Book Review: Sufficient Grace

by Darnell Arnoult

I picked up Sufficient Grace on a whim, like I do most books. I wanted a CD that wasn't available in stores...and since I could get free shipping if I spent $25, of course I needed to find more things to buy. It sounded like the plot would be complex and interesting, so I added it to my shopping cart.

When I started the book, I was a little worried that the "main" character was a little too kooky for me to get attached to and that I wasn't going to like the book. But I was wrong. Chiefly, I was wrong in assuming that the central character in the book was actually the "main" character, when actually, although the story is in some way in all places attached to her, it is more about those around her and the way one situation can affect so many in various ways. Discovering this in the way that I did, a little at a time, made this message sink in even more that it would have had I connected with the central character from the first page.

In many ways, the book is about journey. It's about how things happen that we're not necessarily expecting, and that we don't necessarily want - but that these things allow us to find parts of ourselves that we'd never before recognized. It's about how our lives are completely and utterly intertwined with those around us, and even with some individuals we may not even know. It is the embodiment of the Serenity Prayer:

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
The courage to change the things I can;
And the wisdom to know the difference."

My only issue was that the book tried to take on a few too many connections, and in the end a few of them were underdeveloped. I actually felt like the material could be separated into two separate works, allowing the author to offer us as much of a tie to the B-level characters as we are granted to those with the most face-time. Maybe there is or will be a sequel...