When Crickets Cry

Had to give this 5 stars. I'd never heard of the author, but now I want to read all of his books. Very well written, with a surprising ending. I highly recommend.

This book is fantastic! I bought it knowing nothing about the author (Charles Martin) but I’m so glad I did! It is an emotional roller coaster filled with wonderful characters. Yes, I shed some tears. Reese finds himself again through a child. Her needs and faith are greater than his walls.

I loved this book! It's the first I have read by Charles Martin but will not be the last! This book is about the love God has given to each of us and will keep it alive within you if you will only allow it. Seven year old Annie has won the hearts of her town with the Sonshine that she explodes. When Reese comes into her life, his Sonshine comes alive once again. This is truly a wonderful read. Thank you, Charles Martin for sharing with us all!

When Crickets Cry is a book about the heart. It's a book about that funky-looking muscle in our chests that pumps the blood throughout our bodies. It's a book about that ephemeral thing we call the heart when we speak about love and passion. It's a book about the place where the two--that muscle and other thing--intersect. It's also one of the best books I've been asked to review, and certainly the best one this year! The Story Reese Mitch is a guy who works on boats on a lake in Georgia. Expensive boats owned by rich people who can afford to pay someone else lots of money to refurbish what would probably look to most of us like an old tub. With his blind brother-in-law Charlie as his partner, Reese's skills are in high demand. There's more to Reese than meets the eye, though. For one thing, he used to be married. And he used to be a phenomenal heart surgeon. But no one in this little corner of Georgia knows that (except Charlie, and he's willing to keep quiet). To them, Reese is just that strange, vagrant-looking guy ... until one day when he saves the life of Annie, a seven year old little girl who needs a heart transplant as is everyone's favorite lemonade saleswoman. With flashbacks and details (about heart surgery, rowing, and boat repair), When Crickets Cry tells a story--the story--of the human heart and it's enormous capacity and resilience. The Writing The story starts slow, but still drew me along, rather like a slow fishing boat trying to pull a skier aloft. But that's just part of the overall motif. Like a diseased heart (and I mean that in the best possible way), this book starts slow, then builds to a fevered pitch as the heart beats harder and harder, faster and faster. Southern writing, for whatever reason, generally involves a slower pace--if not to the writing, to the story telling. Like the southern guy at the campfire who can enthrall an audience for hours with a good story, Martin draws the reader in and, rather than pulling him slowly along behind the boat, eventually puts him in the seat right beside him, finally pushing the reader almost ahead of the writing. My only quibble with the writing--and believe me it is extremely minor--on a few occasions Martins descriptions (of heart surgery theory, of competition rowing and of boat repair) go in for more detail than I, personally needed. They don't really distract from the book, but for this reader they could have been whittled down (or even excised) and the book would not have lost anything. The Spiritual Content The main characters in this book all have an unwavering faith in God and a wonder for his works that fuels them even when it would seem reasonable to give up. They all seem to have a better than average grasp of scripture (and Shakespeare and a few other quotable people). As a Christian, then, I read this story and see in it a parable for how God works on peoples hearts (physically and spiritually). It should be noted, however--and this is not criticism--that if a p

At the risk of repeating some of the comments already made, be careful when you pick this book up especially at bedtime. It fills your head and heart. This book will have you laughing and crying. It will make you think and analyze your own relationships. After reading this book, I had to pick it back up several weeks later just because I wanted to go back over the emotional swings. This book, as his others, is well worth the time to read. You will not regret the time.

What happens when you have a broken hearted man and a small child who is clinging to a thread of life and somehow, through an act of God, their lives touch and connect? This is the essence of this outstanding work by Charles Martin, "When Crickets Cry." Annie has very little time to live, she has a heart problem, but she is a strong little girl, one determined to either win or go down fighting. Reese is a medical doctor who could not save his wife and keep her heart beating; his sorrow runs deep over the agony of losing her. He meets Annie while in town one day as he buys a glass of her lemonade; a drink she is selling to help pay for her medical bills. Suddenly a truck goes out of control and hits Annie right before Reese's eyes. Neither of their lives will ever be the same. We watch this story and this relationship develop; two souls grabbing onto each other, almost like two drowning victims who fight to reach the surface and suck air into their deflating lungs. They become each other's air and God merges the two souls together as a healing balm, one for another, in a way that neither knew existed. The emotions in this read run deep, the storyline is captivating and the ending will surely bring a smile and a tear. Very well done Mr. Martin. Recommended.

In his latest novel, When Crickets Cry, Charles Martin offers fiction that examines Christian virtues. Haunted by his past as a former failed physician, Reese must overcome his own guilt and grief before he can perform the life-saving heart transplant operation needed by a little girl named Annie. The plot shifts between flashback and present, and between heartbreak and hope, leading up to a dramatic conclusion. Martin has created highly developed characters, lifelike dialogue, and a well crafted story. He draws his readers along with just enough details, until the right time when the whole truth about Reese's past is revealed. When Crickets Cry is full of information about the heart, both as a muscle--the result of much research--and as the housing of our souls. Geared toward adults, this book is good reading for the story alone. However, because of its soulful insights, it also would make an excellent addition to any church library as a counseling tool. - Bridgette L. Oakes, Christian Book Previews.com

Let me begin with a reminder that this is a work of fiction, a novel, to be enjoyed for its story, not for its factual detail. That said, there is a large part of this story that rings so true to life, with basis on the author's interviews with real heart transplant surgeons, that it may be hard to keep that in mind as the story gets so engrossing and enters the reader's own heart. Author Charles Martin writes stories dealing with lives that come to life in the telling. In this about to be released (due out April 4th, 2006) new book about a recluse heart transplant surgeon, we come close to feeling the emotions and fears of such a doctor as he deals with three patients whose lives depend on receiving heart transplants through his gifted skills. They are not only patients but become connected to his own heart in ways that I cannot describe without giving away the storyline. Leave it be said their lives become intertwined as your own heart also in reading their stories. Be forewarned, this book quickly engulfs its reader such that I began the book as my plane left Philadelphia, and by the time it had landed 5 hours later, I had to finish it before I could continue with the business of my travels. Later, as we often do with really special stories, my wife and I read it aloud to each other, crying and laughing out loud, trading reading roles as our eyes filled with tears of joy and sadness, blurring our vision. Together we found the same engrossing experience, unable to put it down until the full story had unfolded, and then we fell back, emotionally exhausted with smiles on our faces. Her description of this book was in two words, "heart-filled and heartfelt." As a heart transplant recipient myself, it really touched my heart and with firsthand experiences it rang so true that I had to repeatedly remind myself this was a work of fiction. Charles Martin did his homework, not just in the technical details, but amazingly in the emotions of both surgeon and waiting patients as the story unfolds and their lives come closer and closer leading to an ending that will leave you in both surprise and tears. The style of his writing reminds me of Nicholas Sparks, one of my all time favorite authors, so if you like the Sparks' books, this one will become a favorite too. How much did I enjoy it? Enough that I am buying copies as gifts for several special nurses, doctors and friends who helped when I faced my own heart transplant, and that says a lot! I was especially touched, when, in answer to a question about a heart transplant recipient's concern for that new heart stopping again, we hear the surgeon offer very sincere and heartfelt advice and challenge that each of us could take to heart: "Yes... but not until you're finished here. All hearts stop. What matters is what you do with it while it's still pumping