Charles Martin's book explores the multiplicity of meanings given to the word heart as both an organ of life and the seat of emotion.
When Crickets Cry is author Charles Martin’s third book. It has received critical acclaim in both Christian and non-Christian circles and is a book worth reading.
Comfortable Predictability
When Crickets Cry is not a mysterious book. The plot is rather predictable and some of the characters, such as the main character Reese Mitchell, border on stock characters. If Reese were a little more hunky and if his reclusive behavior a little darker and more brooding; he could easily be the love interest in a Harlequin Romance. However, predictability can be enjoyable and this is a novel to be enjoyed.
Useful Predictability
Because the novel is predictable, the reader can relax and take pleasure in the delightful qualities of the novel. Martin’s writing style is fluent and is its own excuse for reading the novel. His technique is good enough that the quantity of quotes by great authors that he weaves in and out of the story don’t diminish his own writing to the point of worthlessness. Yet he doesn’t use the quotes to build up his writing so much as he uses his writing to highlight the value of the quotes. He makes the reader want to go out and reread some Shakespeare or familiarize themselves with Helen Keller.
The predictability also underscores what this novel is not. The subtitle for the book is “A Novel of the Heart.” However, one should not assume that this is a traditional romantic love story. There is a romantic sub-plot but it isn’t the main story. The main story is the creation of a well-rounded view of the heart as both an organ and as the seat of emotion.
Martin deftly weaves the heart’s purpose as the life-giving force in the body with its metaphorical purpose as the home of our soul. In doing so, he reveals the beauty of the human heart in a much deeper way than either romantics or scientists can. He reveals how the scientific purpose of the heart (as understood by the scientific-minded surgeon Reese) reflects the spiritual value of the heart (as portrayed by the soulful Emma) and vice versa. If the book is read with an open heart, the complexity of the heart becomes the central and awe-inspiring focus of the book.
A Quick Read
The nearly 340 pages of this book pass quickly. Martin’s beautiful even lyrical prose combines with an enjoyable story to pull you through the book, making it hard to put down. While it is predictable, you would have to have a stout heart not to cry (even though you are certain about what will happen), thus making it necessary to have a box of tissue nearby when reading the second half of the book.
This is definitely a book to read when you want an easy read with both emotional and intellectual depth. You can extract as little or as much out of it as you want and still enjoy it with minimal effort.
Martin, Charles. When Crickets Cry: A Novel of the Heart. Thomas Nelson, 2006. ISBN 978-1-59554-054-6
Discussion questions for When Crickets Cry.
