ETTING OUR young people to show an interest in and concern about the Truth is not easy. In the Western world, particularly, young people can earn good wages, and there are many opportunities for them in travel, entertainment and careers. Many young people find the Truth irrelevant for their lives, and the ecclesial meetings old fashioned and stuffy. In the Western world the greater need in preaching is not combating false doctrine (though this has to be a part of our witness) but convincing our friends and young people about the relevance of the Truth in this age. It is a pleasure, therefore, to review Sister Anna Tikvah's novel, In Search of Life, because it presents the Truth in a particularly good way for our young people and friends.

Jesus recognised the need to engage people's attention, and to capture their imaginations by telling stories. Some of these can stir our emotions, too, because we can identify with the characters and remember the dialogue. Who can forget the young man who, after wasting his inheritance in riotous living, came to himself and said, "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee"? Or the father who "saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him ... [and] said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry"? Or the hurt rejoinder of the elder son, who was angry and would not go in: "Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf" (Lk. 15:18-30)? The simple story, full of human interest, can reach young and old, and teach powerful lessons about our God and His gracious purpose with erring man.

In Search of Life is about Verity Lovell, who realises at her alcoholic father's funeral that she knows little about what happens after death. She begins her search for the answers to her questions by asking the, minister who conducts the funeral, and starts to read the Bible for herself. Her family moves from the Canadian province of Saskatchewan to Ontario, a move her brother Tom resents because he loses his friends. At the high school both Tom and Verity make new friends, and Verity's maths teacher proves to be a help to her in her quest to understand the message of the Bible. Tom eventually gets into trouble, and Verity herself, after getting over the shock of her brother's waywardness and then supporting him, finds that trouble of a different kind comes her way. But Verity has the Truth, having succeeded in her search for life.

There is a lot more of human interest in the book than the brief resume in the last paragraph indicates. The reviewer enjoyed reading it and looked forward to the next episode as the story unfolded. It has forty-three short chapters of more or less equal length, with titles like "The Funeral", "Goodbye", "A New Home", "It's a Gift", "The Party". It is well written, with plenty of dialogue, and Scripture quotations are given at the bottom of the page, although some are quoted in full by the characters in the story. This is an easy-to-read book, and young people who are used to television soap operas will appreciate the style! It is very sound without being overbearing, and the author has skilfully introduced all the major teachings of the Truth in the context of a continuing human saga.

The reviewer (and his wife) think this is one of the best books written for young people and interested friends they have seen recently. It is the kind of book you could read on a train or bus going to work. It has plenty of action, dialogue and emotion. We would recommend that all ecclesias have a copy on their bookstalls, and that copies should be available at youth groups and gatherings, and also family Bible schools. The only, and minor, criticisms would be that the title is not very attractive, and that the names of two of the principal female characters may seem to some rather improbable. By UK standards, with a competitive book market, it is probably slightly overpriced.

But all in all it is a splendid attempt at engaging our young people in a contemporary way, and is warmly recommended to all the young and young in heart in the Brotherhood. The reviewer is purchasing copies for his family and friends, and is looking forward to having his copy of the sequel that Sister Tikvah is proposing to write, called A Door to Knock On.

* In Search of Life, Anna Tikvah, CSSS, price in the UK £7.90 plus postage and packaging. Available from Peter Talbot, 6 Ridge Lane, Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottingham, NG12 1BD; tel. 0115 933 3683; email talbotpj@aol.com; or other CSSS agents.