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.