Synopses & Reviews
"A memorable story, full of the huge American themes of race, class and sex." -Washington Post "Beautifully written and captivating from the very first line, The Arms of God is one of Lynne Hinton's best novels yet." -Michael Morris, author of Slow Way Home "Everyone who has read and enjoyed Lynne Hinton's books will love The Arms of God. This lovely book will add to her roster of fans. Moving and touching and everything a good book should be." -Philip Gulley, author of The Harmony Series "Lynne Hinton has gifted us with a wondrous novel. Sit at the feet of her characters and learn from them. Love and grief, truth and courage bloom wildly in the garden of their lives. Read this book slowly-- like a prayer book." -Macrina Wiederkehr, author of Gold in Your Memories "Like a river that whispers, beckons, conjures, and then swallows, The Arms of God seduces us into a spiraling dry ocean of sorrow, reverence, bittersweet remembrance, and unconditional love and shows us the many faces and languages of grace. Lynne Hinton picks up every nuance, color, taste, whisper, and sigh of ache and redemption and serves us a feast of holiness." -Jaki Shelton Green, author of Singing a Tree into Dance
Review
"Lynne Hinton is a born storyteller, here at the top of her form, writing with compassion and understanding."
Lee Smith, author of The Last Girls
"Through memorable characters and lovely language, Lynne Hinton tells a story of forgiveness and personal transformation with remarkable grace and skill."
Ann Howard Creel, author of The Magic of Ordinary Days
"Beautifully written and captivating from the very first line, The Arms of God is one of Lynne Hinton's best novels yet. Long after the last page has been turned, the characters will continue to linger in the minds of all who read this haunting story.
Michael Morris, author of Slow Way Home
"Everyone who has read and enjoyed Lynne Hinton's books, will love The Arms of God. This lovely book will add to her roster of fans. Moving and touching and everything a good book should be."
Philip Gulley, author of the Harmony series
"Lynne Hinton has gifted us with a wondrous novel. Sit at the feet of her characters and learn from them. Love and grief, truth and courage bloom wildly in the garden of their lives. Read this book slowly--like a prayer book. The poetry of these words will sing to you and anoint your soul with every page your turn. Do not deprive yourself of The Arms of God."
Macrina Wiederkehr, author of Gold in Your Memories
"If you thought you had Lynne Hinton pegged as a novelist, think again. The Arms of God is a stunning leap for what was already a gifted storyteller. Hinton gives us the profoundly moving story of a woman searching for the soul of the mother who abandoned her years ago -- and finding, in the journey, frighteningly dark places and, ultimately, understanding and forgiveness. The characters are compelling, the writing graceful. You won't find a better book than this anytime soon."
Robert Inman, author of Captain Saturday and Dairy Queen Days.
Synopsis
Alice is making her daughter dinner when her mother Olivia, who left her at a day care center when she was four-years-old, appears at her door. Although Alice has managed to navigate an unforgiving foster care system to build a good life for herself, she has never really recovered from her mother's disappearance. Olivia's sudden reappearance is like a quiet, unexplained gift. Over the next couple of weeks Alice asks Olivia to dinner. Olivia is always dropped off by a friend and sits peacefully as Alice and her daughter talk over the meal. One afternoon Alice gets a call from the hospital telling her that Olivia is dead. The only identification the hospital could find was Alice's number with the word "daughter" written underneath it. She goes to pick up Olivia's things and finds the key to her apartment. It is here that the mystery of Olivia's past is slowly uncovered and Alice begins to understand how the power of hatred can hold a woman down and how the power of friendship can lift her up again.
Not since her bestselling book The Friendship Cake has Hinton created characters who are so filled with heartache and fragile hope, that they will become a permanent part of the reader's life.
Synopsis
Alice is making her daughter dinner when her mother Olivia, who left her at a day care center when she was four, appears at her door. Alice has learned almost nothing about Olivia, when suddenly Olivia dies, leaving Alice to sift through her belongings. As she pieces together her mother's life, Alice learns how a woman can become so desperate that she leaves her child-- and so courageous that she finds her again.
Not since her bestselling book The Friendship Cake has Hinton created characters who are so filled with heartache and fragile hope.
About the Author
LYNNE HINTON is a writer and journalist. She is the
New York Times bestselling author of
Friendship Cake,
Hope Springs and
Forever Friends (The Hope Springs Trilogy), among other books, and writes a monthly column for
The Charlotte Observer. She lives in New Mexico, where she serves as a pastor. Visit her website at www.lynnehinton.com.
Reading Group Guide
1. Olivia dies only a short time after reappearing in Alices life. Do you think that she knew she was going to die? If she did, was it the knowledge of her imminent death that led her to seek out her daughter? If you knew you had three weeks to live, who would you try to find?
2. Alice reveals some of her difficulty in living with her mothers decision to abandon her. What do you see in Alice that might be the result of such an action?
3. Do you think that Olivia should have explained why she did
what she did? How frustrating do you think it would be not to hear an explanation or an apology? Was it enough that she just showed up?
4. After leaving the hospital, Alice decides to go to her mothers residence. What did the place, the room, say about Olivia? What do you think was the most important thing she found?
5. The book makes clear that Alice never really knows about her mothers past. How differently might have Alice turned out had she known her mothers history?
6. How much of your mothers story do you know? How much of a mothers life story affects the life story of her child?
7. Olivia not only finds her daughter, she finds her best friend Tree. How important is a long-term friendship? Do you have any friends from your childhood? How are they different from your other friends?
8. The story deals a lot with racism. What do you think about the state of our nation regarding race relations? How integrated is your life? The lives of your children?
9. How do you define hope in this story? The hope for Olivia? For Alice? For Anna?
10. Regardless of the judgments that can be made about Olivia and her choice to abandon her daughter, she did show up. How important is it to make amends for past wrongs?
11. What would be your wish for each of the characters in this story? Alice, Tree, E. Saul, and Anna.