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    All Things Bright and Strange
    All Things Bright and Strange
    All Things Bright and Strange
    Audiobook9 hours

    All Things Bright and Strange

    Written by James Markert

    Narrated by Gabe Wicks

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    In the wake of World War I in the small, Southern town of Bellhaven, South Carolina, the town folk believe they’ve found a little slice of heaven in a mysterious chapel in the woods. But they soon realize that evil can come in the most beautiful of forms.

    The people of Bellhaven have always looked to Ellsworth Newberry for guidance, but after losing his wife and his future as a professional pitcher, he is moments away from testing his mortality once and for all. Until he finally takes notice of the changes in his town . . . and the cardinals that have returned.

    Upon the discovery of a small chapel deep in the Bellhaven woods, healing seems to fall upon the townspeople, bringing peace after several years of mourning. But as they visit the “healing floor” more frequently, the people begin to turn on one another, and the unusually tolerant town becomes anything but.

    The cracks between the natural and supernatural begin to widen, and tensions rise. Before the town crumbles, Ellsworth must pull himself from the brink of suicide, overcome his demons, and face the truth of who he was born to be by leading the town into the woods to face the evil threatening Bellhaven.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThomas Nelson
    Release dateJan 30, 2018
    ISBN9780785219996
    Author

    James Markert

    James Markert lives with his wife and two children in Louisville, Kentucky. He has a history degree from the University of Louisville and won an IPPY Award for The Requiem Rose, which was later published as A White Wind Blew, a story of redemption in a 1929 tuberculosis sanatorium, where a faith-tested doctor uses music therapy to heal the patients. James is also a USPTA tennis pro and has coached dozens of kids who’ve gone on to play college tennis in top conferences like the Big 10, the Big East, and the ACC. Learn more at JamesMarkert.com; Facebook: James Markert; Twitter: @JamesMarkert.  

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    Reviews for All Things Bright and Strange

