When Mockingbirds Sing
-
- ¥500
発行者による作品情報
What marks the boundary between a miracle from God and the imagination of a child?
Leah is a child from Away, isolated from her peers because of her stutter. But then she begins painting scenes that are epic in scope, brilliant in detail, and suffused with rich, prophetic imagery. When the event foreshadowed in the first painting dramatically comes true, the town of Mattingly takes notice.
Leah attributes her ability to foretell the future to an invisible friend she calls the Rainbow Man. Some of the townsfolk are enchanted with her. Others fear her. But there is one thing they all agree onùthere is no such thing as the Rainbow Man.
Her father, the town psychologist, is falling apart over his inability to heal his daughter . . . or fix his marriage. And the town minister is unraveled by the notion that a mere child with no formal training may be hearing from God more clearly than he does.
While the town bickers over what to do with this strange child, the content of Leah's paintings grows darker. Still, Leah insists that the Rainbow Man's heart is pure. But then a dramatic and tragic turn of events leaves the town reeling and places everyone's lives in danger. Now the people of Mattingly face a single choice:
Will they cling to what they know . . . or embrace the things Leah believes in that cannot be seen?
Billy Coffey is a minstrel who writes with intense depth of feeling and vibrant rich description. Robert Whitlow, best-selling author of The Choice
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Tom and Ellen Norcross move to the fictional town of Mattingly, Va., for a fresh start after a slip of the tongue threatens their marriage and Tom's psychology practice. A stutter ostracizes their only daughter, Leah, until Allie Granderson befriends her, a relationship that tests Allie as much as it grounds Leah. From a grandiose birthday celebration and budding friendships to death and despair, Coffey (Snow Day) stuffs a lot of life into a seven day time span. A range of complex, highly relatable characters is embedded in the story. These people are rooted in community, love their children well, and are satisfied with their views of who God is and, perhaps more importantly, who God is not. When Leah's imaginary friend, the Rainbow Man, gives her information that seemingly only God could know, it shakes folks up to the point that even Deacon Spicer wants to see the family run out of town. Whether Leah's prophecies are of the devil or the divine is a question asked but not fully answered until the very end. This intriguing read challenges mainstream religious ideas of how God might be revealed to both the devout and the doubtful.
