JUMPING IN SUNSET

Readers of evangelical Christian fiction should welcome this novel for its acknowledgment that sometimes marriages between two believers fail, and resolution isn't possible. Pamela Thornton and her husband, Paul, are everyone's ideal Christian couple: successful, outwardly moral and almost finished raising their only child, Angie. Then Paul drops a bombshell—he's leaving Pamela to marry Dana, a woman he volunteers with at church. Paul wallows in self-justification as he convinces himself he was naïve and hurried when he met Pamela and has finally found the one woman he was meant to love. As Paul sees it, "Wasn't the smoothness of this transition out of his marriage a sign... that God smiled upon his and Dana's love?" Pamela's story is believable and poignant, as Ringling chronicles her depression, denial, anger and pain. Readers will cheer as Pamela finds hard-won independence and self-esteem through her photography and recognizes the value of her northern Minnesota roots. Although Angie's narratives are a necessary component of the novel, they are unfortunately told through CBA fiction's well-worn device of italicized journal entries, which lessen their impact. There are a few other missteps—Pamela finds support in her best friend, Starla, who speaks in an unconvincing vernacular ("Ya have no work"), and there is an unnecessary subplot involving Paul's childhood. However, the characters are multifaceted, and their emotions, even when disturbing, are believable. This novel deserves a place in CBA bookstores for its genuine portrayal of imperfect Christian people. (Nov.)