| Reviews
First Review
Kim Hutson is a good writer with a welcome down-home style. This book is
written primarily for a Christian readership, though others could
definitely savor it. Hutson has written a novel that is a bit like
readers' comfort food; it is both entertaining and spiritually
challenging. He writes of small town America-- a simpler, sweeter
lifestyle that many of us have just plain forgotten.
His characters are real and just quirky enough, not only to grab our
attention, but gradually to make us care about them and what happens to
them. His plot is interesting and steadily moves the reader, not to a
Grisham-esque peak of suspense, but to a fitting climax that is both
poignant and satisfying.
Buy Hutson's book, settle into your favorite recliner with a cup of
hot chocolate, and let him sweep you away to an old-fashioned place
chock full of life lessons for the present.
S. G. Fortosis, North Port, Florida
Second Review
"Corinthia Falls" captures the humor, exuberance, fearlessness and hopes
of young adults as they explore their own and their community's
possibilities. Care is a dominant theme and is personified by a
somewhat mysterious itinerant preacher who serves as the catalyst for
change and hope. He identifies and mentors the characters that help to
resurrect the community spirit of a small town and he invites them to
participate in a larger community of other small communities, the Circle
of Care. The heroes are believable because they are based upon the
very real depictions of places, conditions and personalities found where
the author lives. The story maintains momentum from its opening to the
last paragraph. The moral and political realities and choices that
lifelong friends face, individually and collectively, are woven together
through a story telling style that highlights the possibilities that
can be accomplished while challenging, building and growing within their
faith.
I didn't have the luxury of being raised in a small town and came
later in my life to become a student/observer of the dynamics of
community in an area so closely depicted in this jewel of a novel. It's
a great read! I'm definitely looking foward to this author's next
novel.
Bobbie R. Vian, Oklahoma
review is from: Corinthia Falls (Paperback)
No matter what you do in your daily walk, I think everybody needs a
revival occasionally, don't you? Can it come in a book? Yes, if it is
Corinthia Falls! Even though it is fiction, you may find a similar
rejoicing if you "experience" what happened to a little town in
Oklahoma...
The first part of the book is shared by Timothy Oaks who was going
to enter his final year of high school when the story begins. His
friends call him Timber. He plays golf, although there is no golf course
at school or in town. He has three friends, TJ, Anthony and Becky--more
about them later...
There is only one church in this town. It is large enough to seat
about 300, but those who attend seem to fill the whole building. One
side of downstairs is filled with those who are known as charismatics;
Tim and his friends call them the "Standers." The other side of
downstairs is filled with the "Setters." You can imagine why, I am sure.
Upstairs in the balcony, most of the students and other adults who
don't or won't take sides congregate.
TJ is the son of the minister. TJ plays basketball. You guessed
it--no high school or town facility. He plays alone with one hoop in the
old gym; sometimes Tim joins him. Tim's father owns a
gas/deli/restaurant, a central gathering place for the town and where
all of the teens work part-time.
The town is a popular tourist place, having a beautiful lake nearby,
still it is not a thriving town and many buildings are vacant.
The leaders of the church had joined an organization that pulled
small churches together so that they could support one another. Colonel
Pavlos Lincoln Armstrong, an ex-green beret had created and now led
that organization. The Colonel was coming to town. Practically the first
thing he did, after he had walked into the church and told everybody to
leave that day, was to close and lock it, placing a guard there. That
guard is a very important character in the book; his name was Silas.
From a distance when he was down on all fours, or when he got up on his
hind legs, he resembled a bear, and appeared just as dangerous. Nobody
tried to get past Silas...
The Colonel preached to a standing crowd in the parking lot on that following Sunday!
And soon small, and large, miracles started to happen, among them
that Tim, TJ and Anthony, committed their lives to work for the
Colonel's group!
The second part of the book is shared by a writer who was working on
a biography of Timothy and takes place when all of the teens are now
middle-aged...and the miracles continue.
The things that happened might not be truly miracles...but in
today's world, what was happening throughout this book surely shows the
evidence of individuals who allow God to work through them. In many
ways, I'd like to have seen the book as two separate books. The first
half is a powerful storyline. It leaves readers upbeat and enthusiastic.
The second half, though, shows enthusiasm fulfilled as readers see the
lives that were affected when a traveling evangelist visited Corinthia
Falls!
Need a jump-start? Highly recommended to provide that for your
personal life. Hutson presents us with a wonderful book showing a world
that many of us would like it to be. And he doesn't leave us when it
finishes--he refers us to web sites that represent...a beginning...if
you only dare...
Throughout the book, you'll hear much about singing "When the
Saints..." Don't be surprised if you can't get the song out of your head
for days! The jump-start worked for me; I pray it does for you too!
Glenda A Bixler
Wow! Wonderful book! I felt God's presences while reading this book!
It is a book all can relate too. We all know sitters, standers, and
observers, we just need to bring all groups together to do the work of
God just as they did in Corinthia Falls. This book is a page turner and
keeps you interested from the beginning. It's educational and
inspiring. A must read for all. Thank you Kim Hutson!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A MUST Read!, June 14, 2011
This review is from: Corinthia Falls (Paperback)
On a typical Sunday morning in Corinthia Falls, Oklahoma in 1981, you would find
a small church with
a congregation divided. On one side are the Sitters,
those who believe that worship should be
individual, quiet, and reflective,
while on the other side are the Standers, those who stand most of the
service raising their hands and shouting out amen and blessings.
This
divided congregation is united in one thing and that is their dislike for
disturbances. So when a
boy is painted red, wearing antlers, accompanied
by a red goat and claiming to be the devil, appears in
the church as a joke,
this small town is upset about this devilish disturbance. Added to this is
the
spiking of watermelon a few weeks later during a church
picnic.
Paul, Colonel Pavlos Lincoln Armstrong, is an evangelist who
travels to churches and communities
that need interventions to help their
living of a Christian lifestyle, appears at the church dressed
completely in
black with a creature that seems to be part bear/part dog. He settles into
this community
with Silas, his dog, and the two begin to make an impact on
many lives.
Timothy Oaks, better known as Timber, is the lead character
in Corinthia Falls. You meet him as a
teenager approaching his senior year
of high school along with his friends. Through his eyes, this story
is
told.
Unfortunately, many books are grouped into the genre of being
Christian literature and because of that,
are not read by the general
public. Many of these are considered to be in the same category as a
romance novel and have a predictable storyline and conclusion. Even though
Corinthia Falls is a
Christian book, the writing is outstanding and the
story is memorable.
Corinthia Falls is storytelling at its best. The
story should be entitled Timber instead of Corinthia Falls as
that is the
center of the novel. For the last one third of the novel, Corinthia Falls is
not the focus of the
story, Timber is. Even with this wandering, the story
is wonderful and should be read by church goers
as well as those who should
be church goers. It provides insight into the direction needed for our
churches and communities.
Kim Hutson, along with his wife, Rhonda
work with the United Methodist Church in Eastern Oklahoma.
If this book is
a reflection of his work, this must be a blessed area.
Read Corinthia
Falls to experience a great story. Even though there is Christianity in the
story, it fits as
part of the story, not as an addition. Corinthia Falls
is a memorable reading experience for everyone.
Teri Davis
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