TEARS OF THE ANGELS is an absolutely heartrending book, full of trauma, abuse, war, bloodshed and death, but it manages to maintain a sense of light, warmth and hope even at its darkest moments, as people fight for each other and care for each other in small battles and large. For those who are triggered by intensely evocative descriptions of children dealing with physical and sexual abuse, or of bloody wartime battles with death and injury all around, or of violent murder, suicide and attempted suicide, this is not the book for you. The writing is intensely powerful, drawing the reader in directly to the events of the novel, and it’s difficult reading at times due to the sheer pain and horror of the events described. And yet, throughout the book, there is always help being extended from somewhere, from a simple conversation that prevents a suicide to a nurse desperately trying to save every life she can while battle rages around her.
Relationships are the heart of the Jerold Bishop’s story, and not only romantic relationships – in fact, the main focus of the book is on friendship and family, a father trying to protect his daughters, an aunt trying to help her niece to a better future, sisters sustaining each other against their abusive mother, friends supporting each other and standing up for each other in times of dire need. Romance goes sour here, quite often (though not always, certainly) – but the message of the book is that your friends and your family are the ones who will pick you up, dust you off, and help you stand tall and try again, no matter what you go through. Characters are well-designed, three-dimensional and fully human, with a full assortment of human failings and virtues. Though many of them live through abusive situations, none of them react to the abuse in the same way, and all of them, though helped and supported by others, find their own individual ways out, whether healthy or not. The shifts in the book’s point of view lets readers see situations from multiple points of view, empathizing with multiple characters and getting their perspective on what’s going on, while still preserving enough secrecy for at least one major plot twist. The villains, except for one, are less emotionally-complex characters, but that’s mainly because readers generally see them through the eyes of their victims. All in all, this is a deeply painful book in a lot of ways, but love, grace, and redemption shine through it, even through all the horrors it describes, offering the reader hope through the power of human connection and mutual care.
Jerold Bishop’s TEARS OF THE ANGELS is a book where love triumphs over abuse in a deeply heartwarming fashion – but only after a great deal of suffering and trauma, and some incalculable losses – all portrayed in evocative, emotionally-intense detail.
~Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader