“As you see, Mr. Daniels, fear is a way of a life here,” Stuart Daniels’s driver tells him in Scared by Tom Davis. And that is in the safe part of Swaziland.
But Daniels knows all about fear from his last trip to Africa, the trip that made him a world-famous photographer and destroyed his life. His marriage is on the rocks, he’s drinking too much, and he has one last chance to save his job by going back to Africa to take pictures for British journalist Gordon Clandish who now lives in Swaziland.
Twelve-year-old Adanna is hungry daily, almost starving. Her father, a long- distance trucker, long ago left the family and all presume he is dead. Her mother is dying of AIDS. Much of the care of her younger brother and sister falls to her. After having a vision of an “Illuminated Man” who loves her and promises to bring her home after giving her a gift for her country, Adanna prays to the Illuminated Man when the terrors of her life surround her. Christian men like Pastor Walter and Tagoze, the chief’s brother, try to protect and provide for the starving children, unlike the average man of the area.
When Stuart meets with Gordon and some of his contacts, strange things begin to happen. At a church service he hears a voice telling him to feed His sheep. He sees dignity in a man dying of AIDS. But the greatest change in Stuart comes from meeting Adanna in the midst of her suffering. Their impact on each other affects not only themselves but Adanna’s whole community.
Based on true people and events which are fictionalized, Scared is a powerful story told in the voices of Adanna and Stuart. It is not a light, frothy story. It tells the importance of the one, as in the one lost sheep or coin, and the importance of the one who commits himself to helping others. It takes the reader into the heart of the AIDS crisis raging throughout much of Africa. Although he discusses the effect on adults, Davis concentrates on the children, the hunger, the lack of protection from male predators, the insecurity, the confusion, the lack of education, and the vastness of the devastation. He also shows people like Pastor Walter, based on a real person, who allows his own family to suffer some hunger so that other children might not starve.
The story is engrossing and well written, its main weakness being some stiff dialogue about two-thirds through the book. The primary message of Scared is that of “pure and undefiled religion” from James 1:27. Davis, an accomplished author and the CEO of Children’s HopeChest, includes discussion questions and an interview about the story’s background and his work. If you thought A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini was well written, try Scared. – Debbie W. Wilson, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com
Nonfiction author Davis (Fields of the Fatherless) makes his fiction debut with a story about two people worlds apart who help each other find redemption. An orphan girl in Swaziland endures her uncle's abuse through visions of “the illuminated man” who she believes will take her to her dead mother’s side. When photographer Stuart Daniels discovers the girl near death, he enlists a pastor and a village chief to help her and her two siblings. Facing floods, confronting and aid agency's fraud, and absorbing a brutal attack by one of many desperate starving people may be the only path toward atonement for Stuart’s past life. Davis shows insight into African cultures and his writing is vivid, but the novel is weakened by shifts in tense and point of view and lack of patience for character transformation. The novel is the first of three; the series could become popular if the quality of the writing can improve enough to do justice to the passion with which the author champions his cause. (June) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 stars(5 out of 5 stars)
7 of 7 Reviews Showing:
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Lee Fehr (Canada), November 06, 2009
This is a sstory about a photojournalist and the heart-rendering plight of a young girl in Africa. Although the story is fiction Tom Davis says it is based on the reality of living in extreme poverty for the children in many parts of Africa. You cannot put the book down, and you cannot read the book without being changed and challenged. One of the best fiction books I have ever read.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Jenn (Florida), August 16, 2009
A very moving book. This book felt so real I had to keep telling myself it was fiction. The author does an amazing job of making you feel as if you're there. You can feel the author's heart through the story.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Brenda Anderson (Minneapolis), July 18, 2009
Hoping to salvage a few crumbs from his once award-winning career, photojournalist Stuart Daniels reluctantly takes an assignment in Swaziland, a small African country, to cover the AIDS crisis. What he discovers is suffering that, those of us living comfortably in the United States, can’t imagine.
Interspersed with Stuart’s perspective, is the viewpoint of Adanna, a recently orphaned young girl burdened with the care of her younger siblings, hoping just to survive from day to day. Tomorrow isn’t even a thought.
Adanna can teach all of us so much.
With the current state of the United States economy, we are barraged with negative stories about people losing jobs, overburdened food shelves, and homelessness. All of which are devastating to those affected. Still, in these times, the average American cannot imagine what it would be like to be truly hungry, to live from day to day wondering if you will have food to eat. We search our overfilled closets for the right outfit, while others are fortunate if they have something decent to wear at all.
In this fictional story, author Tom Davis breathes reality into the plight of people who live in places like Swaziland. The reader experiences, along with Adanna, what it feels like not to have eaten for days, to live in fear of man’s brutality. We see through Stuart’s eyes how much we have, and how just a small sacrifice on our part can help.
Like Stuart, we probably have the most to learn.
We also experience hope, and see that God has not forgotten his children. God has presented us with an awesome opportunity to reach out to those who are truly in need.
