Quickie Book Review: "A Bigger Life" by Annette Smith

Author: Annette Smith
Published: January 3, 2007 by NavPress

Synopsis: Joel was once a happily married man, but one mistake shattered the lives of him, his wife, and their son. Told from Joel's perspective, this is a tale of love, loss, failures, and triumphs.

My Review: From the praise that I saw on the back cover and the front matter, I expected a lot more from this. Instead, what I got was a story that was written out of order, and resolved matters far too quickly. It was a bit harder-edged than Christian novels usually are, which may make some readers uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong; the book was still decent...but definitely not that great.

Content Concerns:

• Sex: A married couple's sex life is discussed, though not in graphic detail. It is mentioned that they conceive a child accidentally. An affair--which isn't gone into graphic detail either--plays a big part in the story, though it is vilified. It is mentioned that a little boy wants to use the bathroom sitting down because he saw a girl do it, and that two guys who work at a salon are thought to be gay, but aren't. The narrator notices that a woman's private anatomy is "nice," and uses slang terms to describe it. The process of giving birth is gone into rather much detail. 1.75/5
• Nudity: Some of the scenes involve a married couple naked in bed with each other, but no graphic descriptions are made. 4/5
• Language: Implied profanity, and characters are stopped short of uttering such words two or three times. 4/5
• Violence: None that I recall. 5/5
• Drugs: Various characters, including the narrator/protagonist, smoke cigarettes. 3.5/5 
• Frightening/Intense Scenes: (Warning: Spoiler!) The book ends with a woman dying of cancer. 4/5

Score: 2.25/5