A SHUNNED MAN

by Thea J. Nilsson

One hot day, Sepp Klemens is violently expelled from Heinz Hollow, the isolated religious community where he spent his life. Alone and friendless, he is left with nothing, not even the truth of what happened to him. As he navigates between the sudden end of his old life and the prospect of a remarkable new one, he receives unexpected help. A lonely man, Sepp discovers passion in a shocking way that he never imagined, and finds the gift of love when he is on the verge of giving up hope. Now he has unfinished business and choices to make, but first he must uncover some ugly secrets still lurking back in Heinz Hollow. Those secrets may threaten the promising future that lies before him and endanger people who have no idea that evil has come to their quiet town.

Genres: Romance

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2009

Reviews

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book opens with a great hook: a beaten man is tossed on the side of the road out in the country and told he is shunned. This man is Sepp Klemens who's been accused of raping one of the wives in the isolated Heinz Hollow religious community. After Sepp is left for dead, Claire Dahle happens to drive by and rescues him. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Sepp was discovering something about the community he shouldn't know. And he did not rape the wife of the leader. In fact, she was the one who drugged and raped him. Then she blamed him of rape, which led to his removal from the community. The question, of course, is why was he set up? What was the wife and her husband trying to hide? What's really going on in this community? That's what kept me up and reading this book until late through the night to figure out.

I really did enjoy this book. Thea J. Nilsson has a compelling writing style, and she'd leave bits of information or questions to peak my interest as I was going along. Now, there were parts of this book that I didn't personally feel comfortable with, but the point of this book was to show how a man who was in a restricted religious environment his entire life will view the more lenient culture that we are familiar with. Though this is fiction, it does mirror society as it currently is so it is a realistic piece of fiction. The reality is that we deal with social issues that are highly debated, and even if we don't necessarily agree with those issues, they are important to address if Sepp is to fully understand and appreciate the differences between his old culture and his new one.

I do believe this story deserves five stars. It is well-written and highly entertaining. Thea J. Nilsson has done an excellent job of hooking me and making me care for her characters. It was wonderful to see Sepp go from feeling like an ugly and ignored man to feeling attractive and loved. Likewise, it was good to see Claire get a second chance at love because her first husband was a real loser. So, you could say this is a book about second chances and starting over. And I did like the way the book ended.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh my ... here is little ol' me with my 2 star ( was really thinking about going with one star actually ) rating on a book that has been only rated 5 stars so far ...

Maybe this was intended YA and I never got the message ? Perhaps I am the only one aware of all the serious subject matters going on with-in the one single story that could have been so deep , but seems just skimmed over ? Was I not in the market for a fluff read ?

That's what I see here ...YA writing style about shunning , rape , Memmonite lifestyle , love and new found sexual freedom ? This just did not work for me at all ...Sorry Thea !

[Lhenry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting romance with a hero, Sepp, who has been sheltered from the modern world by his upbringing in a religious community along the lines of the Mennonites. He finds himself shunned by the community and tossed, naked and beaten into the outside world and the rest of the story tells several tales - his becoming used to modern life, his love story with the woman who rescues him, Claire, and the both of them unraveling the events that led to his shunning. It's a slow moving, gentle storym but still engrossing

[Jo Notary]

224pgs, is violently expelled from Heinz Hollow, the isolated religious community where he spent his life. Alone and friendless, he is left with nothing, not even the truth of what happened to him. As he navigates between the sudden end of his old life and the prospect of a remarkable new one, he receives unexpected help.