Hinds’ Feet On High Places by Hannah Hurnard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Much-Afraid, who lived in the village of Much-Trembling, desired to serve the Chief Shepherd with her whole heart, but she feared that she fell short of ever pleasing Him. Her feet were deformed which made walking difficult, and her face was disfigured, and more than anything she wanted to be free from things that she felt were holding her back.
But those are not the only things holding her back. Her relatives, the Family of Fearings, were always lurking in the Valley…
Mrs. Dismal Forebodings, her aunt, raised her along with her two cousins Gloomy and Spiteful and their brother Craven Fear, of who mistreated her horribly on a regular basis.
When Craven Fear and his family try to force her to marry him, she flees to the pool where the Chief Shepherd is waiting, and she explains all to Him. He tells her that she can come to the Kingdom of Love if she allows Him to make her feet into hinds’ feet – and He would have to change her name because a Much-Afraid cannot enter the Kingdom. And in addition to that, she would have to allow Him to plant the seed of Love into her heart…
He chose two guides to help her on her journey: Sorrow and Suffering, and she is as scared as her name suggests. Will she allow Him to work in her life so she can enter the Kingdom of Love, or will Old Lord Fearing have his way?
This story was so gripping. A friend gave this to me in August 2016, and it sure didn’t disappoint!
Hannah Hurnard’s writing style pulled me right in. The names of everyone and everything was so cute. (In addition to the ones I mentioned above, there was Pride, Bitterness, Self-Pity, and a little flower named Acceptance-with-Joy.) The symbolism and allegories were fantastic. Also, this book managed to expand my vocabulary with words such as estuary and hoary; I always appreciate when a book makes me use my dictionary.
The poems make me so happy and are based on Scripture. Here is one of my favorite ones from the book:
“I am the Rose of Sharon, a wild anemone.
As lily ‘mong the thorn trees, so is my love to me.
An apple tree ‘mong wild trees, my Love is in my sight,
I sit down in his shadow, his fruit is my delight.
He brought me to his palace, and to the banquet hall,
To share with me his greatness, I, who am least of all.
Oh, give me help and comfort, for I am sick with shame,
Unfit, to be his consort, unfit to bear his Name.
I charge you, o ye daughters, ye roses among the trees,
Stir not my sleeping loved one, to love me e’er he please.”
I believe this is based on Song of Solomon, chapter two.
I did find one error: “You will give me a new name when I get to the top?” quavered Much-Afraid, who all of a sudden seemed to have become deaf to the music who all of a sudden seemed deaf to the music around her and to be full of fears and forebodings again.
I reread that sentence so many times. But in hind-sight (oh, bad pun!), it wasn’t that big of a deal.
Spoiler-y stuff (in white text – highlight to read):
I loved how when Much-Afraid reached a milestone, she took a literal stone as a reminder – this reminded me of the rocks in Joshua 4 where the Lord ordered 12 large stones be taken out of the Jordan in remembrance of what the Lord had done for them, so that their children would see and ask about them and they could be told the stories of how God parted the river for them. Anyway. At the end of this book, the rocks Much-Afraid picked up were turned to jewels!
And her new name. LOVE.
And when she reflects upon her journey, it was so touching.
The end of Act One left me almost speechless. So emotional. So wonderful. And heart-wrenching.
I had a copy of this and did not enjoy it as much as you did…
but nice post!
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I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it as much. I realize that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, especially with the amount of symbolism in there. 🙂
Thank you! ❤
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yeah – did not like it at all –
wink
but I do like your blog and sometimes the first few lines (that show in the reader) send a refreshment my way (God’s word does that) and I am glad we connect via blogland – very glad
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😂
Aww, thank you! ❤ I'm glad too. His word is refreshing for sure! 🙂
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🙂
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Nice review. I can tell that you really enjoyed it! 🙂
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Thank you! 🙂 I sure did!
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Nice review! What genre of book is it tho?
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Tammy, it’s an allegory.
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What’s an allegory?!!?!
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I’ve heard the word before but couldn’t remember what it meant; I had to Google it. 😅 Google says: “a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.” To me, the book has a bit of a fantasy feel to it as well. 🙂
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Yes, the Christian ones I’ve read have been like parables – earthly stories with a heavenly meaning. One reason I love them is because I remember things so much better if I see a picture of them, even if it is just a mental picture.
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Those sound lovely! ❤ I haven't read many of them, sadly.
I do too. 🙂
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Ohhhhh lolol 😂…well you learn sum new everyday so yeah lol thanks much for explaining! Lol! I knew it had something to do with fantasy!
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Amen! And isn’t it fun to learn? 😀
I was happy to – or, at least, copying what Google had to say about it. 😅
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Of course it is!!! Lolol
Ha!!! 😂😂😂 I hope I spoke it accurately ahaha!!
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😀
LOL, I hope I did too. XD
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Lol! 😂
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I LOVED this book! I loved all the pictures and symbolism! My favorite takeaway was when she compares herself to the drops of water in a waterfall that fall in full surrender to be used by God in His service to bring water to the thirsty folks down below.
Tammy, it’s an allegory.
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😀 Me too, the pictures and symbolism were fantastic!
Oh yeah, I loved that as well! ❤ There were so many amazing parts, it's hard to pick just one favorite! 🙂
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You’re right; there are so many! That she traveled with suffering, that she traveled through the mist that wouldn’t clear, that she had to scale a rock face, and so on. I just related to that particular point at the time I read the book. But I’d like to read it again, and perhaps other points will jump out at me.
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Yes!!
And scaling that rock face – with her poor feet! That would have been quite a feat even with normal feet. (The pun actually wasn’t intentional. 😅)
Me too. 🙂
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I have not read this but have heard wonderful things about it! I will add it to my list for sure for 2018!
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😀 Yay! I’d love to know what you thought of it when you read it. 🙂
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I’m going to see if I can find it at the library or order it online. It feels like a book that I need to read, and sooner than later, too!
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😀 Oh, how exciting! I hope that you can find a copy soon then! 🙂
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I looked for it through my library’s audiobook app, but could not find it. 😦 I may actually need to head over there and find it!
I’m nearly at the end of the Chronicles of Narnia series, so soon as I’m done with those, I’m going to give “Hinds Feet” a try.
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Oh! I hope that they have it there. 🙂
Are you enjoying it so far? I absolutely LOVED the Narnia series. I won’t say anything more until you finish it because I don’t want to spoil anything for you. 🙂
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Oh I’ve read through the Narnia series twice already, but it’s amazing what you forget over the years! I will let you know when I am done! 😀
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Oh! 😀 I’ve read it once back when the movies came out. I really should read it again too. 🙂
Okay! 😀
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I highly recommend listening to the series the second go-‘round. I use the Overdrive app, which lets me download audiobooks (and ebooks) from my library for free. I’m quite enjoying the different narrators and their approach to storytelling.
The books I flat-out read (no audiobook) were books #2 and #3. I enjoyed them immensely as well! 😀
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Oh wow, that’s awesome! 😀 I’ll have to check and see if I can do that with my local library.
Nice! 😀
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BTW I just finished “The Silver Chair” this afternoon. Just one more “Chronicle” to go! 😉
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Yay! 😀 That’s great!
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Haven’t started book seven yet – my schedule this week has been pretty intense, and it’s all that I can do to simply keep up with the blog! However, I will definitely let you know when I finish the series. 😀
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Aww, haha. I hope that your schedule will be less intense soon. 🙂
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Thank you! I hope so, too! 🙂
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It is one of my favorite books…thank you so much for the review!
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I’m glad you enjoyed this book too! 😀 My pleasure, and thanks for reading! ❤
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