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No Graven Image
Book by Elliot, Elisabeth
244 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
44 people are currently reading
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About the author
Elisabeth Elliot
171 books2,245 followersFrom the Author's Web Site: My parents were missionaries in Belgium where I was born. When I was a few months old, we came to the U.S. and lived in Germantown, not far from Philadelphia, where my father became an editor of the Sunday School Times. Some of my contemporaries may remember the publication which was used by hundreds of churches for their weekly unified Sunday School teaching materials.
Our family continued to live in Philadelphia and then in New Jersey until I left home to attend Wheaton College. By that time, the family had increased to four brothers and one sister. My studies in classical Greek would one day enable me to work in the area of unwritten languages to develop a form of writing.
A year after I went to Ecuador, Jim Elliot, whom I had met at Wheaton, also entered tribal areas with the Quichua Indians. In nineteen fifty three we were married in the city of Quito and continued our work together. Jim had always hoped to have the opportunity to enter the territory of an unreached tribe. The Aucas were in that category -- a fierce group whom no one had succeeded in meeting without being killed. After the discovery of their whereabouts, Jim and four other missionaries entered Auca territory. After a friendly contact with three of the tribe, they were speared to death.
Our daughter Valerie was 10 months old when Jim was killed. I continued working with the Quichua Indians when, through a remarkable providence, I met two Auca women who lived with me for one year. They were the key to my going in to live with the tribe that had killed the five missionaries. I remained there for two years.
After having worked for two years with the Aucas, I returned to the Quichua work and remained there until 1963 when Valerie and I returned to the U.S.
Since then, my life has been one of writing and speaking. It also included, in 1969, a marriage to Addison Leitch, professor of theology at Gordon Conwell Seminary in Massachusetts. He died in 1973. After his death I had two lodgers in my home. One of them married my daughter, the other one, Lars Gren, married me. Since then we have worked together.
Our family continued to live in Philadelphia and then in New Jersey until I left home to attend Wheaton College. By that time, the family had increased to four brothers and one sister. My studies in classical Greek would one day enable me to work in the area of unwritten languages to develop a form of writing.
A year after I went to Ecuador, Jim Elliot, whom I had met at Wheaton, also entered tribal areas with the Quichua Indians. In nineteen fifty three we were married in the city of Quito and continued our work together. Jim had always hoped to have the opportunity to enter the territory of an unreached tribe. The Aucas were in that category -- a fierce group whom no one had succeeded in meeting without being killed. After the discovery of their whereabouts, Jim and four other missionaries entered Auca territory. After a friendly contact with three of the tribe, they were speared to death.
Our daughter Valerie was 10 months old when Jim was killed. I continued working with the Quichua Indians when, through a remarkable providence, I met two Auca women who lived with me for one year. They were the key to my going in to live with the tribe that had killed the five missionaries. I remained there for two years.
After having worked for two years with the Aucas, I returned to the Quichua work and remained there until 1963 when Valerie and I returned to the U.S.
Since then, my life has been one of writing and speaking. It also included, in 1969, a marriage to Addison Leitch, professor of theology at Gordon Conwell Seminary in Massachusetts. He died in 1973. After his death I had two lodgers in my home. One of them married my daughter, the other one, Lars Gren, married me. Since then we have worked together.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
December 27, 2023
The first time I read this (earlier this year), I couldn't put it down. I finished it in two days. On this second reading, I wrote narrations after each chapter, which caused me to slow down. I noticed so many observations about the thoughts, beliefs, and ideals of cross-cultural workers, and yet the author writes a beautiful and non-preachy story. Elisabeth Elliot did something incredible when she wrote this brutally honest novel.
"God, if He was merely my accomplice, had betrayed me. If, on the other hand, He was God, He had freed me." p. 242-243
"God, if He was merely my accomplice, had betrayed me. If, on the other hand, He was God, He had freed me." p. 242-243
February 2, 2017
As a missionary serving outside my passport country, I loved this book! Although it was written as a "fictional novel," this is the most real, honest missionary biography I have read. I would venture to say that it has a lot less "fiction" than most "non-fiction" missionary biographies.
This book is so good, I'm ordering a second copy for my family!
