Title: Safely HomeGenre: Christian Fiction
Year Published: 2001
Synopsis: Is this the day I die?
Li Quan's father had taught him from childhood to ask this question every day. He told young Quan, "one day the answer will be yes, and on that day you must be ready."
Quan stiffened at the shout behind him. The voice rang with the authority of the Gong An Ju, the Public Security Bureau. "You meet in the night like the criminals you are. How dare you defy the law? In three minutes," Scarbrow said matter-of-factly, "we will shoot every man and woman—and child—who does not declare himself loyal to the people rather than the gweilos, foreign devils."
Quan, Ming and Shen clasped each other's hands. Quan breathed deeply and braced himself. "Surely this is the day."
American business executive Ben Fielding has no idea what his brilliant old college roommate is facing in China. After 20 years he expects to pick up where they left off. But when they're reunited in China, the men are shocked at what they discover about each other. The paths they've walked have shaped their lives and loyalties in radically different ways.
Thrown together in an hour of encroaching darkness, watched by unseen eyes, both must make choices that will determine not only the destinies of two men, but two families, two nations...and two worlds.
Chosen by: Lindsay
Reason this book was chosen: I was indecisive while choosing a book for the book club, and looked online for something interesting and outside of my normal genre. I have read one other book by Randy Alcorn, which I enjoyed, so I decided to pick this book based on the rave reviews it received.
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Lindsay's Review:
This story is about two college roommates from very different backgrounds who are reunited 20 years later. One, a successful businessman, has fallen away from God due to personal hurts and disillusionment. The other, an assistant locksmith who had dreamed of being a university professor, has flourished in his faith in God. As the story unfolds, we come to understand how the two men have arrived at their current state of being. Through a series of events, one of them faces the ultimate test of faith; while reading it I was reminded to thank God for the religious freedom I experience everyday. I also enjoyed the glimpses of Heaven and the depiction of the angelic beings that watch over mankind. The author also inserts a great deal of Scripture, which is always a source of encouragement and inspiration.
That said, I thought the development of the characters could have been better; also, a lot of the story was driven by dialogue instead of action, and this tended to be distracting to the overall plot. Many of the scenes were predictable and I did not get a sense of raw emotion from the main individuals; most of their reactions were tightly scripted and I could not picture them as vividly as I would have liked.
In conclusion, this novel is thought provoking and has a great message, but in my opinion it is fairly average and leaves something to be desired in the overall writing style.
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Jaimie's Review:
Safely Home is the first Randy Alcorn novel I have read, so when I began reading it, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I had mixed feelings when I finished, so here is the good and the bad.
What I did like about it? Although fiction, the story brings attention to a worthy subject: the persecution of Christians in China (and around the world). What jumped out at me most in this book was that the author had seriously done his homework. Apparently, there is still a great debate around whether there is actual religious freedom in China, and what American companies may or may not be entangling themselves in when doing business in that country. The author answers every question in this debate through the stories of his fictional characters. If anyone wanted to do some research and follow the trail of evidence laid down in the book, I’m sure they would be convinced of the fact that there is still religious persecution in our 21st century, modern, civilized, "enlightened" world, and that this persecution has serious ramifications. So, I did appreciate the subject matter and the excellent research by the author.
With that said, what I didn’t like about the book was that…it was fiction. It seemed as though the author did not put much creativity into the plot or the characters, but simply (and very obviously at times) used them as a vehicle through which to make his point. I would have much rather read a non-fiction, call-to-action kind of book than wade through a predictable plot and bland characters to get all the well researched information.
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Safely Home is the first Randy Alcorn novel I have read, so when I began reading it, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I had mixed feelings when I finished, so here is the good and the bad.
What I did like about it? Although fiction, the story brings attention to a worthy subject: the persecution of Christians in China (and around the world). What jumped out at me most in this book was that the author had seriously done his homework. Apparently, there is still a great debate around whether there is actual religious freedom in China, and what American companies may or may not be entangling themselves in when doing business in that country. The author answers every question in this debate through the stories of his fictional characters. If anyone wanted to do some research and follow the trail of evidence laid down in the book, I’m sure they would be convinced of the fact that there is still religious persecution in our 21st century, modern, civilized, "enlightened" world, and that this persecution has serious ramifications. So, I did appreciate the subject matter and the excellent research by the author.
