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Every Good and Perfect Gift (a book review)

© Shaun Michael Jex

Every Good and Perfect Gift by Brenda Jernigan Harmony Press, 275 Pages ISBN 0-609-60790

Imagine a mellower, sweeter version of Flannery O'Conner and you begin to get an inkling of what the book, "Every Good and Perfect Gift" by first time novelist Brenda Jernigan is like. The novel is set in a small rural town in the south in the 1960's, and follows the life of a young girl who, at the age of ten has a vision of god and gains the ability to heal. The vision of god is no ordinary visage, because god in her vision is a woman, and when the ability the word slowly seeps out that she sees god as a woman, the town slowly fills with suspicion, animosity, the media circus, and miracle seekers who have learned that she can heel. She flees from the public spotlight, seeking to return to her private life as she grows up, until her mother falls in and the young protagonist looses the ability to heal, testing her faith to the limits.

On the whole, the book accomplishes well what it sets out to do, which is to illustrate the value of personal spirituality and faith, while questioning the established religions, discrimination, and the nature of love and faith. Ms. Jernigan's ability to capture the innocence of her protagonist is truly one of the book's strong points, and her ability to display the local color of the south remains remarkable through out the entire book.

The ethical, theological, and individual concerns that she confronts (such as those of faith, race relations, love, religious discrimination, and perseverance) are questions that need asking, but are by no means extremely radical in this day and age. She confronts them with care and with an obvious love for the book that she is writing.

If there is any criticism of the book that needs to be stated, it is that the love story involved as a subplot does not exactly come off, and at times the dialogue between the protagonist and her lover is a bit contrived and too Hollywood for its own good. While the confrontation of the love between the two is essential to the stories confrontation of faith, it does not always come across as a legitimate relationship between people, and it is obvious to the reader that they are reading characters, and not observing people's lives. However, barring this the book on the whole is rather enjoyable to read.