I first heard of this book through an article in Christianity Today titled, "Farewell to the Missionary Hero." http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2...
This book is so good, I'm ordering a second copy for my family!
I first heard of this book through an article in Christianity Today titled, "Farewell to the Missionary Hero." http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2...
June 1, 2013
I found myself eerily able to identify with Elisabeth Elliot's main character in the novel No Graven Image. In this, Elliot's only novel, we follow the experience of first-time missionary Margaret Sparhawk as she touches down on Ecuadorian soil for the first time, settles into her new home, tries to figure out how to meet the natives, and tries to makes sense of her "calling." The story is told in an
embarrassingly honest
first-person style.
Embarrassingly honest. As in heart-revealing. Maybe this will help explain. You know how in Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, we get to hear eyewitness accounts of Nathan Price's awkward attempts to convert and civilize the natives? Imagine reading a novel where Mr. Price himself is the narrator, and you are alternatively cringing at how horrible his approach is and shuddering at the voice in the back of your mind saying "Oh my gosh--I could totally see myself doing the same thing!"
So, very convicting for a missionary wanna-be. I come away with an overwhelming sense of having read something like the book of Job. Someone's trying to do the right thing. But things go obscenely wrong. And we question God. And God has been right the whole time. And somehow, we are wiser--sadder, but wiser in the end.
The edition I read also contains a bonus introductory essay by noted theologian J.I.Packer on the issue of Christian fiction. This essay alone is worth the cost of admission.
--Jen
Embarrassingly honest. As in heart-revealing. Maybe this will help explain. You know how in Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, we get to hear eyewitness accounts of Nathan Price's awkward attempts to convert and civilize the natives? Imagine reading a novel where Mr. Price himself is the narrator, and you are alternatively cringing at how horrible his approach is and shuddering at the voice in the back of your mind saying "Oh my gosh--I could totally see myself doing the same thing!"
So, very convicting for a missionary wanna-be. I come away with an overwhelming sense of having read something like the book of Job. Someone's trying to do the right thing. But things go obscenely wrong. And we question God. And God has been right the whole time. And somehow, we are wiser--sadder, but wiser in the end.
The edition I read also contains a bonus introductory essay by noted theologian J.I.Packer on the issue of Christian fiction. This essay alone is worth the cost of admission.
--Jen
September 2, 2025
This quote is a summary of my takeaways from this book:
"I find that I can no longer arrange my life in an orderly succession of projects with realizeable goals and demonstrable effects. I cannot designate this activity as "useful" and that one as "useless," for often the categories are reversed and more often I am at a loss to apply either label, for the work, in the end, as well as the labeling, is God's."
I really, really like to know that what I am doing is meaningful, that it is valuable, and that it is worth the effort I'm putting into it. However, God's kingdom is backwards and upside down from logic, and often he upends our plans and dreams. He nudges me into things I don't anticipate (that are usually much different and much better than I expect) - and I'm learning to roll with this.
Reading this often felt like someone putting words to the questions that I ponder. However, the typos drove me nuts, hence the four stars. If you're going to publish a book, please hire a proofreader.
"I find that I can no longer arrange my life in an orderly succession of projects with realizeable goals and demonstrable effects. I cannot designate this activity as "useful" and that one as "useless," for often the categories are reversed and more often I am at a loss to apply either label, for the work, in the end, as well as the labeling, is God's."
I really, really like to know that what I am doing is meaningful, that it is valuable, and that it is worth the effort I'm putting into it. However, God's kingdom is backwards and upside down from logic, and often he upends our plans and dreams. He nudges me into things I don't anticipate (that are usually much different and much better than I expect) - and I'm learning to roll with this.
Reading this often felt like someone putting words to the questions that I ponder. However, the typos drove me nuts, hence the four stars. If you're going to publish a book, please hire a proofreader.