With that said, what I didn’t like about the book was that…it was fiction. It seemed as though the author did not put much creativity into the plot or the characters, but simply (and very obviously at times) used them as a vehicle through which to make his point. I would have much rather read a non-fiction, call-to-action kind of book than wade through a predictable plot and bland characters to get all the well researched information.
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Kristin's Review:
I enjoyed how Randy Alcorn begins Safely Home by jumping back and forth between two former college roommates's situations--a striking contrast between a Christian man in China (Li Quan) and an American business executive in the US (Ben Fielding). When they cross paths 20 years later, it is apparent they have traveled down very different roads. The change in Ben's life in the few short months he's with his friend Quan is amazing. It's a great example of how God calls us His own, pursues us, and redeems us.
At first I thought the incorporation of Quan's former family in heaven as out-of-place, but those "interjections" in the storyline seemed to fit as the book progressed, and finally made sense at the end. I never really thought about this much before, but there are saints who have gone before us that are watching us! This verse was shared with me two times this week, and reminded me of Safely Home. Hebrews 12:1: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." What a challenge for me to "run my race" differently, setting my eyes on Jesus and long-term endurance rather than those short sprints that wear me out so easily as my eyes search for meaning and purpose in the things of this world.I enjoyed how Randy Alcorn begins Safely Home by jumping back and forth between two former college roommates's situations--a striking contrast between a Christian man in China (Li Quan) and an American business executive in the US (Ben Fielding). When they cross paths 20 years later, it is apparent they have traveled down very different roads. The change in Ben's life in the few short months he's with his friend Quan is amazing. It's a great example of how God calls us His own, pursues us, and redeems us.
The focus on the house churches and Christian persecution in China was a real eye-opener to me, but even then I thought it surely couldn't be this way now. It's a thing of the past...but is it?
Including this book, Christians in China have more readily popped up in my daily life in various ways: a news article on the radio yesterday, a speaker at my Bible study mentions Hudson Taylor, etc. Safely Home expands the bubble of what little world I know and is a great reminder for me to pray for believers in other areas of the world. It sets my mind on the eternal rather than the temporal, remembering that this world is not my ultimate destination and that one day I will safely arrive at my real home.
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting that is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 3:12-14
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Stephanie's Review:
Randy Alcorn’s plots begin in a compelling manner, but then reveal themselves to be mere platforms from which to share all his research and findings on particular controversial religious subjects. Like Crichton, Peretti, and Grisham, Alcorn can get a little “preachy” in the middle, even when I agree with his opinions. I wouldn’t compare these authors in general, only their tendency to use their books as soapboxes.
The content of Safely Home is an interesting parallel between religious persecution in China and the United States. China’s abhorrence of Christianity takes the form of government brute squads secretly arresting unregistered Christians, confiscating Bibles, and imprisoning, torturing, and murdering countless citizens whose only crime is professing Jesus Christ as Lord. Meanwhile, we “civilized” Americans, leaders of the free world, practice religious intolerance in the workforce, government, and media. We aren’t prejudiced against Buddhists, Muslims, African Americans, Women, Native Americans, or Homosexuals…only Christians. We fire them, label them, ostracize them, and hate them, all in the name of tolerance, of course.
Finally, Alcorn’s ideas about windows in heaven, birthing into the afterlife, and angelic warriors guarding the chosen, have sparked much discussion as to the nature of heaven and have aided with ousting the ridiculous images of baby cherubs sitting on clouds strumming harps in eternal boredom. I don’t know how I feel about our dead loved ones watching selected scenes from our lives while peering through windows in heaven. But I do love the idea of entering heaven with senses like a baby’s; every second in heaven is better than the last because the longer we are there the more our new eyes can see, the better our new ears can hear, etc because they are developing and being used. Like a baby emerging from the womb and slowly making sense of our world, we enter heaven and slowly realize how incredible it is.