You can’t read this story and not be affected. This is a rare work of fiction that touches on all our emotions and motivates people into action. It’s a novel I will highly recommend to readers of fiction and non-fiction.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Christy Lockstein (Oconto Falls, WIsconsin), June 15, 2009
Scared by Tom Davis is a heartbreaking look at a world we spend much of our lives trying to ignore. Adanna is a 12 year old girl in Swaziland trying to make the best of the life God has given her. She cares for her two younger siblings when her mother is ill and tries to ignore the pains of hunger that color every aspect of her life. Stuart Daniels is a award-winning photographer best known for a photo of horrific violence that indicts him as an witness to horror. His inaction has haunted him in the years since, creating cracks in his marriage and nearly ending his career. He's given a last chance to redeem himself by returning to Africa and trying to capture the face of AIDS. In Adanna he may find the hope he needs to recover his faith in God and his life as well. Davis has taken his personal experiences in Africa and turned them into a powerful book that will capture readers' hearts. Adanna's story brings a real face to the tragic story of AIDS in a country that is devastated by deaths from the disease that in the US has become far more treatable. This is a novel that will not let go of readers' hearts.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Jamie Arpin-Ricci (Winnipeg, MB, Canada), June 14, 2009
Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not, generally speaking, a fan of (current) Christian fiction. So much of it is shallow, self-congratulatory moralizing in a quality not always worthy of print. In the case of Tom Davis's "Scared: A Novel On The Edge Of The World", this hardly the case. In fact, finished the book last night (this morning) at 4 am, glued to every page.
This book is not for the faint of heart, portraying a reality that is graphic and heartbreaking. As someone who has traveled widely for missions & relief work, I can attest that this book does not overstate the harsh conditions people live with worldwide, many of them easily remedied through responsible, compassionate relationship. Though written as a work of fiction, Tom's own first hand experience with poverty, AIDS and other human suffering add an authority and authenticity to the story that is much needed.
I would highly encourage you to purchase copies today- yes, I said copies, as you will want to give a few of them away. This is a critical read for those who live in the comfort of our Western affluence, but genuinely seek to know God's heart for His children worldwide. Tom provides clear and helpful direction at the end of the book for getting involved responsibly. I stress responsible involvement because, as those who have travelled to this regions know, well-intentioned Western involvement is not always helpful. Tom & Children's HopeChest are very aware of these dynamics, working to act with responsible compassion for lasting change.
While perhaps rough around the literary edges (as would be expected of any first time novelist), the raw emotion and realism of this tale will keep you turning page after page. Please, buy it today.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Julie Gillies (Bradenton, Florida), May 28, 2009
Tom Davis' first novel gripped me by the throat and refused to let go. I no longer sat in a comfortable chair in my bedroom merely reading a book; I bumped along in a jeep on dusty clay roads, inhaled sweaty fear, witnessed atrocities that provoked gut-wrenching despair and anger, and grieved over inhumane conditions that pound innocent families on a continent plagued with disease and corruption.
Sweet little Adanna, already fatherless and literally starving, faces the unthinkable when her mother becomes gravely ill. Frightened yet determined to provide a meal for her two younger siblings, Precious and Abu, Adanna innocently brings horrendous calamity upon herself in her desperate search food.
Into this hostile environment Stuart Daniels, a world renown, award-winning photographer arrives. A decade earlier Stuart nearly lost his life photographing the violence that, unthinkably, continues to worsen in the heart of Africa. That trip was the beginning of the end for him. He's all but dead on the inside, his marriage is slowly dying and he is on the brink of losing his job. Drawn back to the very place that stole his soul, Stuart can't help but wonder what on earth he's doing in this god-forsaken corner of the world.
Scared is authentic, intense, and in-your-face. It stops short of demanding action on the part of its reader, but you won't be able to help yourself. Warning: Tom Davis' powerful novel will make you rethink your life. And it just might save some.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Michelle Sutton (Arizona), March 21, 2009
“This is a life changing story! Tears were flowing down my cheeks through a good portion of the book. I don't recommend reading this in public because you'd have a hard time getting past the lump in your throat to explain just what it was that evoked that level of emotion in you. I'm not exaggerating. You'd have to have a heart of stone not to be emotionally moved when you read Scared. The entire time I read this book I was in Africa right along with the characters. That's great writing.
I've rarely experienced this level of realism in a novel, especially in the CBA. It's so realistic, it's downright edgy - but to the extreme. Like the Holocaust, there are some awful things that happen in this book. Unspeakable things. But it also shows how God holds those who suffer close to His heart. You see that in this book in a way that is rarely portrayed in Christian fiction. All of the ugly stuff is not smoothed over, nor is the God-given compassion.
When the people who were starving literally danced with joy when offered a meager ration of food, it really touched me. We have so much in this country, yet we are so ungrateful. Gratitude is definitely a missing element in most people's lives in the United States. We'd be so much kinder to each other if we were truly grateful for the gift of salvation we've been given, and for the many undeserved blessings that God has granted us. One way to thank Him is by showing love in action and not just in our words.
Truly beautiful themes permeate this story and will stay with you long after you finish. Here's the bottome line...Scared portrays how the love and integrity of one pre-adolescent girl changed an entire nation. That left me breathless. Oh, and I'll never say I'm starving again. One caution, though. Don't read this novel if you have a weak stomach or if atrocities will give you flashbacks. It's harsh in some places, but sooo worth reading. I highly recommend it.
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