July 4, 2020
As a child of missionaries, I am always looking for honest portrayals of missionaries. I consider much of the literature on missionaries put out by churches as dishonest, and feel somewhat the same way about the critical literature put on them by much of the secular press. Elisabeth Elliot was well known in Evangelical mission circles, and even Lutheran ones, as a widow of a missionary killed in Ecuador and most of her writing for the rest of her life was embraced by the Evangelical community, but this book was not. She felt shunned by that group after this book came out in the mid-1960s. I am not sure if this novel was first written for a Christian publishing house, but the version I read was by Avon Books. In this book, Elisabeth Elliot has Margaret Sparhawk tell her story as a young, single and devout first-time missionary to the Quicha people in the mountains of Ecuador. She had grown up reading the prayer letters of overseas missionaries and now feels like her life does not match what she saw in all those letters. As the time progresses, she forms connections with a local Indian family, learns the Quicha language, begins work on translating the Bible, but realizes that they are all illiterate and could not read her translation, even if it were to be published. More and more she is confronted with so many doubts about her work. I liked this book for its honesty and compassion both for Margaret's struggles and her connections with the local Indian families. It is a good and honest missionary novel that helps bring out the struggles of missionaries and the local people very well.
May 5, 2012
Beautiful story that strips the glamor off of the inflated views we too often cherish of a missionary calling and enables us to see the true beauty of simple trust and obedience.
April 24, 2025
This book… the main character is laughable in many regards but her naive assumptions of “how God works”or how He “should be working” is something we all need to be confronted with. What’s your “agenda for God?” This somewhat ridiculous story will help you uncover those “graven images” of God and perhaps help you begin to disassemble them one brick at a time to see that we truly have “little notion of what God is up to.” Highly recommend this book as long as you’re able to see past some of the (intended to be) painful missionary tales to get to the point the author is trying to make.
March 28, 2008
I started reading this book sometime last year. It was in a pile of free-for-all books left for the Redeemer staff to pick through. I have been a big Elisabeth Elliot fan since the big P and P. But this was a novel! OOOOh...exciting. This novel about a young missionary woman called to the Indians of Ecuador started slow like molasses and I was actually going to call it quits. I changed my mind when Pastor Keller referenced the book in one of his sermons on suffering (which included him spoiling the ending). Within the frame he gave, I was intrigued to finish it and did just that last night. It does not have a happy ending. It in no way glamorizes mission work. But in an odd way, it's lack of a tidy ending brings great comfort and truth. I'm happy to share it if someone wants to borrow.... When I told Tim I had been reading it (thanking him for giving away the big finish) he was shocked I had found it. I guess it's been out of print for years.
March 8, 2011
Not greatly written, but does cause you to think about motivations for "serving Christ." I know I was humbled after reading this book. I like this quote:
"I find that I can no longer arrange my life in an orderly succession of projects with realizable goals and demonstrable effects. I cannot designate this activity as "useful" and that one as "useless," for often the categories are reversed and even more often I am at a loss to apply either label, for the wok, in the end, as well as the labeling, is God's" (Elliot, p. 266).
This book is an encouragement to sanctify the everyday, surrendering all to the worship of Christ!
"I find that I can no longer arrange my life in an orderly succession of projects with realizable goals and demonstrable effects. I cannot designate this activity as "useful" and that one as "useless," for often the categories are reversed and even more often I am at a loss to apply either label, for the wok, in the end, as well as the labeling, is God's" (Elliot, p. 266).
This book is an encouragement to sanctify the everyday, surrendering all to the worship of Christ!
December 11, 2009
This was more than an account of a young woman's journey to a new country and culture and her willing adaptations to them. This was also an open, honest account of her journey in "Christianity".
Quote from the book: "I am with thee," He had said. With me in this?...And does He now, I asked myself there at the graveside, ask me to worship Him?
What a challenge to me, to see God Almighty from a different perspective and try to grasp what He wants me to know of Him. Even in novels, God speaks.
Quote from the book: "I am with thee," He had said. With me in this?...And does He now, I asked myself there at the graveside, ask me to worship Him?
What a challenge to me, to see God Almighty from a different perspective and try to grasp what He wants me to know of Him. Even in novels, God speaks.
December 27, 2015
I really enjoyed this well-written piece of Christian fiction. Unlike many Christian novels, this book does not promote clichés and sentiment. It seeks to expand the reader's view of God instead of trying to package Him up in a tidy box. I appreciated and admired the thoughtfulness and honesty of Elisabeth Elliot's writing.
