What’s it like when the man you married is already married to God? asks Pastors’ Wives, an often surprising yet always emotionally true first novel set in a world most of us know only from the outside.
Lisa Takeuchi Cullen’s debut novelPastors’ Wives follows three women whose lives converge and intertwine at a Southern evangelical mega church. Ruthie follows her Wall Street husband from New York to Magnolia, a fictional suburb of Atlanta, when he hears a calling to serve at a mega church called Greenleaf. Reeling from the death of her mother, Ruthie suffers a crisis of faith—in God, in her marriage, and in herself. Candace is Greenleaf’s “First Lady,” a force of nature who’ll stop at nothing to protect her church and her superstar husband. Ginger, married to Candace’s son, struggles to play dutiful wife and mother while burying her calamitous past. All their roads collide in one chaotic event that exposes their true selves. Inspired by Cullen’s reporting as a staff writer for Time magazine, Pastors’ Wives is a dramatic portrayal of the private lives of pastors’ wives, caught between the demands of faith, marriage, duty, and love.
Lisa Takeuchi Cullen was a longtime staff writer for TIME magazine. She now develops TV pilots for production companies and recently sold her first pilot for “The Ordained” to CBS. Born in Japan, Cullen lives in New Jersey with family.
Learn more about Lisa Takeuchi Cullen and Pastors’ Wivesat www.lisacullen.com. Readers can also friend Lisa onFacebook, become a fan on Lisa’s Facebook author page (LisaTakeuchiCullen), or follow her on Twitter ( @LisaCullen).
Pastors’ Wives: A Novel by Lisa Takeuchi Cullen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book was not at all what I thought it would be. I was very disappointed that a Christian book tour company would even offer this book. Had I known that there was profanity (and some rather hardcore)and some rather “unChristian” situations, I am pretty sure I would not have read it. I honestly wanted to quit reading after I completed the first few pages.
The sad thing for me is that the book itself was well-written. And I agree with the premise–pastor’s wives are not perfect by a longshot! The book is very real, and sadly even rings true in the evengelical Christian community. If this was not being toured by a Christian company, I probably would have scored it higher. I feel that this book should have ocme with a warning, but since it did not, I feel it is somewhat false advertising.
The worst part of the book for me is the end. I don’t want to put any spoilers here. but I have to say that the book ended in a way that a book like this should not end. I don’t care how realistic it is when Christian truth is not presented thorughout the book.
So why the three stars? The writing style and story were fantastic. But I had to mark it downn for what I stated above.
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated, and all opinios are 100 percent mine.
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