Grace in Thine Eyes

Grace in Thine Eyes, by Liz Curtis Higgs

This book is connected to the series that ended with Whence Came a Prince. It is not necessary to read the first three books in order to read this 4th one. In the author's words, the series is a trilogy followed by a sequel dealing with the next generation of the family, and a knowledge of the events of the first three books is not necessary.

In my opinion, a prior knowledge of the Bible is not recommended. In the first three books, knowing the story of Jacob, Esau, Rachel, and Leah kept me wondering how the author would get around one obstacle or another in translating the books from ancient Hebrew culture into 1790s Scotland. This fourth book, very closely follows the life of Jacob's daughter Dinah. The situation surrounding her life can happen in any time period, so knowing what happens will slightly ruin the surprise, and also will keep you from becoming too attached to some characters.

Interesting to note is that Dinah is not recorded in the Bible with any written words. The author reflected this by making Davina (the character of Dinah) mute, due to laryngeal trauma as a child. I have read a handful of books in which the main character is mute (one by enchantment, two about animals- Vulpes and White Fang, and one by a traumatized psychology). This is the only one I have seen that utilizes music so expressively, to compensate for the lack of a voice. Davina is also a fiddler, so I connected with her very readily because of my friendship with A_____.

This book is an intriguing tale of love, betrayal, shame, forgiveness, deadly revenge, gossip, strength, and wonderful Scottish music. That sounds really cliched, but if you think about it, thats what people like to read. Except the music part. Somehow, even though the notes aren't there on the page, I felt that I could hear the music in the background through the whole book. Davina's voice became synonymous with violin music, so that even though the words were there on the page, it was the music I was hearing in my head as I read.

This book is great for musicians, anyone who likes a love story or Scotland, anyone who has been hurt by a man or gossip and wonders where they can find the strength to make it through the disgrace, and anyone who seeks to have a better understanding of the Biblical story of Dinah.