December 7, 2014
Hands down the best Christian novel I have ever read. Elliot's brutal honesty is what makes the book so real, so true. She is not afraid of being criticized for her work, which she is, but is bold in the messages she shares in writing this book. Everyone should read this remarkable book!
March 18, 2014
Any one who has ever determined to follow God and do great things for Him and ended up with the unexpected will understand why Elisabeth Elliot wrote this book.
May 10, 2025
“I saw for the first time my own identity in its true perspective. And God? What of him? I am with thee he had said. With me in this? He had led Patro’ to die. Or perhaps, he had led me to destroy him. And does he now ask me to worship him?”
What is a missionary? What is a ministry? What is a work? What is a tribe, a people?
Whenever we read prayer letters we hear the phrases “my people. My work. Our tribe. Our calling.” We place our identity in those things that are not ours. We do not do the work for God….we just do His work….if He so chooses. And we cannot get mad at him if we don’t see fruit from “our” seed “we” planted.
They are not our people they are His people. Our only “calling” is to love them as Christ would. We aren’t not sent to change them or put clothes on them or make them sing amazing grace. We are sent to love them, as they are, as Christ made them….and then let Christ do the work in their hearts….
This book, is eye opening and heart wrenching. My perspective of missions ever changes, as does my identity. It’s no wonder why Elizabeth Elliot got so much lash back from publishing this book. It isn’t a “fluffy comfy missions” read. It is real, raw and with little results….but only in human eyes….in Gods? Who knows the things that he will call a “result” ?
What is a missionary? What is a ministry? What is a work? What is a tribe, a people?
Whenever we read prayer letters we hear the phrases “my people. My work. Our tribe. Our calling.” We place our identity in those things that are not ours. We do not do the work for God….we just do His work….if He so chooses. And we cannot get mad at him if we don’t see fruit from “our” seed “we” planted.
They are not our people they are His people. Our only “calling” is to love them as Christ would. We aren’t not sent to change them or put clothes on them or make them sing amazing grace. We are sent to love them, as they are, as Christ made them….and then let Christ do the work in their hearts….
This book, is eye opening and heart wrenching. My perspective of missions ever changes, as does my identity. It’s no wonder why Elizabeth Elliot got so much lash back from publishing this book. It isn’t a “fluffy comfy missions” read. It is real, raw and with little results….but only in human eyes….in Gods? Who knows the things that he will call a “result” ?
October 22, 2022
Wow. This novel is one of the best I have ever read. If you like Flannery O'Connor, Marilynne Robinson or even Hemingway I highly recommend this. If you can find a copy snatch it up!
April 9, 2016
No Graven Image is set in Ecuador. It's narrated by an American missionary--a single woman--named Margaret. Ecuador is her first placement, and, it is without a doubt where she feels called by God to serve. She hopes to learn the language--Quichua--and eventually translate the Bible into the native language. She has learned Spanish. She's seeking someone who speaks Spanish and Quichua. About a third of the way through the novel, she meets Pedro. There are some barriers to their friendship--language, culture, social class--but eventually he becomes 'the one' to help her in her work. She will pay him to teach her the language. She will pay him to help her translate the Bible. Now you might think that was challenging enough, but no, before anyone can benefit from this new translation of the Bible, she will have to teach them to read their own native language, that it's worth the time and effort to learn to read. Before she can teach them--at least as she sees it--she has to show them that she's trustworthy and/or worthy of their respect and friendship. She has to overcome the 'who-does-she-think-she-is' and 'is-that-lady-crazy' viewpoint.
From start to finish, Margaret experiences troubles and frustration. Think of it like this: I'm a missionary, now what? Now that I'm actually here in a foreign country instead of back home training to be this missionary whom God will use...what do I do? How does a missionary do missions. Is being a missionary simply living in another country--having other people pay you to live in another country? How does one justify spending one's time when you're a missionary? Is it serving God to go to the marketplace and buy food from natives? Or is the only time that 'counts' the time you spend "sharing the gospel"?
