It should come as no surprise to anyone by now that I could easily be considered slightly reclusive or at least well outside the mainstream when it comes to pop culture and other things most folks take for granted. In this case, I've heard of John Grisham and his best selling titles but I've never read one. Nor have I seen any movies based on his novels. Why? Partly because I'm lazy and partly because I tend to avoid popular titles.

But this week I found time to read The Testament. Published in 1999, the story revolves around the eleven billion dollar fortune of Troy Phelan. Troy's last will is highly unorthodox and cuts out entirely his six children. As a complete shock to even his lawyer, Troy names a completely unknown seventh child as the only beneficiary. What follows is then an account of the greed of the six children, the greed of their lawyers, and the complete lack of greed of Rachel Lane, the new billionaire.

We follow lawyer Nate O'Riley on his quest to find Rachel in the remote parts of Brazil on a journey that immediately brought to mind The Heart of Darkness. Instead of an ivory trader given over to spiritual darkness, Nate finds Rachel a missionary among the natives, living a simple life dedicated to serving God and her adopted people. Nate's is a spiritual journey, though he doesn't recognize it as such. In very simple terms he accepts Christ as his savior and learns how to live again.

Nate's past is just dreadful:  Two divorces, lots of drugs, alcohol, and four trips to rehab. His life is a mess and he knows it. His spiritual journey, from near death to eternal life, is captivating and we see how God can turn anyone's life around. We also see how Christians can have an effect on sinners by simply being true to their faith and not smugly saying, as one parable illustrates "I thank you God that I am not a sinner like this man." Rachel's simple faith works wonders in Nate, as does Nate's next spiritual adviser, an older preacher in a small town.

As you look around the web you'll find Christians writing about "Christian fiction" and wondering what that means. There's a whole range of options and I would suggest that The Testament fits in at least somewhere. According to Wikipedia, John Grisham refers to himself as a "moderate Baptist". His description of Christians is very positive, and the language used is clean - mostly. If you are offended by any vulgarities then perhaps this one is not for you. The ones used "fit" and are not excessive but they are there.  I would think most adults and older teens would appreciate the novel as a whole.

I stated up top that I generally avoid novels that are top sellers. After reading The Testament I'm sorry I've avoided John Grisham as an author. I may just have to read some more of his works.