The Last Sin Eater - Francine Rivers

"The first time I saw the sin eater was the night Granny Forbes was carried to her grave. I was very young, and Granny my dearest companion, and I was very troubled in my mind."

Thus begins what I believe to be the pinnacle work of Francine Rivers's career, at least thus far. Rivers has never shied away from the controversial - she's written about rape, abortion and child prostitution, to name a few, but it is this foray into a little-known, less-discussed aspect of European-American church history that's created what might be the most memorable novel I've ever read.

Cadi Forbes, a ten-year-old girl living in an isolated Appalachian valley in the mid-1800's, is racked with guilt over her role in her younger sister's tragic death. Desperate to find some sort of redeption, and theoretically earn back her mother's love, she seeks out the most loathed, isolated member of her community - the sin eater. A custom carried over from Scotland and Wales, the sin eater takes upon himself the sins of the newly-dead so that they might enter heaven. As Cadi and her friend Fagan search for this man so that Cadi might have her sins taken now, they instead come across a Man of God, a man from other parts, who has come to the valley to preach the gospel to their little community. Hated and feared by Brogan Kai, the de facto leader of the area, the Man of God manages to teach the Truth of the Gospel to the two children, who must summon the courage to take his words into the valley and tell their families that it is the Savior, not the scapegoat, who is the way of their salvation. They must also tell the sin eater himself, whose only comfort over two decades of isolation has been that he believed his sacrifice has benefitted his community.

The Gospel is presented beautifully and clearly in this text, written in such a refreshion, passionate fashion that it felt as though I was reading it for the first time. Rivers writes a story here, not a sermon, and the vivid point of view, that of a ten-year-old child, never wavers in the least. Cadi's youthful mind filters the world around her in a truly remarkable fashion, bringing a wisdom beyond her years to the cataclysmic events at hand. Though I wept, shook, even prayed at moments, I closed this book with a smile on my face. I do every time.

I cannot recommend this highly enough. It's on my deserted-island list - along with the Bible, the Complete Works of Shakespeare, and A Practical Guide to Shipbuilding.