Saving Alice: A Novel

by David Lewis

Stephen Whittaker has his whole life planned, but when he loses his true loveAlicea gradual undetected spiral begins. When everything starts unraveling who will Stephen turn to?

Genres: Fiction, Christian Fiction, Adult, Christian, Book Club, Contemporary, Adult Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

David Lewis is the co-author (with his wife, Beverly Lewis) of the bestselling Sanctuary. Coming Home is his first solo novel. The Lewises make their home in the foothills of Colorado's front range.

Reviews

[Ciiku · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I finished it, I turned to my husband and said "That was one weird book". It had a lot of potential in the beginning but then the author lost it somewhere. I felt as though the ending was forced and honestly speaking, very unrealistic.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good start, great writing...but the ending had me flummoxed.

[Bailey(not super active lol) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished this book a few days back but forgot to update .
I wish ,
I could have DNF it but , I still finished it ,
The whole story line was basically a twisted version of it’s a wonderful life.
His wife feels emotionally empty and exhausted, his daughter is 13 and won’t speak to him , he blames everyone but himself , very self centered and horrible thing to do to your family while begging to have them back.
The ending felt slightly rushed but also didn’t make much sense to me? Like it was all a dream? Weird.

[Melissa Stearnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read. The story certainly takes its time unraveling. As I described it to my friends, first it's really depressing, then it's MORE depressing, then it gets really weird, and then it's completely and surprisingly amazing. This is the kind of story that haunts me always; I cannot stop thinking about it. It struck a nerve deep down within me and stayed there. I am sure some people will miss the point and not appreciate what the author has done here, but I loved it and have recommended it to everyone I know who reads.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up by chance because it was on sale, but I ended up reading it in one sitting and giving it to all my friends to read too! I love David Lewis's writing style in this; it grabs you right from the very first page. Great story - great author - read it!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

The day I picked this book up, I didn't accomplish anything else. I put it down ONLY to go to the bathroom. It was captivating to say the least. It wasn't until a couple days later that I actually understood the ending, but it was a GREAT book.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initially, the story is one tragedy after another: Stephen suffers an accidental death of a loved one, marriage to the "wrong" girl, divorce, estrangement from his daughter, financial ruin, terrible relationships and suicide all while hoping he wouldn't turn out like his father. With his life spun out of control, he starts trading (on the stock market) again, tries to repair his relationship with his daughter and regained the faith he'd lost which made everything turn out just fine. Too bad life doesn't work like that.

[Joanie Standridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've between reading several female authors lately, so it was refreshing to read this story from a male author and male lead character perspective. Wow! This was like a Christian reality drama with sci-fi mixed in. I kept wondering where the story was going and I was pleasantly and agreeably surprised with how the author finished up this story. Nice read.

[Susan Dargan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just ok. Inconsistency in a book drives me craze like when he unplugged the phones and, two paragraphs later, the phone rang. The complex marital relationship was well done and I can relate to dealing with a teenage girl but it got too preachy especially towards the end. Sometimes it was hard to figure out what was a dream and what was actually going on

[Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the drama and great twists!

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok. Barely. Would not recommend.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very heart touching.

[Barbara Harper · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Saving Alice by David Lewis, Stephen Whittaker had been in love with Alice in high school. When a car accident takes Alice’s life, Stephen and Alice’s best friend, Donna, comfort each other and eventually marry. They have a daughter named after Alice, Alycia, with whom Stephen has a special bond. But all these years later, Stephen still has nightmares about Alice’s accident.

Stephen is a stockbroker who nearly drove his company bankrupt with a bad deal. They avoided bankruptcy and are slowly making their way back.

But when Alycia turns twelve she wants to know more about her parents’ friend, Alice. When her relentless questions finally bring out the truth that her father loved Alice first, Alycia loses respect for him.

Stephen’s bad decisions and cluelessness lead to Donna’s leaving him. But just as things begin to look up in his job and his relationship with Alycia, everything comes crashing down.

I enjoyed the father-daughter banter, and some of the scenes were very well-done and drew out my emotions. However, a plot device in the latter part of the book fell flat to me. I can’t go into it without spoiling the story. But it didn’t seem to mesh with the rest of the book and seemed too convenient. I liked the rest of David’s writing well enough that I’d try his other books.

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished rereading this book and it remains one of my favorites. I think it may be tough for this book to find the right audience because it starts out like realistic fiction but does incorporate a fantastical/sci-fi element for the ending. I am a huge fantasy and sci-fi fan, so the twist ending made the book for me, but I can see how it might be disconcerting or annoying for people who were looking for straight realism. However the way the story is written provides a really cool exploration of the role of our choices and how sometimes what we think we want isn't really what's best. Also I put off my reread because I thought knowing about the plot twist would spoil my enjoyment, but I saw so much more of the foreshadowing and thematic elements this time around.

[Tom Haynes · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting idea for the plot of a story. Kind of 50/50 on this one. Overall the idea of this dream type sequence is interesting but not exactly easy to grasp or swallow from a reality standpoint, so this book might help to be classified as religious fantasy. Alcohol, love of money, greed, and ripping people off- versus good deeds, honesty and prayer are great attributes for a well intended tale. Mixed in with dream sequences confuses what is reality for the reader.
Also the writing does drag quite a bit. I did enjoy some of the cartoon type dialogue between Stephen and his daughter.

[Hjwoodward · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to give this book three stars because it was immensely readable. Having said that, the ending was unbelievable. It was based on the premise that as long as you pray every day, your life will turn out well. Which I found spurious. In my experience, the wicked flourish. I don't want to speak too soon, but let's face it, as one of the wicked, I've had a pretty good long life so far. However, judging this as a Christian book, I suppose it is one of the better ones.

[Brittney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know why this book hasn't gotten the reviews it should. It was a fantastic one and beautifully written. It had an unexpected twist to it, and for me, it was five star quality. The main character made me miss my own father, as he and I were very close.
I hope to read more from David Lewis. I read a lot of books together in a rotation, and this go around, Saving Alice was definitely my favorite!

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading the book until the ending. I would have been able to deal with "true to life" ending, or have the family resolve their issues like normal life situations. But to have the husband/father time travel to save the problem just didn't sit well with me...unless it was all a dream from the beginning or vision like in A Wonderful Life.

[Anna Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit that halfway through this book I almost quit reading it. The writing is fine, characters well developed, etc but the story is very depressing. I didn't think I could finish. But I was interested enough to stick with it. Thankfully, I did. The plot has a twist that I never saw coming. Very well done.

[Mary Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Great storyline. Ending was a total surprise.

[Megan McCamy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like it started out okay and the story had potential, but it plummeted towards the end.

[SWC · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the interaction between the father and the daughter. I found the ending to be confusing

[Janet Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting twist to the ending of this.

[Samantha Cornwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book!!!! That was quite the twist of emotions!! My heart was in my throat for most of it!! Love this story, as sad as it is...

[Stefanie Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure how I feel about this book. It started out strong, went to a strange place place, finished in such an odd way. I enjoyed most of the book but did not like the ending.

[Louise King · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s wonderful life ………

[Lynnette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book until the last few chapters. I understand that he was trying to convey but it made me lose interest.

[Sarah Melanson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had some potential but lost it. Honestly sad I continued reading to complete the book.

[Michelle Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a surprise ending.

[Martha Benton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book until the end. What happened??