    3.5/5

    22 ratings5 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I'm not going to try to knock out a synopsis of this book. There's a lot, and it's both complicated and very simple; there are holes in the plot, and predictability, but also genuine creepy horror elements and interesting characterization. Note: If you're a Yankee like myself, it may help you in reading this book to know that Hoppin’ John is a dish made with black-eyed peas, smoked ham, and rice. Sounds good. Now that you know the details, you might end up very very hungry by the end of the story, because one character is famous for her Hoppin' John, and makes it a lot. There's also a lot of alcohol flowing through this book, Prohibition or no Prohibition. The characters have all had to live through WWI, after all, either on the home front or the actual front, and none of the soldiers came back unscathed. It's realistic, and well-told, the alcoholism and the fight against it, or the surrender to it. My complaint about this aspect of the book is the language used about it. "You’ve been dipping the bill in too much giggle juice"… Over and over, in deadly serious contexts, with no levity whatever, characters referred to booze as "giggle juice". I have no idea how dialectically accurate it was – but I found it irritating, especially in light of all the other little regional euphemisms that kept cropping up – "jingle-brained" was one that was perhaps over-used. When a woman's "getaway sticks" were referred to, it took me a couple of pages to figure out that that meant "legs". And the desire to go up to someone and "drygulch him in the noodle", while not as puzzling, still made me go "huh?". Even the more common language felt out of place; I don't know if the author was working to avoid curse words, but in at least one place a character was speaking angrily about something he had every reason to be angry about, but still said "darn". So, basically, the language drove me a bit crazy (and that's not even including the one character who adopted a pseudo- manner of speaking which looked like nothing I've ever seen before). But I have to say what was said was memorable. There are images from this book that will stay with me for a while – beautiful and wondrous things, like a flock of cardinals in the form of a man, and a town with all of the trees and flowers blooming at once … and terrible, unsettling things, like a deer ramming its head into a tree, over and over, and like people – and animals – walking backwards … that made the hair stand up on my arms just typing that out. But, as mentioned, there was a sort of tedious predictability to it all. I kept hoping the plot would take a turn and do something amazing – but while the climax of the story was overall satisfying, it could have been so much more. Everything felt like it was building up to something huge and heart-rending … and I was just left a bit flat. I felt like there were major missed opportunities. But I finally found out why live oaks are called that: "That’s ’cause they hold on to their leaves nearly all year like an evergreen." Hey, thanks.The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.
    • 4/5
      Review of Advance Reader’s CopyAfter losing a leg in the First World War, Ellsworth Newberry returns to his home in the quiet town of Bellhaven, South Carolina. But he still mourns the loss of his wife in a tragic fire, his wartime experiences have left him shell-shocked, and he’s seriously considering ending his life.However, the town of Bellhaven is changing, and the cardinals have returned.The discovery of a small chapel deep in the woods . . . the same woods that generations of parents have habitually warned their children not to enter . . . seems to bring a blessing to the town. Visitors to the chapel find peace and healing. Before too long, however, something more sinister occurs, and the harmonious, open-minded townspeople transform.Can Ellsworth find the courage to face his own demons and lead the townspeople in the face of the unknown? Can the people of Bellhaven come together and find a way to save the town . . . and themselves? Although told from Ellsworth’s point of view, the narrative provides sufficient backstory to weave the story together. Bellhaven is a celebration of community, harmony, understanding, and tolerance, a 1920s haven offering everyone an unconditional welcome, no exceptions, no strings attached. Peopled with well-defined characters, this entrancing tale establishes an interesting premise that builds suspense as the tension mounts. The woods take on the mantle of a character, anchoring this story with a strong sense of place. At its heart, this account is a chronicling of the eternal battle between good and evil rather than a more traditional Biblically-based Christian novel.Astute readers will easily recognize that this story turns around evil masquerading as good as it gathers the unsuspecting in its clutches. But it is the telling of the tale, spun out in captivating prose designed to pull the reader into the story, that keeps those pages turning.Recommended.
    • 4/5
      A good and charming book that starts slowly and grows on the reader. Once you get involved you have to go on reading til the end.
      More magic realism than fantasy, its characters are described in depth and really interesting.
      Recommended!
      Four stars because of the really slow beginning, it is good to build the tension but it was a bit too much
      Many thanks to Thomas Nelson and Netgalley
    • 4/5
      I was attracted to the premise of James Markert’s new novel and it turned out to be much more than I expected. In fact, it’s a novel of biblical proportions.The main character, Michael Ellsworth Newberry, has just returned home to Bellhaven from WWI, with one less leg and a load of guilt and heartache. He is still grieving the death of his wife and the loss of his lifelong friend, Calvin.Ellsworth is at a crucially low point in his life, when he sees a female cardinal that causes him to rethink the path of his life. The cardinal is a symbol of the fire of life that burns within, a symbol of joy, hope and rejuvenation. To Ellsworth, the cardinal symbolizes his late wife, Eliza.As Ellsworth slowly emerges from the depression he is in, he realizes the people of Bellhaven have begun to go into the woods. Woods that for years had been off limits. Within these woods is a chapel that is believed to have a “healing floor” and some people claim to hear the voices of their loved ones who have passed away. The chapel has a pull on the people, much the same as an addict craves his drink or drug of choice.We all know the saying, “too much of a good thing is not good for you” and “things are not always what they seem,” which holds true for the chapel. Ellsworth had his suspicions about the woods and the chapel and soon his suspicions were confirmed.Gathering a trusted group of friends and newcomers, Ellsworth and the townspeople work together to fight against an evil force that lies in the center of the chapel. I think readers with a knowledge of the Bible will catch the foreshadowing, the significance of names and possibly have a better understanding of what is to come. I thought the story was a gentle reminder that we are all connected and need to care for the living and not dwell too much on the past.Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson-FICTION for providing me with an advance read in exchange for my honest review.
    • 4/5
      Bellhaven is a small town with more religious denominations than most cities contain. But why are all the religious leaders fighting and why are Reverend Cane, Father Timothy, Rabbi Blumenthal, Reverend Beaver, Reverend Moses Yarney, Reverend Hofhamm, and Brother Bannerman all sneaking into that chapel in the woods? Who is America Ma and why are all the people in town going to that chapel in the woods on a daily basis?This is a story blending faith and the possibilities of the supernatural, inclusion and exclusion, good and bad, possible and improbable and the importance of forgiveness. There is a large cast of characters but Michael Ellsworth Newberry stands at the center. His resilience from many personal losses including the death of his parents, his wife and the amputation of a limb as a result of his part in World War I repeat throughout the book. Heavy in symbolism and strong in conviction this was a well written book. The reader would do well to set aside mundane belief and allow for creative thought and imagination. After all, who is got say what is real and probable?Thank You NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing for an ARC