The Dwelling Place (The Swan House Series #2)
In this enjoyable, somewhat complicated sequel toThe Swan House, Musser continues the tragedy-scarred story of artist Mary Swan Middleton through the first-person narrative of her troubled daughter, Ellie. Ellie grows up full of rage toward her mother, whom she holds responsible for a childhood accident that left her disfigured. Her rebellion causes her to battle various addictions, and the story opens with the fresh-out-of-rehab, overweight and unhappy Ellie conflicted about her family and her future. Mary Swan has recently undergone a double mastectomy, and her illness affords opportunities for her and Ellie to work on their relationship. Ellie begins rethinking the way she sees herself, her family and God. In a lovely piece of wisdom, Ellie muses, "Sometimes the breaking of things is cruel, and sometimes it is necessary, and sometimes it is just an accident." This is the novel's central message, and the faith themes that frame the story ensure that most of the "broken pieces" mend through redemption. Although Musser handles many symbolic moments well, she sometimes overexplains when subtlety might have been more welcome. Readers will need to work hard to keep track of the many characters, especially given the number of flashbacks and backstory narratives. However, Musser's solid prose, careful historical details and themes of hope and forgiveness make this an attractive choice for faith fiction readers.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.