The Winnowing Season

As the years have passed me by and my life has become complicated with mature, adult things such as work, bills, marriage and baby, I've grown an odd fascination for the Amish culture.  I get quite the stare when I bring up how I long to become Amish and live the simple life. True, I probably will never convert, but I will never lose my desire to live simply for God and family. Honestly, I most likely crave the willingness to be at peace with living such a life, rather than the lifestyle itself. Thus my love of Amish books was born, where I can vicariously live through the near perfect characters as they walk their way through all things Plain.

"The Winnowing Season" is the first book I've read by Cindy Woodsmall, and the second in this series. I didn't realize there was an earlier book until I started in the middle of a rather twisty tale. Had I known it was a trilogy, I would definitely have started with the first book, as this novel picks up where the previous one left off with little reflection on the story.  It was difficult for me to straighten out all of the characters, their relationship to one another, and comprehend the devastating storm which took place in the prior book which was a major driver for the second book's plot. That being said, it took me some time to become invested in the story.

Rhoda Byler and the King brothers have just purchased an old orchard in Maine and are on the brink of moving and beginning a new Amish community, when Rhoda is confronted with a meeting from her local Church regarding an incident that takes place in the first novel. The outcome will determine if she is even able to move, and is the first glimpse we see at both Rhoda's and Samuel's strong-headed personalities. As expected, she is cleared to move to Maine and thus the story continues.

The novel is told from several points of view at each chapter break and covers the journeys of Rhoda and Jacob's relationship, Leah's quest for freedom outside the Amish community, Samuel's search for love and faith, and Jacob's past, which he has been running from for years. The new community will face a variety of trials at the new orchard, such as weathering the unfamiliar Maine winter climate while trying to upgrade the property, meeting mysterious neighbors and rambunctious teenagers, and attempting to deal with the frequent absences of Jacob.  All in all, I was not particularly endeared to Rhoda, the main character. I found her to be rather unlikable for much of the book, and couldn't identify with her "short fuse" on most issues. Rhoda's attitude wasn't particularly helpful along the way.

I have to say that I appreciated Woodsmall's modern approach to the Amish. Unlike other authors, Woodsmall writes in a more current time period and addresses issues that are relevant to both Englischers and Amish alike, rather than placing her story 50 years ago when technology and values weren't challenged as much as today. I also enjoyed that her characters were not perfect, praying at every corner when something went wrong. While I would love to say that is a trademark of the Amish,  he Amish are people too and struggle with their faith like any other Christian.

If you enjoy Amish fiction like I do, I would recommend this book. However, I'd read them in order, and bet you would enjoy this one even more. I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

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