Book Synopsis:
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose"
Jim and Pete turned to see the Auca men, their deadly spears raised, running toward Nate, Ed, and Roger. Jim stood in the river, his hand on his pistol. Should he defend himself? He already knew the answer. Each man had promised the others that he would not save himself by killing those they had sought out in Jesus' name.
Jim Elliot and his co-workers surrendered their lives in Ecuador's jungle, trusting that their sacrifice would not be in vain. Decades later, this dramatic event has challenged countless Christians to live with one great to bring the gospel to those who have never heard (1927-1956).
My Review:
4/5 stars. This was an interesting story. The second half was much more interesting and exciting than the first half. I was surprised by the ending, but It had a good message. Sometimes, the way this book was written was a little jarring - it's a biographical book but read like a straight-up narrative. There were also a few little things I took issue with when it came to the attitude of other cultures presented in the book.
I originally got this book from my old pastor. He often mentioned books about missionaries or pastors from history and sometimes had a few copies of them to give away. This book might be intended for younger readers, but I'm not sure. The writing style wasn't what I expected from a biography. Unlike a memoir, it didn't feel very personal and emotional. I know it wasn't written in first-person, but it still felt very detached from everything.
It also read more like a fictional narrative a lot, giving very specific details that wouldn't be written about in a letter or diary. For example, people wouldn't know that Jim Elliot indicated to the bus driver that the luggage was all unloaded. Another time, it said that the leader of the group they were with signaled for the group to stop. These specific things are what would be included in a novel, but a biography is more big-picture.
Although this was mostly about Jim Elliot in Ecuador, leading up to the meeting with the Waorani people, it talked a little bit about his journey to becoming a missionary in the first place. Something I thought was very interesting to learn about were the classes he had to take to understand almost any language. I'm kind of a nerd about language, so it was cool that they were taught to identify phonetics and stuff like that.
It felt like there was a bit of exoticism with the tone of the book. A big spectacle was made out of normal things that were part of the Native American tribes' cultures. Words like "elusive" and "mysterious" were used to describe groups, as if they were some dazzling thing to discover. The word "savages" was also used a few times, which is just offensive.
I was surprised by the ending of this book. I didn't know the background going in, so I didn't expect all of the missionaries to die, especially after their first meeting with the Waorani people went well. After researching a tiny bit online, I read that the brother of the girl who visited them the first time lied to their people, telling them that the missionaries had attacked them. That miscommunication led to the actual attack that killed the five missionaries. It still had a good result in the end, motivating more people to be missionaries. And, the Waorani people did eventually hear the Gospel.
Content:
Language: None
Sexual Content: Mentions of naked bodies, but not in a sexual way
Violence and gore: The Waorani people were known to be very violent, killing their enemies. In the end, the missionaries are speared to death.
Drugs/alcohol: None
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