The book has more questions than answers, in my opinion. Margaret wrestles with God quite a bit. Or perhaps I should rephrase that. She wrestles with her beliefs about God quite a bit. She definitely starts out with belief that she is doing God a favor by being a missionary and serving in Ecuador. She definitely believes that by being there and serving, she is doing "her part" to bring people to Christ, and, that God should honor that service by blessing her with definite converts. The issue she doesn't quite address straight-forwardly is the idea that God is sovereign in missions--as He is sovereign over the whole universe--and that it is God who works in the heart, that salvation is all His from start to finish. Her efforts--no matter how mighty and fierce--cannot bring about results. She doesn't have anything to "prove" to God. I'm not sure if Margaret grasped these truths or not. And if Margaret's lacking was intentional on the part of the author, or, if Elliot herself struggled with God's sovereignty.
As a happy, comfy-cozy read, No Graven Image fails to satisfy. If you want to read a book about a woman struggling with living out her calling and wrestling out her doctrines about God in the real world, then this one is worth picking up and reading. Just know that it asks more questions than it answers. There is no tidy ending, no "aha" moment when everything clicks into place and her struggles with herself, with God, cease.
From start to finish, Margaret experiences troubles and frustration. Think of it like this: I'm a missionary, now what? Now that I'm actually here in a foreign country instead of back home training to be this missionary whom God will use...what do I do? How does a missionary do missions. Is being a missionary simply living in another country--having other people pay you to live in another country? How does one justify spending one's time when you're a missionary? Is it serving God to go to the marketplace and buy food from natives? Or is the only time that 'counts' the time you spend "sharing the gospel"?
The book has more questions than answers, in my opinion. Margaret wrestles with God quite a bit. Or perhaps I should rephrase that. She wrestles with her beliefs about God quite a bit. She definitely starts out with belief that she is doing God a favor by being a missionary and serving in Ecuador. She definitely believes that by being there and serving, she is doing "her part" to bring people to Christ, and, that God should honor that service by blessing her with definite converts. The issue she doesn't quite address straight-forwardly is the idea that God is sovereign in missions--as He is sovereign over the whole universe--and that it is God who works in the heart, that salvation is all His from start to finish. Her efforts--no matter how mighty and fierce--cannot bring about results. She doesn't have anything to "prove" to God. I'm not sure if Margaret grasped these truths or not. And if Margaret's lacking was intentional on the part of the author, or, if Elliot herself struggled with God's sovereignty.
As a happy, comfy-cozy read, No Graven Image fails to satisfy. If you want to read a book about a woman struggling with living out her calling and wrestling out her doctrines about God in the real world, then this one is worth picking up and reading. Just know that it asks more questions than it answers. There is no tidy ending, no "aha" moment when everything clicks into place and her struggles with herself, with God, cease.
September 14, 2012
4.5 stars. I was really excited about reading this book, since Elizabeth Elliot is a very well known Christian, and the description sounded like a book I'd enjoy. My only fear was that since Elizabeth mainly writes non-fiction which doesn't require descriptive words to help you form an image in your mind, that the story wouldn't be descriptive and would leave all the imaging to your brain, but it didn't! I was very pleased with how it was written and it definitely went over my expectations!
I love how encouraging this book was. It is about a lady named Margaret who goes to be a missionary in Ecuador, and I just loved how the story shows the details of missionary life. One part I really liked, was were Elizabeth went to detail to show how not everyone is perfect. In the story, Margaret has times were she grows discouraged and there are times she says things she regrets, and it helped me to see that no matter who you are, everyone has faults.
I really think this story helped open my eyes to missionary life. Since Elizabeth has been a missionary, you know that how she displays Margaret missionary life is a lot like how a missionary would live in present day, since the writer has been there. In this story, everything doesn't always go as planned, sometimes things don't work out as you'd like them to when you witness. The story ended quite sad, but I think Elizabeth choose it to end like to that to make the point, that everything isn't always rosy as novels make it out to be. Though it is a fiction story, it had a very real feeling to it. Overall I loved this book and would definitely recommend it to ladies that like inspiration fiction that gets you to thinking!
