebooks Chasing Fireflies: A Novel Of Discovery
They have one summer to find what was lost long ago. "Never settle for less than the truth," she told him. But when you don't even know your real name, the truth gets a little complicated. It can nestle so close to home it's hard to see. It can even flourish inside a lie. And as Chase Walker discovered, learning the truth about who you are can be as elusive―and as magical―as chasing fireflies on a summer night.A haunting story about fishing, baseball, home cooking, and other matters of life and death.
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (February 10, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1595543252
ISBN-13: 978-1595543257
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (348 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #153,695 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #118 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Religious & Inspirational > Mystery #943 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Suspense #5405 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary
Charles Martin's books contain beautiful prose, quirky characters, and vivid settings. He creates a world of believable, if unusual, characters and gently invites the reader in.In this book, Chase Walker, who was abandoned and adopted by a man he calls "Unc", is assigned to write a story about another young boy who has likewise been abandoned. The boy is mute which makes it all the more challenging for Chase to piece together his background. Chase and Unc work together to show the boy that he is loved and accepted.Although Unc is the most interesting character, there is also Chase's cousin Tommye, Unc's ruthless brother Jack, and the young boy to round out the cast of characters. The book shows what family and forgiveness are all about and will certainly be a favorite for Charles Martin's many fans.
Charles Martin touched my soul with his book of the heart, When Cricket's Cry. With Chasing Fireflies he has awakened hope and joy. Charles' prose is exceptional and his characters connected with my emotions in ways few authors can achieve. This is a beautiful story of one man's journey for his identity, a boy's ability to communicate without words and the honour and integrity of a man willing to make a lifelong sacrifice for those he loves. Charles' books are in a league of their own and this hardcover novel is well worth the extra investment.
Just when I think his books can't get any better -- he writes another one! The characters in this book are so well established -- so many details but never "too" many. Twists & turns;laughs & tears. Charles Martin is one of the best authors I have ever read. If you read one book this summer -- it should be this one. If you read 5 -- it should be this one plus his 4 others.
I read this book for my book club. I might not have chosen it without that being our selection as I was not familiar with the author. I enjoyed the book and found it a "good read". It was great to take on the airplane with me on a trip, but the only problem that I had was that I got tears in my eyes as the book ended and didn't want fellow passengers to think that something was wrong. Luckily I could look out a window and pretend to study the clouds!This is worth reading.
I am so glad that a friend introduced me to Charles Martins book. I fell in love with his style while reading The Mountain Between Us and have read every one of his novels since. He is a fine talented christian writer who spares his fans graphic sex and blood and guts. Hope he continues to produce more. Kate Adams
Plot/Storyline: 5 StarsThe prologue of this fascinating novel drew me into a story that kept me glued to my Kindle. The book is actually a triple storyline relating the tale of a nameless boy abandoned by the railroad tracks, the tale of another boy, now a man, abandoned at a young age, and the story of the man who brings them together. The author does a terrific job of weaving these three story threads into the large tapestry of the novel.While the story rolls on at a slow pace, meandering through the lives Chase Walker, a reporter, there is still plenty of interest in each chapter to forward the storyline. I did figure out one portion of the `mystery' imbedded in the story, but it was still fun finding out the details.There were also still a few surprises left that I didn't figure out. However, the author remained true throughout, never `cheating' to save the surprise.Character Development: 4 1/2 StarsHaving Chase Walker as the narrator was a terrific choice. He was a deep and empathetic character, especially in his childhood memories. I could actually feel his feelings of abandonment and hope.Uncle Willie was poorly developed throughout the first half. However, I did get a little more understanding of him toward the end of the book. Although I thought some of his reasoning was a little far-fetched, it still made for a good story.The little boy and the women in the book were very weak characters.Writing Style: 4 1/4 StarsI had a major issue with the writing style here, and it's name is Metaphor. Now, I like metaphors, especially clever ones. Unfortunately, even though his metaphors were clever, the author spoiled many of them by giving pages of explanation for them. He would use a metaphor, then go into a long story that explains what he was trying to compare something to, often a sports one. My problem with that was simply that I understood the analogies without needing an explanation, so it was just annoying to read, kind of like sitting through a class you've already taken.Otherwise, the descriptions, dialogue, and sentence structure were all excellent.Rating: PG-13 for descriptions of Child Abuse
This novel has a completely arresting plot, good flow, nice, quirky characters, and decent dialogue. The settings are full and colorful, and the themes are solid and well-woven.Some drawbacks. It's prone to hyperbolic figurative descriptions, and the antagonist's back story failed to suspend my disbelief (a brief study of criminal psychology would've done the author some good). Also, the extended sports play-by-plays bored the snot out of me, but because they were used as illustrations for plot points, I was forced to read them in entirety. *groan*And, hon, you can't leave a live animal in a car in August while you go to an Atlanta Braves game, even if you crack all the windows. It's bad. Seriously.
First off I think it's fair to warn you (without giving too much away) that this book begins with some graphic description of child abuse which I found to be very unsettling.From there on out the book was both predictable and not quite believable and at the same time slow and boring. It just wasn't interesting, it seemed to serve no purpose, not even to entertain.Skip this one, he's done better.
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