Title: Her Mother’s Hope
Author: Francine Rivers
Series: Marta’s Legacy, part 1
Major Themes: Family, Relationships, History
Synopsis: Escaping from a difficult home situation, Marta Schneider leaves Switzerland and creates a new life for herself in England and later in Canada, where she and her husband raise a family on the tough Canadian plains and later in California.
One of my unofficial reading goals is to get through most of Francine Rivers’ books as I get the chance to read them. She isn’t my favorite author, but I love the way she tells stories. Her Mother’s Hope is the most recent book I’ve come across that she wrote, and I was excited to get the chance to read it. As a semi-biographical story of her mother and grandmother, I found this story fascinating—and while it will never be one of my top favorite books, I did greatly enjoy this read—so much so, that I could hardly put this book down when I needed to get onto something else!
Publisher’s description:
The first in a two-book family saga by the beloved author of Redeeming Love and The Masterpiece, Her Mother’s Hope is a rich, moving epic about faith and dreams, heartache and disappointment, and the legacy of love passed down through four generations in one family.
Near the turn of the twentieth century, fiery Marta Schneider leaves Switzerland for a better life, determined to fulfill her mother’s hope. Her formative journey takes her through Europe and eventually to Canada, where she meets handsome Niclas Waltert. But nothing has prepared her for the sacrifices she must make for marriage and motherhood as she travels to the Canadian wilderness and then to the dusty Central Valley of California to raise her family.
Marta’s hope is to give her children a better life, but experience has taught her that only the strong survive. Her tough love is often misunderstood, especially by her oldest daughter, Hildemara Rose, who craves her mother’s acceptance.
Amid the drama of World War II, Hildie falls in love and begins a family of her own. But unexpected and tragic events force mother and daughter to face their own shortcomings and the ever-widening chasm that threatens to separate them forever.
My thoughts:
I came away from Her Mother’s Hope with some mixed feelings. While I loved the story in general, some things bothered me about the way the story was told. For example (as I mention in the warnings), there were more allusions to marital intimacy than I feel is necessary in a book like this. Thankfully, it was generally only passing mentions, but several times the curtain closes and you know what is going on there between the paragraphs. For that reason, I feel I can’t recommend this story as highly as I would like to.
Still, I found this book to be a gripping, well-written story. It’s a long book—a good 500 pages—but I still finished it in record time, which surprised me. I found I could easily relate to the characters, and as they moved through life and made decisions for how they wanted to live their lives, I could understand why they made the decisions they did. At times, I wanted to smack one particular character upside the head—she made me so angry, even though I understood why she was doing what she was doing!
Her Mother’s Hope is truly a saga. Most of it is not overtly Christian; there are mentions of going to church, praying, or reading the Bible throughout the book, but the characters don’t seem to be particularly religious in most of their daily happenings. Still, there is a lot of character growth throughout the story, which I appreciated, and the ending promises a gripping book two, as well. This is a story of a family, and especially a mother and her daughter’s dealings. Life can be beautiful; it can also be hard and complicated. And as a book that spans many decades, this story captures a lot of it. I enjoyed this read, and can’t wait to pick up Her Daughter’s Dream when I have a chance.
WARNING: “I swear” is used in ch. 5 (twice), 23 (twice), 27 (twice), 32, and 35; “thank goodness” is used in ch. 8; “for heaven’s sake” is used in ch. 18, 23, and 34 (twice); heavens is used in ch. 20 and 41; “holy cow” is used in ch. 20, 21, 23 (twice), 31, 32, and 38; “for mercy’s sake” is used in ch. 20; heck is used in ch. 23 and 42; “God knows” is used in ch. 26; drat is used in ch. 28; “holy Godfrey” is used in ch. 28; “Oh, God” is used in ch. 33; “what in the blazes” and crap are used in ch. 39; and “Mein Gott” is used in ch. 41. There is lying in ch. 1 and 38.
A character has an abusive father; this comes up multiple times, and several times, there are mentions of bruising. Chapter 5: A character slaps another character in revenge, and the characters find out a woman was raped. Chapter 6: A woman is in labor. Chapter 7: Mention of a woman pregnant out of wedlock, and a character commits suicide by letting themselves freeze to death (this is mentioned several times later on in the book). Chapter 8: A character prays for a dead person. Chapter 11: A man admires a woman’s shape. Chapter 12: Married couple lying in bed, talking. Chapter 13: Mention of the marriage bed (no description, but you know what happened; this is also mentioned in ch. 14, 37 (more detail than I’m comfortable with), 41, 42 (“when they made love”), and twice in ch. 44—most mentions were unnecessary, in my opinion). Chapter 14: Description of a woman in labor. Chapter 18: Another instance of a woman in labor. Chapter 21: A woman slaps a girl’s face. Chapter 22: A man tries to catch a girl with the intent of raping her (he doesn’t succeed). Chapter 23: A woman goes to try to kill a man with a knife, and a house is burned down in revenge. Chapter 26: Mention of a girl’s growing breasts. Chapter 32: A woman is drunk. Chapter 33: Unmarried characters hugging, a kiss. Chapter 34: A man dies. Chapter 35: Some kisses. Chapter 36: A character admits to going too far with someone she wasn’t married to. Chapter 37: A man signs up to fight, believing that’s what God wanted him to do. Chapter 38: A woman admits to getting pregnant after an affair. Chapter 39: Talking about an affair, mention of a man who died at war.
Age levels:
Reading Independently—Adults
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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