I love how encouraging this book was. It is about a lady named Margaret who goes to be a missionary in Ecuador, and I just loved how the story shows the details of missionary life. One part I really liked, was were Elizabeth went to detail to show how not everyone is perfect. In the story, Margaret has times were she grows discouraged and there are times she says things she regrets, and it helped me to see that no matter who you are, everyone has faults.
I really think this story helped open my eyes to missionary life. Since Elizabeth has been a missionary, you know that how she displays Margaret missionary life is a lot like how a missionary would live in present day, since the writer has been there. In this story, everything doesn't always go as planned, sometimes things don't work out as you'd like them to when you witness. The story ended quite sad, but I think Elizabeth choose it to end like to that to make the point, that everything isn't always rosy as novels make it out to be. Though it is a fiction story, it had a very real feeling to it. Overall I loved this book and would definitely recommend it to ladies that like inspiration fiction that gets you to thinking!
July 19, 2022
Did you know that Elisabeth Elliot wrote a novel? No Graven Image draws on her years of missionary service in Ecuador through the eyes of a twenty-five-year-old single missionary. Initially published in 1966, the book must have sent shock waves through readers accustomed to the traditional “missionary story” in which The Called One lands in an obscure and challenging field, shares the gospel message against all odds, and in no time their ministry changes hearts as grateful lives are forever transformed.
Perhaps it was the jarring experience of Elisabeth’s own early missionary career that fueled this narrative arc of a woman so completely surprised by the realities of everyday life in a foreign culture. She discovered that much of her time was spent simply performing the mundane duties of life, and while she had come to share with the Quichua the most important message in all the universe, they seemed strangely uninterested–in her message and in herself!
Had Margaret made an idol of her preconceptions about her missionary role? She confesses her astonishment: “My life went on alongside the life of the Quichuas. I do not say with theirs for the two remained separate. All my efforts to make myself one with them ended at the brink of the great abyss–I was not an Indian.”
No Graven Image should be required reading for all missionary candidates, but for the rest of us, Elisabeth has woven an engaging story in a fascinating setting, populated with characters and conflict that have helped me to become a better-informed prayer warrior for the missionaries I love.
Perhaps it was the jarring experience of Elisabeth’s own early missionary career that fueled this narrative arc of a woman so completely surprised by the realities of everyday life in a foreign culture. She discovered that much of her time was spent simply performing the mundane duties of life, and while she had come to share with the Quichua the most important message in all the universe, they seemed strangely uninterested–in her message and in herself!
Had Margaret made an idol of her preconceptions about her missionary role? She confesses her astonishment: “My life went on alongside the life of the Quichuas. I do not say with theirs for the two remained separate. All my efforts to make myself one with them ended at the brink of the great abyss–I was not an Indian.”
No Graven Image should be required reading for all missionary candidates, but for the rest of us, Elisabeth has woven an engaging story in a fascinating setting, populated with characters and conflict that have helped me to become a better-informed prayer warrior for the missionaries I love.
July 7, 2017
Definitely not the typical missionary story and that is a good thing (I think). Elliot uses a fictional story to portray the inner and external struggles a young missionary faces as she seeks to "reach" the Quichua Indians in Equador. Worthy to be read by young (and old) missionaries and those tempted to place those same missionaries on the proverbial pedestal.
Here are a couple of excerpts to give you an idea
"My life went on alongside the life of the Quichuas. I do not say with theirs for the two remained separate. All my efforts to make myself one with them ended at the brink of the great abyss--I was not an Indian." 180
"Harvey had not come to learn but to document what he had already assumed; his preconceptions governed his selection of picture subjects. Propaganda, I thought, demands simplification. . Choose the pictures which show the poverty and primitiveness of the Indian, the the successes of the missionary." 208
Here are a couple of excerpts to give you an idea
"My life went on alongside the life of the Quichuas. I do not say with theirs for the two remained separate. All my efforts to make myself one with them ended at the brink of the great abyss--I was not an Indian." 180
"Harvey had not come to learn but to document what he had already assumed; his preconceptions governed his selection of picture subjects. Propaganda, I thought, demands simplification. . Choose the pictures which show the poverty and primitiveness of the Indian, the the successes of the missionary." 208
May 20, 2009
I read this book quite some time ago and decided to read it again. Elisabeth Elliot can not only write great inspiring non-fiction but a compelling fiction (novel) story as well! It is the story of a young missionary woman, Margaret Sparhawk as she goes to minister to the Indians of Ecuador. She is challenged with how she should best minister to the people and how to go about saving their souls. It doesn't have a neat tidy ending and leaves you wondering what really did happen. Instead it challenges the reader to question the hows and whys of God's leading when He calls us to service, and inevitably to keep trusting Him when things don't go the way we picture them to.
