Christian Author Robert H. Kono
Westward Lies the Sun (A Novel) by Robert H. Kono is an epic novel blending historical fiction of the Japanese internment camps during WWII with the grandeur of love, romance, legacy, Samurai and Japanese heritage with the question of God and the reality of the spiritual realm.
The novel unfolds revealing Greg, his life and past, as the author captures each time period of his life well. Greg’s conversations with his friends and his own self-doubt being a Japanese American experiencing his own subculture being Japanese, which has caused Greg to question his own self-worth stemming from teenage years.
Feeling culturally divided coupled with the trauma he had to endure throughout his growing up years, he feels displaced culturally. “He felt as though he were a pioneer or explorer, out to hack his way through the wilderness of the identity question.” (p. 11) This is just an example of the writer’s way of conveying this mental tug-of-war within the main character, Greg.
From a Christian perspective, the novel speaks on Greg’s personal reflections upon God, His existence and why bad things happen upon the Earth without cramming the Christian religion down one’s throat. This is much appreciated as the author gives enough information and Scripture to just make readers “think for themselves.”
Greg, as a staunch humanist, spends time with his four friends at their poker games that reveal much conversation about God. The book reveals a dark past for Greg and his family, being of Japanese descent during WWII and the horror of the camps. Their only crime, being Japanese, Greg reveals the loss of a family heirloom, in which he goes searching for. The epic continues as Greg and his family survive a shipwreck on an island, which ends up giving them life amid their tragedy. This book is a movie in the making with a dreamy, mysterious, and memorable title!
With a beautiful ending, surprises and twists along the way, the book keeps the attention of readers. I was hooked from chapter one. The beautiful descriptions of the lake and the cultural tensions that the Japanese experienced during the time of WWII provide an interesting backdrop. The author gives readers a true appreciation for family, love, patriotism, combined with dark overtones of racism prevalent during the WWII era, while also sharing Christianity in such a way that makes sense, giving equity a voice.
An absolutely fascinating novel with an epic title made for the big screen!
Westward Lies the Sun ( A Novel)
By: Robert H. Kono
A CBM Christian Book Review
10.0 out of 10.0 stars
You may get your copy of Westward Lies the Sun at Amazon and in Kindle as a download.
Author Christopher D. Stanley
Christopher D. Stanley, a New
Testament scholar who specializes in the social and religious history of early
Christianity, brings the world of Paul and the early church to life in his new
historical fiction trilogy, “A Slave’s Story.” Read on to see how
you can win a free Kindle copy of the first book in the series!
The first two books, A Rooster for Asklepios and A
Bull for Pluto, follow the lives of two men at opposite ends of the social
structure, a slave and an aristocrat, as they journey across first-century Asia
Minor (modern Turkey) in a desperate quest for healing. The third
book (not yet written) will take the main characters to Israel in the years
leading up to the Jewish revolt against the Romans in 66-73
AD.
Religion—Greek, Roman, Jewish, and Christian—plays a vital role
in the series as Stanley paints a realistic and historically accurate picture
of the competition that the apostle Paul faced as he sought to spread the
message about Jesus in a pagan culture. Along the way, he helps
readers to see how odd Christianity appeared in a world where the worship of
many gods was woven into every facet of life and the idea of a Jewish Messiah
bringing salvation from sin and judgment was a foreign
concept. Through this carefully crafted and engaging story, readers
will gain a solid understanding of why some people accepted and the majority
rejected what to them was an odd new religious cult.
Countless other aspects of life in the Roman world are vividly
illustrated in this fascinating and well-researched series that is receiving
five-star reviews on Amazon from both scholars and ordinary
readers. The reviews, which include more information about the
contents of the books and their relevance for early Christianity, can be viewed
A Rooster for Asklepios: A Slave's Story,
Book 1 and at A
Bull For Pluto: A Slave's Story, Book 2.
Sound interesting? Be one of 100 lucky people who get
to read it for free! The author is giving away 100 free copies of
the Kindle version of A Rooster for Asklepios during the
month of October through a Goodreads Giveaway. But you’ll have to
act quickly since the contest ends on October 31.
To enter the Giveaway, go to Book Giveaway For A Rooster for Asklepios: A Slave's Story, Book 1. You
must have an Amazon account (to receive the free copy) and a Goodreads account
to enter. It's easy to sign up for a free Goodreads account.
To learn more about the series, visit the author’s website, A Slave's Story, where you can read plot summaries,
an author bio, comments from other scholars, and a vast amount of historical
material relating to the world in which the stories take place. An audio
version of the first book is also available on Audible, though it's not part of this
Giveaway. The Audible version of the second book should be ready in
time for Christmas.
For more information about the author and his books, visit Author Christopher D. Stanley
at Amazon.
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