When Crickets Cry
by Charles Martin
2006 / 352 pages
Rating: GOOD/Great/Give
He is unkempt, a recluse, and heartsick.
She is a pale thin young girl with a very sick heart.
The pair first meets on the sidewalk when he makes one of his rare trips into town. The girl, Annie, is a bright spot in this small Georgia town, doing brisk business selling lemonade. The townspeople respond readily to this cheerful vender and buy her 50-cent lemonade – but it’s the water jug at her feet filled with twenty-dollar bills dropped in by generous patrons that intrigues the man. It turns out that Annie is raising money for her own heart transplant. In spite of her critical need, she’s full of hope for the future.
Life’s circumstances have robbed the man of hope. Reece looks like someone whose been hanging Sheetrock, yet he was once a highly skilled surgeon of national acclaim. Since the death of his wife, he has been living the life of a recluse, forsaking his ability to bind up broken hearts. Meeting Annie will change both of their lives forever.
If you haven’t yet read any of the books of Charles Martin, you are in for a treat. Published in 2006, When Crickets Cry is his third book, and since that time he has published four more. With picturesque language, he weaves a tale that is filled with notable characters whose life struggles you won’t soon forget.
In When Crickets Cry, Martin tells the story in two parts. In quick sketches we learn of Reece’s early years and his falling in love with his childhood friend Emma. We hear how his desire to restore Emma’s failing heart drives his hunger to learn all he can about the art of healing the heart, the wellspring of life. Interspersed with the reminiscing sections, we watch him meet and come to know Annie. Throughout, you also get to know the blind brother-in-law who sees so much, the former monk who interlaces running the local tavern with spreading the gospel, the aunt burdened with worries too heavy to carry alone, and a young man who is looking for meaning in all the wrong places.
In contrast to today’s culture which embraces hopelessness, Martin writes stories that are filled with hope. Along the way, he interweaves truths about God as the source of hope and love. Broken characters become a little less broken, and with skillful strokes, Martin tells a beautiful tale of restoration that leaves the reader buoyed and encouraged....