January 2, 2011
I visited a dear friend's house today--she is studying language for the year, and then will be going to Kalimantan. She is house sitting for a homeschooling family that has an AMAZING library that I can borrow from. What a great blessing to find another cache of books--this one among them! I left my friend's company with a joy-filled heart--great friendship, good books, she gave me a neat scripture gift, and chocolate--all of my favorite things! Praise the Lord.
This book had a different view of missiology that spoke clearly of personal experience, and no flowery ending. Interesting but also quite slow. I was glad to finish it tonight.
This book had a different view of missiology that spoke clearly of personal experience, and no flowery ending. Interesting but also quite slow. I was glad to finish it tonight.
September 12, 2020
I finished it! It was slow going for a bit. I finally gave myself permission to skim to the end. But...
Here’s the thing: it blew my mind 🤯 philosophically. I lay in bed saying, “wow” when I finished it. So deep. I loved what she did.
But also it was a pretty boring book. Her dialogues seemed to run awkwardly long with unnecessary back and forth. She didn’t draw me in. The thing that kept me reading was curiosity: the character was impressed with these ridiculous caricatures of “great missionaries” and I really wondered if she would become like one of them or be set free from that ideal.
Mini spoiler: She was set free. In a crazy, powerful, Gods-ways-are-not-our-ways way.
Here’s the thing: it blew my mind 🤯 philosophically. I lay in bed saying, “wow” when I finished it. So deep. I loved what she did.
But also it was a pretty boring book. Her dialogues seemed to run awkwardly long with unnecessary back and forth. She didn’t draw me in. The thing that kept me reading was curiosity: the character was impressed with these ridiculous caricatures of “great missionaries” and I really wondered if she would become like one of them or be set free from that ideal.
Mini spoiler: She was set free. In a crazy, powerful, Gods-ways-are-not-our-ways way.
October 27, 2011
A story of a young woman that goes to Central America to minister to a tribe of Indians. She is full of excitement and anticipation of what God will do. She soons finds out our expectations are never the same of what reality is. This story is very simplestic of the Gospel and the work of the Lord. I was very drawn to the simplicity of the message. Margaret comes to realize that in her shortcomings, she accepts what she is capable of. The old cliche, she trusts God because that is all that she can do. There is no propoganda to this, it is just truth.
August 24, 2012
A friend lent this to me some time ago. Having been on the mission field with my husband for a time, I related very well. I just purchased it to read again and to have it in our library. If you enjoy descriptive writing and a deep look at the faith from the eyes of one who has suffered unbearable sorrow in this life, you will enjoy this book.
June 19, 2021
What a refreshingly real and honest novel! Elizabeth spoke words of lament accompanied by the agonizing questions of “why” — which are often brought to God when life takes a tragic turn and God doesn’t act the way we thought He should when we previously boxed Him in to fit our own mold of who He is. It is a very Job-like novel. Highly recommend!
March 7, 2016
Life, even when you are a Christian missionary, is not easily tied up with a neat little bow. There are no guaranteed happy endings. But there is hope. Elliot is honest about the mystery & difficulty of life and I found this story compelling.
March 16, 2018
An excellent book. Elisabeth Elliot's only novel. She explodes the 'cookie cutter, slide-show presentation' image of long term missions with an undoubtably more nuanced and realistic view of a young woman's journey into missions.
November 14, 2011
Good book. It really showed how a missionary's work is idealized. At the end, all the loose ends weren't really tied together
January 15, 2016
I liked this novel about a 'beginning' missionary. It posed some interesting questions about mission and evangelism.
May 2, 2020
This novel vividly and realistically portrays, like an stunning painting, the absolute freedom of God’s sovereignty and our subservient position as his creatures.
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