Back to Jerusalem is a novel written by Jan Surasky, the 2012
award winning author of Rage Against the Dying Light, a story about
Boudicca and her battle with the Roman Empire. Back to Jerusalem is a
novel about another type of battle faced by women living in the 1970's.
Set in the small town of Jerusalem New York, Jenny Thompson grows up on
her family farm, just hours from New York City. Jenny is gifted and
dreams of going to college and pursuing the life of a successful artist.
However, like so many young women of her time, Jenny feels the pressure
from her mother and society to put her dreams on hold. Women of this
era are expected to marry well, have children, and support their
husbands as they climb the ladder of success.
Jenny is beautiful, compassionate and very talented. Bud proves he's not the best husband and not the best father either. She wants a more loving and fulfilled life. She moves to New York City. There, Jenny struggles, but over time builds a successful life for herself and her beloved son who is growing up. She's becoming known for her beautiful landscape paintings and her photography.
In New York, Jenny sees cultures collide and find ways to exist side-by-side without issue, without drama. She thinks of Jake Martin, childhood friend and playmate. Jake was a Mennonite. She remembers what a great person Jake was and how he dreamed of becoming a revered attorney. He wanted to help the poor. Jake had meant a lot to Jenny growing up, but her world and his would not have been accepted by her mother and her Methodist upbringing. Her mother would never have approved. The question was would her path and Jake's ever cross again? And, if they did would he inspire her and she him as they once had, so long ago? When Jake's picture hits the cover of the New York Times, Jenny dreams they might, but learns Jake has a fiancé. Fate would have to intervene if this couple would ever find each other again.
Jan Surasky has created Back to Jerusalem as another great book. Through Jenny, this novel accurately depicts the plight of women caught in the strong grip of society's expectations of them in the 1970's.
Liberation is slow to come for many women. Jenny lived her life in the traditional way as long as she could. It's difficult, but she finds her way back to her talents as an artist. She is successful in every way and she's done it all by herself. The one thing she is missing is real love and contentment. The question is if she goes Back to Jerusalem will she find it? To find out, it is a must read.
This novel is really a love story, written in a narrative that will speak to those who are romantic at heart, those who desire a little mystery and those who look for what is real in life. It is a book for any woman who has struggled against odds to be successful in the face of a society that says she should not try. And, Back to Jerusalem is an encouragement to women everywhere, to never give up on their dreams.
Jenny is beautiful, compassionate and very talented. Bud proves he's not the best husband and not the best father either. She wants a more loving and fulfilled life. She moves to New York City. There, Jenny struggles, but over time builds a successful life for herself and her beloved son who is growing up. She's becoming known for her beautiful landscape paintings and her photography.
In New York, Jenny sees cultures collide and find ways to exist side-by-side without issue, without drama. She thinks of Jake Martin, childhood friend and playmate. Jake was a Mennonite. She remembers what a great person Jake was and how he dreamed of becoming a revered attorney. He wanted to help the poor. Jake had meant a lot to Jenny growing up, but her world and his would not have been accepted by her mother and her Methodist upbringing. Her mother would never have approved. The question was would her path and Jake's ever cross again? And, if they did would he inspire her and she him as they once had, so long ago? When Jake's picture hits the cover of the New York Times, Jenny dreams they might, but learns Jake has a fiancé. Fate would have to intervene if this couple would ever find each other again.
Jan Surasky has created Back to Jerusalem as another great book. Through Jenny, this novel accurately depicts the plight of women caught in the strong grip of society's expectations of them in the 1970's.
Liberation is slow to come for many women. Jenny lived her life in the traditional way as long as she could. It's difficult, but she finds her way back to her talents as an artist. She is successful in every way and she's done it all by herself. The one thing she is missing is real love and contentment. The question is if she goes Back to Jerusalem will she find it? To find out, it is a must read.
This novel is really a love story, written in a narrative that will speak to those who are romantic at heart, those who desire a little mystery and those who look for what is real in life. It is a book for any woman who has struggled against odds to be successful in the face of a society that says she should not try. And, Back to Jerusalem is an encouragement to women everywhere, to never give up on their dreams.
S. Marie Vernon is a writer, proofreader and professional book
reviewer who loves creative writing, fiction writing and non-fiction
article writing. She writes with a broad audience in mind. For
proofreading and book reviews contact her at The Write Review http://smariev.blogspot.com/. For more of her book reviews visit Pacific Book Review and EzineArticles.com.