Rooms

Suppose for a moment that a long-lost relative left you a very special house, a veritable mansion that overlooks a pristine beach on the Pacific Ocean? How would you react?

But wait, that's not all. When you arrive at said house, you discover some rather unique features. Yes, it's luxurious beyond anything you've ever seen, but the design seems perfect for you and only you, a pretty impressive feat given the fact that you've never met your long-lost relative face-to-face. But even stranger, rooms mysteriously appear out of nowhere from time to time, rooms that seem related to your painful past. It seems as if someone is trying to bring about some major changes to your life through the rooms of your new mansion. Who knows who or what you'll be when things are done?

That's what happens to Micah Taylor in James L. Rubart's book, Rooms. Micah is a software executive with more money than he could ever need. He thinks it's great when his great uncle Archie leaves him said mansion in Cannon Beach, Oregon, a beautiful stretch of shore that contains far too many painful memories for Micah.

This was a pretty interesting book. It's hard not to compare it to another piece of Christian fiction written about a house recently (a comparison that I've seen made more than once). In some ways, this book seems more theological treatise than story, an extended parable about the healing and freedom that comes from following Christ. That's not necessarily a bad thing per se. The story, as such, wasn't too bad and Rubart told it well. His thoughts on Christianity seem a bit more mainstream than the other book I mentioned and will probably be more widely accepted by the evangelical set.

My one complaint is that the climax was sort of telegraphed about halfway through. I caught something that Micah didn't and it was pretty obvious, which made me a little frustrated; I kept wanting to take Micah by the shoulders and shake him like an Etch-A-Sketch.

So I guess, all in all, that this is a pretty good book. Don't go into it expecting a ton of drama or action. But it will definitely get you thinking and that's always a good thing.