Rising From The Ashes
Veiled In Smoke by Jocelyn Green is a powerful Christian historical novel that totally consumed me. It is the first book in The Windy City Saga which promises to be fabulous.
Whilst this is a fictional tale, it is grounded in fact as it is based on the devastating Chicago fire of 1871 which destroyed much of the city, leaving many homeless. Locations and some actual people are real (as we find out in the author’s notes at the back of the book.)
Fire destroys but fire also cleanses and renews. The reader is reminded that Jesus walked beside Daniel and his friends in the firey furnace, and Jesus walks beside us. “She must trust Him for what she could not see.” We cannot always feel or see Jesus but He is beside us. “Had to believe God remained in control even when His children were not.” God sees the end from the beginning. We can trust His leading.
Within the novel the two sisters own a bookstore and are passionate about books. They quote from popular novels of the day, including the Bronte sisters, Louisa May Alcott, Shakespeare and more. The reader can see parallels between one lead character and the fictional Mr Rochester in Jane Eyre. Fire destroys and both have to re-learn how to do things differently.
Within the novel a character has to learn to look at things from a different perspective as the subjects of her paintings change from portraits to landscapes after the fire. “The rich and the poor connect… You are compassion, he is resilience. Both of you are Chicago.” At the heart of Chicago are the people and not the buildings. Buildings can be re-built.
Everyone faces storms. I loved the quote included by the fictional Amy March, “I’m not afraid of storms for I’m learning how to sail my ship.” As we navigate choppy waters, we need to focus on Jesus. “The One who made the sea is in my boat with me.” Jesus will never leave us. “Avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward.” We need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. He will navigate the seas of life with us.
Prayer is important. When we are in the storms of life, it is sometimes hard to praise God but “We will thank God as soon as we can.” Whatever happens “Christ was still on the throne.”
Life deals us blows and we receive scars – literally or figuratively. The story is set only six years after the end of the American Civil War. A character returned home a changed man. “It was a lie… that the end of the war meant the end of suffering … waiting for her father’s return… Emaciated, covered with scabs … the eyes… looked haunted and hunted.” “Our father just never returned home.” The man who returned had left his mind on the battlefield and in the notorious prison camps. Today we would diagnose PTSD but then it was unheard of and sufferers were locked away, sometimes forever, in insane asylums. We see the love and determination of the two daughters to bring their father home and to nurse him back to health. “He’s marked by his scars.”
We are “people designed for connection and companionship.” We need others and we need God. Sometimes in life, we cannot help our loved ones but God can. “Wherever he was, she prayed God would protect him.” We need to hand our loved ones to God in prayer. “She was limited but God was not.”
There is much love within the novel between people, for God, and God’s love for us. True love may not always run smoothly but God is faithful and He will never let us down.
All the characters were well drawn and believable. They were an eclectic mix who overcame various situations. We see that out of the ashes, new lives will arise and God is the glue that holds it all together.
Veiled In Smoke was a powerful tale of a resilient city and characters who arose from the ashes. I can highly recommend it.
I received a free copy from the publishers. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
JULIA WILSON