Review: A surprising glimpse into the Amish heart!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 19, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed this book!  This is the first example of Amish literature I have read and I was curious to see how this most well known Dickens story could be reinterpreted.  While the book remains true to the original theme of spiritual renewal, the drama that drives this all important theme forward in the book, is markedly different, and that difference makes this book fresh and interesting.  Although the book is cast in an Amish setting, not all of the characters are Amish or devout, especially not Hezekiah Geizhals: Ebenezer Scrooge's stand in this story.  Hezekiah long ago turned away from his faith of religion as well as his communion with God and the rest of humanity alike.I fell in love with Hannah Yoder, his lone and hapless employee who suffers under Hezekiah's tyrannical and miserly rule but thrives by a strength of spirit that is hers own.  Her character stands in stark contrast to her employer’s.  It is her steadfastness to her own moral code and kindness to all others that gradually brings her into a conflict of purpose with her master.  And by this she unwittingly puts her future in peril.  This book brilliantly points out that each of us has the power to be greater than our masters even in poverty because a poverty of the soul is the greatest poverty of all.I especially enjoyed learning something of the spiritual dedication to God, that animates the Amish heart and culture.  For me this book was an enticing first glimpse into that culture, that mind, that spirit, that religion, and I was very pleasantly surprised.  If this is who the Amish people are, they are to be cherished and admired.