I suppose there are other authors out there who can work the entire Gospel seamlessly into a book without employing allegory or constricting either the characters or the plot, but I have yet to encounter an author who does it as openly and graciously as Patricia St. John.
Treasures of the Snow is set in a village in the Swiss Alps, and follows the lives of two children after a tragedy divides their families. While one child seeks forgiveness, the other gives in to bitterness; both are blessed by a wise old grandmother who knows exactly what each child needs.
St. John’s presentation of the Gospel within the story is a lovely thing—not subtle, but subtlety isn’t her goal—as she presents us with believable characters and uses the events of the story to draw the characters’ inward battles to the surface of the narrative, so we readers get to watch the characters transform, from the inside out, through the course of the book. Fortunately, that interior action is not muddled or abstract, but often uncomfortably clear.
I understand that St. John has other novels available, though I’ve yet to read them. After reading Treasures of the Snow, though, her works have jumped to the top of my Bookstore Browsing List. Have you read any of her other books? If so, which one should I read next?
Treasures of the Snow
Patricia St. John (1950)
