I find the Amish lifestyle fascinating. When we were on honeymoon on the East Coast of America and found ourselves in Philadelphia, I decided I wanted to head into Amish Country and we jumped on a train to Lancaster. Sadly, without a car, we failed to get anywhere near the real Amish homesteads but we did visit a farmers' market, quilting museum and see various black horse-drawn buggies and washing lines loaded with black trousers and dark-coloured long dresses ! I felt slightly guilty for being so curious but I couldn't help myself !
Amish Love gives us a fascinating insight into the Amish lifestyle. It's easy to think that an "old-fashioned" lifestyle must be less stressful but the Amish characters have their own problems to overcome. These are charming, heart-warming love stories that wouldn't even make your grandma blush but the life lessons (such as keeping the romance alive in a relationship) are equally valid for Amish or "Englisch" (non-Amish) readers.
I found the structure of the book very innovative and apt. We have three short stories from three different authors, but the same characters and places show up in each one. Rather like a quilting round robin, I can imagine each author finishing off her part of the larger work and passing it on to the next person to continue, reworking the same patterns and themes to create a beautifully intricate whole.
Lovers of Christian fiction will enjoy the underlying belief that everything happens for a reason because we are all a part of God's larger plan - but as this fits in with the Amish theme, non-believers won't be put off either.
It's not a nail-biting, unputdownable thriller or a sizzling "bonkbuster" but it is a lovely, gentle, feel-good read that gives you a fascinating insight into the Amish lifestyle.
star rating : 4/5
RRP : £9.99
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (12 Dec 2010)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1595548750
ISBN-13: 978-1595548757
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