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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
A good book, but it wasn't an idyllic holiday read, so ignore the cover. Only a few pages have anything to do with Christmas or December. Maybe I missed something. Good message, though, as always with Richard Paul Evans.
Richard Paul Evans' modern retelling of the New Testament story of the Prodigal Son is a quick and easy read, that is even thought provoking at some points. The title would indicate that this is a Christmas story, and while a couple of chapters do take place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, it is not really a "Christmas book." From my experience, some of Evans' books are downers, but this one ends on an upbeat note, just like the original Prodigal Son story in the bible. Some of the characters in the book were flat and the story line is predictable, but it is worth reading for it's message of redemption and forgiveness.
As in the note at the beginning of the book, I did not like the main character for much of the book. However, he came around by the end ......
Wonderful.
I will thank my days at Amercian Speedy Printing for loving all the copy shop details.
Listening length six hr
I will thank my days at Amercian Speedy Printing for loving all the copy shop details.
Listening length six hr
Richard Paul Evans is a good story teller. He weaves a story where you care about the characters almost immediately. Once again, he let's us into the ice of someone who changes for the better.
An entertaining modern-day story of the prodigal son. It was worth reading through his foolish squandering because I especially found the story interesting when he was at his lowest point.
Lost December is a great book that lets readers really understand humanity. About the loss, growth, experience, and forgiveness.
A young man, with everything in the world he could ever wish for—wealth, comfort, and most of all, a loving father—leaves his home, taking his inheritance with him. Carelessly, he spends it all, and finds himself left penniless, homeless, and starving, living in the tunnels of Las Vegas. Can you go home???
His dad wants him to take over the business which he has worked in during high school, but first Luke to see more of the world and to receive the sort of education Carl never had a chance at. Luke applies to pursue an MBA at the Wharton School in Philadelphia. There, he finds romance with a beautiful woman and, for the first time, friends. But the more time he spends with his new companions—especially the cocky and worldly Sean—the more he finds himself and his values changing. Slowly but surely, he grows further away from his father, until they barely communicate at all.
After blowing thru his trust fund in Europe and loss of his girlfriend, he finds himself homeless. One night, he is attacked and beaten by two men, left with nothing but a broken rib and his underwear. And that is when his fortunes begin to change. A good Samaritan—a Latino man who runs a care center for the elderly—stops to help him, buys him a meal, and offers him a job.
Gradually, the formerly prosperous young man rebuilds his life and relearns the principles that were once so important to him. He still cannot bring himself to contact his father, but to prove himself worthy of the Crisp name, Luke takes a second job, at one of the family company’s stores, aiming to see how high he can rise on his own merits. He cannot foresee that he will also fall in love—and find the redemption he has ached for so long.
The book was amazing! I loved it as very much demonstrates the need to be grateful for what you have. The best book I have read by Evans - (keep a box of tissues handy)!
His dad wants him to take over the business which he has worked in during high school, but first Luke to see more of the world and to receive the sort of education Carl never had a chance at. Luke applies to pursue an MBA at the Wharton School in Philadelphia. There, he finds romance with a beautiful woman and, for the first time, friends. But the more time he spends with his new companions—especially the cocky and worldly Sean—the more he finds himself and his values changing. Slowly but surely, he grows further away from his father, until they barely communicate at all.
After blowing thru his trust fund in Europe and loss of his girlfriend, he finds himself homeless. One night, he is attacked and beaten by two men, left with nothing but a broken rib and his underwear. And that is when his fortunes begin to change. A good Samaritan—a Latino man who runs a care center for the elderly—stops to help him, buys him a meal, and offers him a job.
Gradually, the formerly prosperous young man rebuilds his life and relearns the principles that were once so important to him. He still cannot bring himself to contact his father, but to prove himself worthy of the Crisp name, Luke takes a second job, at one of the family company’s stores, aiming to see how high he can rise on his own merits. He cannot foresee that he will also fall in love—and find the redemption he has ached for so long.
The book was amazing! I loved it as very much demonstrates the need to be grateful for what you have. The best book I have read by Evans - (keep a box of tissues handy)!
For years I have looked forward to reading Richard Paul Evans’ latest novel. Unfortunately, this one was a little disappointing. It was oversaturated in melancholy for most of the book, and though it had a positive ending, it almost seemed like an afterthought rather than a satisfying, meaty, tying-up-loose-ends way to finish the book. This one tied up the loose ends in just a couple of pages, much like movies where there is a scrolling “here’s what happened to the characters” sort of way. I didn’t much care for it…I wish he had been written earlier parts a little more tightly, leaving him page space to write a more satisfying ending to the novel.
Nonetheless, I always look forward to the “journal” entries of his main characters for the pithy thoughts they have to offer, and this one did not disappoint in that respect. However, I want to focus my final comments on two in-text quotes.
1. At one point, Luke says “it’s one thing to be careless with money; it’s much worse to be careless with someone’s heart.” The older (and hopefully wiser) I become, the more I agree with this thought. As I business professor, I suppose I should be more hard-nosed than I am, but I find myself agreeing with the few who not only say, but act as if, their employees and co-workers are at least as important as their customers, shareholders, market share, and financial strength. Some companies, such as TD Industries, understand this principle of servant leadership quite well, and have been tremendously successful because of it.
2. At the end, Luke says “If it hadn’t been for the darkness, I never would have known the light.” Now this one I disagree with, at least as stated. I am convinced that one need not know darkness, or at least the darkness of disobedience and transgression, to know the light. We will always have opposition in our lives so that we can value the light, but it need not come through personal failings.
Nonetheless, I always look forward to the “journal” entries of his main characters for the pithy thoughts they have to offer, and this one did not disappoint in that respect. However, I want to focus my final comments on two in-text quotes.
1. At one point, Luke says “it’s one thing to be careless with money; it’s much worse to be careless with someone’s heart.” The older (and hopefully wiser) I become, the more I agree with this thought. As I business professor, I suppose I should be more hard-nosed than I am, but I find myself agreeing with the few who not only say, but act as if, their employees and co-workers are at least as important as their customers, shareholders, market share, and financial strength. Some companies, such as TD Industries, understand this principle of servant leadership quite well, and have been tremendously successful because of it.
2. At the end, Luke says “If it hadn’t been for the darkness, I never would have known the light.” Now this one I disagree with, at least as stated. I am convinced that one need not know darkness, or at least the darkness of disobedience and transgression, to know the light. We will always have opposition in our lives so that we can value the light, but it need not come through personal failings.