Book Review: The Encounter

  As a first time reader of Stephen Arterburn, I was pleasantly surprised at his latest work, "The Encounter. It tells the story of a wealthy businessman, who in a spur of middle age self discovery, is urged by his pastor to discover more about his past. He travels to Alaska to find out more about the woman who gave birth to him, and what had led to his abandonment at a young age. Once there, it is revealed that all is not what it seems, and   the value of being able to forgive.
"The Encounter" was a breezy read at 167 pages, and yet, there was a touching story packed into such a short book. I was surprised at the simplicity of the language and plot, it actually seemed to me that this book could be appropriate even for preteens. The single plot line revolved around three characters and was extremely straightforward. It was interesting to know that the story was based on two true accounts, and yet, this background didn't seem to make the story any more believable or real. Rather than basing a theme to the story, it seemed like Arterburn decided on a theme, and built the story around it. As every aspiring writer knows, the key to success is to write what you know. While the story was somewhat interesting, it falls short because Arterburn couldn't get into the role of a established entrepreneur. The references to "Italian loafers", "gold cuff links" seemed so stereotypical and so detracted from he story.

If you like a simple, straightforward story that will be quick to read, and involves the theme of forgiveness, you might want to pick it up. Otherwise, I'd give a pass on "The Encounter". 3/5