Gilbert Morris
Through a Glass Darkly (1999)
Author: Gilbert Morris
Genre: Literary/Christian (Evangelical)
Plot Summary:
An amnesiac in a New Orleans hospital was badly burned in a forest fire. Dr. Kimpel names him Adam Smith, and Perry (an orderly) teaches Adam to box despite Adam’s misgivings about fighting. Adam goes to Oklahoma to find out if he is Dan Majors, a businessman who died in the same fire after killing his brother and embezzling from their business. Adam works for a family he thinks might be his and is tempted by Majors’ wife, but has fallen for D.K. Wolfe, a hotshot lawyer from Tulsa. He resists sleeping with both women because he has very strong values, most of which are based on Bible verses. SPOILER: Dr. Kimpel, D.K., Lieutenant Cossey, Perry, and Adam clear Majors’ name and figure out that Adam is Davis Trask, a Gulf War veteran and Army Chaplain who suffers from PTSD. Adam/Davis proposes to D.K. because she repents.
Geographical Setting: New Orleans, rural Oklahoma
Time Period: 1990’s
Appeal Characteristics:
Male veteran protagonist would appeal to male readers. Characterization is archetypal (Adam is the most complex). Realism is maintained with rural working class characters and current events references. Tone: some stilted jokes, but overall reverence for traditional rural American values and patriotism. Pacing is really slow, attempting to create suspense. NOT gentle. Intended for evangelical fiction readers (Bethany House publication). Evangelical appeal based on quotations of Bible passages and hymns, 3+ page sermon. Successful resistance of temptation, 1 conversion.
Red Flags: Writing style is not literary. Black character (Perry) speaks in a stereotypical dialect that is overdone. NOT gentle. Values about boxing/fighting are confusing and contradictory (he doesn’t want to box but he does anyway, the descriptions are detailed and he seems to enjoy it. Fighting is okay if you’re defending a woman, but he really provoked the fight and the book doesn’t address that.)
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