Book Review: Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke

 

After the sudden death of her husband, Clem Claridge, Marty finds herself out West with fall approaching--alone, pregnant, and penniless. When widower Clark Davis suggests she marry him so that his daughter has a mama, she hates that she has no choice but to accept his offer. In the months that follow, Marty, Clark, and Missie learn to live together through the harsh winter, but once spring comes, Marty will have a decision to make--stay with Clark and Missie or join the wagon train headed back East. 

The first book of the Love Comes Softly series by Janette Oke, opens the morning after Clem's accident and swiftly moves to introduce Marty, Clark and Missie, Ben Graham and his wife, and Wanda Marshall to the reader. By Chapter 3, Marty and Clark are married, and the rest of the story is mostly about the Davis family. Told primarily from Marty's point of view, Clark and Ma Graham also get a turn at sharing parts of the story through their eyes. 

Since the reader spends so much time in Marty's head, it allows them to witness her evolution from someone who despises Clark and her situation to someone who truly loves him and wants to stay out West with her new family. One of the other evolutions that happens to Marty is from nonbeliever to believer. She prays to Clark's God for his safety when Clark is rescuing animals from his burning barn. She prays again when baby Clare is being rushed to the doctor. When Marty's revelation moment comes at the end of the novel, as she struggles to tell Clark that she loves him, one of the things she recalls is that he shared his God with her. 

Though when I started Love Comes Softly yesterday, I felt uncertain how enjoyable it would be, I found myself staying up late to finish it. Part of the joy was in watching how scenes that were reimagined in the movies, were originally portrayed in the book. Here are a few that appear in the book and the movie:

• Clark's proposition to Marty after her husband's funeral 
• Marty chasing chickens in the yard to make fried chicken for supper
• The Christmas day scene where they exchange gifts
• The birth of Marty's baby
• Marty playfully shoving Clark into the dirt and him chasing her, which leads to them almost kissing

The dialect continued to distract from the storyline, and the storyline for Laura Graham (who was older than she was in the movie) wasn't my favorite. However, Love Comes Softly is an engaging novel in the Christian fiction and inspirational romance genres. I look forward to reading the next book, Love's Enduring Promise. 

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bethany House Publishers; Repack edition (April 1, 2003)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0764228323
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0764228322
• Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 940L

This novel is from my personal collection. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

First Chapter Review: Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke

 

I purchased the entire Love Comes Softly series by Janette Oke online from a used bookstore. 

BLURB: Marty and Clem set out for the pioneer West full of hopes and dreams. They would stake a claim of their own on the new frontier, and build a home for themselves and their family.

But just after they'd arrived and Clem had chosen the perfect setting for their new home, an accident took his life...leaving Marty alone and pregnant. Then, on the day of his funeral, Clark Davis came along...and asked Marty to marry him!

Marty was infuriated -- but with no money, no shelter, and a baby on the way, what choice did she have? Besides, Clark said he only wanted her to be a mama to his baby girl, Missie. If Marty was still unhappy come spring, he would pay for her ticket back East.

Determined not to be a burden to Clark, and intending only to earn her keep. Marty threw herself into her new role of "Mama." But she had never been anyone's mama before, and she didn't even know how to keep a house! If only she could do right by this lonely man and his daughter just long enough to earn her train fare back home...

Now, Marty must learn wholeness and love through patience and faith.

Note: The back cover seeks to capitalize on the popularity of Little House on the Prairie, which had been airing since 1974. In block letters it says, "A COMPELLING LOVE STORY SET IN THE 'LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE' ERA."

COVER: Typical romance cover for the period in which it was first published (1979). This is not the edition I have, but both covers feature Marty in the foreground holding flowers with Clark and Missie in the background. In my edition, Missie is standing in front of Clark holding the same flowers Marty is, and Clark has reddish-brown hair. In my edition, Marty is turned sideways and looking at Clark and Missie, so the reader sees her profile. 

FIRST CHAPTER: The morning after her husband Clem has been killed in a terrible accident, Marty wakens to realize she has no idea what she is going to do all alone in the West when it's mid-October, she is pregnant, and there is no wagon train heading East until spring. That's when Clark Davis introduces himself and suggests they get married so Missie has a mama. In exchange, he will pay Marty's fare back home in the spring.

KEEP READING: Of course I will, because I want to see how they compare to the Hallmark Channel movies, but I'm not sure how much this book would have captivated me if I wasn't familiar with the storyline. The dialect is difficult to read. Nowadays, we would sporadically include words to show a character's way of speech, but the first chapter is filled with it. Readers should be aware that Marty expresses a concern for "Injuns" when Clem is sharing his excitement for coming out West. 

Oke did a fabulous job of portraying Marty's plight and all the emotions running through her head after the loss of Clem, the funeral where everyone is offering to help, and then Clark's uncomfortable and untimely proposal. 

We see the first difference between the book and movie in the opening chapter. Marty's husband Clem in the books has been rechristened Aaron in the movies. Though some of the words were rearranged in Clark's proposal to Marty in the movies, they are familiar enough that they feel similar. The author drops in a quick moment of humor when Clark corrects Marty's impression of what he means when he says "you 'an me be in need of one another."

There are two moments that disturbed me in this chapter. The first is that Clark asks Marty to take Missie with her if she decides to go back East in the spring. It is clearly done out of love and concern for his daughter, because he says it wouldn't be fair for the "little mite" not to have a mama, but having watched Dale Midkiff's portrayal of Clark, I couldn't see the character acting that way. I fear movie Clark could interfere with my impression of book Clark. The second is that Marty says she hates Clark, calling him a "cold miserable man." The text says that she "stormed against him." It's like she blames him for what happened to her. Of course, she just lost her husband, and everyone grieves differently. It will be interesting to see what my impression is at the end of the book. 

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bethany House Publishers; Repack edition (April 1, 2003)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0764228323
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0764228322
• Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 940L

I purchased this book series online. This First Chapter Review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.