Linda Nichols Reviews

Added November 12, 2004

At the Scent of Water

Author: Linda Nichols
Publisher: Bethany House
Available At: Bookstores Everywhere
Publishing Date: October 2004
Genre: Fiction: Christian
Format: Trade Paperback
Price: $12.99
ISBN: 0-7642-2729-7
Reviewer: Phillip Tomasso III

At the Scent of Water is powerful fiction. Linda Nichols uses the passage of time as a backdrop for her latest novel. Its theme is filled with the age-old question everyone asks at some point in life: How could You let this happen to us?

Sam is more than your average husband and father. He is also a prominent surgeon. But everything changed after one earth-shattering phone-call. His orderly and perfect world crumbled around him. Depending on his own strength, and his own ability to make things work only made things worse.

Prior to starting an operation on a young girl, Sam receives the tragic news that his daughter has died in an accident. This sends the doctor into immediate mental shock. Rather than deal with the situation, though, he puts up a front, doing his best to convince everyone that he is strong, and in control. The obvious blow he'd received during the phone call becomes apparent when things go wrong during the surgery and his patient is left in a vegetative state, trapped in a lifeless coma . . .

These few hours destroy Sam's life, costing him his family, he and his wife separate. She pursues a career as a journalist, and though the two rarely stop thinking about each other, it seems like the possibility of them ever getting together again is highly unlikely.

The young girl who is in a coma is running out of time. A lawsuit ensues between the family and the hospital, forcing Sam to step away from his practice. The news attracts headlines all over the country, bringing Sam and his wife together again.

The love the couple once shared is still there, but the pain, hurt and loss they experienced together may be overwhelming. At the center of it all is that question: How could You, God, let this happen to us? Broken hearts might mend, but can shattered hearts be seamlessly pieced back together again?

Nichols does a great job keeping the writing simple. This gives the narrative more weight and impact. She doesn't force emotion from the reader with overdone flowery prose. (There is some flowery prose-but only at points of the story where flowery prose would be acceptable). Though at times this story of faith, hope, love and forgiveness seems pat and coincidental, Nichols keeps it real and on course. Anyone who has children will be able to appreciate the story, as well as anyone who loves a solid contemporary novel. However, anyone struggling with faith in God-or who is angry with God-may find this modern day story of the Biblical Job, an insightful, caring and heartfelt look at Christianity.

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