Review: Hope of Home by Samuel Cronin

Hope of Home

by Samuel Cronin

It's finally Christmas Eve. The entire Straw family has gathered to celebrate the best day of the year. But there's a problem. Grandpa Straw, a wounded veteran of World War II, on the brink of retirement, and facing cancer, has lost the spirit of their tradition. When the family goes caroling, he stays home alone. And perhaps he wants it this way, where he does not have to face the season with all its promise of good tidings and joy. But when his family does not come back, events transpire that encourage him to confront his bruised past and embrace his family, becoming the warm grandpa everyone longs to love. A story within a story, Hope of Home is a novel that Grandpa Straw has penned and gifted to his estranged grandson Marcus, written in the hope of helping him reunite with his family and bring him home. 

My Take:

Marcus Straw has been estranged from his family, living as far across the United States as he can get from his strict and distant grandfather Douglas Straw, and his eccentric family. But shortly before Christmas Eve he receives an unexpected present from Grandpa Straw, a book, and an invitation to please return one final time to his home to face his past and the unreconciled pain residing there.

As Marcus takes a long train ride across the country, he reads the story his grandpa Douglas Straw has written about a family Christmas gone terribly wrong. Dealing with an aggressive form of cancer and a short and certain lifespan, Grandpa Douglas alienates his entire family and they leave him to go out and look at Christmas lights, just as an EF3 tornado rips through the valley, destroying everything, and taking away Douglas' entire family in a moment.

As Douglas deals with the unbelievable grief and confusion, his friends help him unwrap the Christmas gifts left by his missing family, and rediscover the burdens and triumphs of the past. But as he tries to make peace with his loss and his estranged family, can Douglas make peace with the Maker that took them away?

Content:

Drug Content:

PG-13 - Alcoholism and alcohol-induced violence play a pivotal role in this poignant novel.

Violence:

PG-13 - The aftermath of the tornado, and the carnage it leaves behind, is rather graphic. Many people plead for help and die while waiting for assistance.

Language:

G - None.

Adult Content:

G - Squeaky clean.

Christian content:

The importance of family, the despair of catastrophic loss, reconciliation, redemption, and salvation are broad brush themes that permeate this dramatic tale of loss. Scripture is used in several places by the characters to encourage or admonish.

Final analysis:

The main character in this story within a story begins as a completely unlikable, unredeemable crotchety old rich man who never had time for his doting family or his patient and caring wife. As the story progresses, he grows less and less likable, until his despair and impotent rage reaches a critical mass. But his story is three dimensional and gripping, and his raw emotion and struggle is very real. The characters in this tale are real and the drama gripping, the character arc encouraging, and the conclusion satisfying. Five Stars!

About the Author:

Samuel Cronin was born in Burns, Oregon, and grew up in John Day, 70 miles north. He attended Corban University before transferring to Oregon State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in English. He later attended Eastern Oregon University to obtain his Master in Education. In 1999 he sailed as a deckhand aboard Schooner Roseway, whose port of call was Camden, Maine. This experience laid the groundwork for his novel "How Well the Sailors Run". Growing up in Grant County, where gold was discovered on June 8, 1862, captured his interest in prospecting lore and romanticized his view of gold mining. These experiences helped shape his historical novel "Warm Gold". Golfing with his father and brothers helped fuel his interest in golf, forming the basis for "A Season for the Blessed." As a boy he remembers traveling to his grandparent's house at Christmas to experience a tradition on Christmas Eve that forms the groundwork for his fourth novel "Hope of Home." He lives in Idaho with his wife and son.