A review by erinbrenner
The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint

2.0

It's been a while since I'd read a de Lint book. He used to be one of my favorite authors, but it had gotten to a point where I'd read everything and I had to wait for something new. I guess I left it too long because now there seems to be a lot out there. This is definitely one of his weaker books.

The biggest problem is that de Lint just doesn't do a good job addressing Grace's issues with the Catholic faith and yet that's what the book ends up being about. Two-thirds of the book is devoted to something else entirely and then the last third only dances around the topic. A major character is developed and then dropped, off stage, and his whole story line, which was half the book up until that point, just disappears. Minor characters are given such life but have their stories quickly wrapped up. Even Grace's story is wrapped up quickly, with a whiff of deus ex machina hanging about. I love de Lint's work and I wanted The Mystery of Grace to explore Catholicism better than it did. I enjoyed reading it, but I was disappointed with the book.
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