Annie Jacobson is eighteen, the middle child with an older and a younger brother. The Vietnam War is in full swing, and her older brother, Mike, is about to enlist in the army rather than waiting to get drafted. As predicted, their mother isn’t happy with the idea because their father fought in Korea and was never the same. He abandoned them twelve years ago, when Annie was six, without saying goodbye.
All Manner of Things isn’t a typical novel.
There’s no big drama, just a lot of smaller dramas. It’s a story about life, family, and love, set against the backdrop of an idyllic version of 1960s small-town America. It’s almost too idyllic—Annie and her family watch war protests and hippies and race riots on television, but nothing like that comes to their town. Their war hero is welcomed home (although David, who has just moved into town, does experience some racism).
The story is told in first person from Annie’s point of view, interspersed with letters to and from Mike and other characters. The writing style is tight and understated. There are no excess words. And that’s the strength of the story: it’s experienced, not told.
It’s a strong and profound novel that touches on various themes: love, family, healing, reconciliation, loss.
There’s no obvious plot, no noticeable three-act structure, no big stakes, no major conflict, no significant character change. Annie starts the story as a well-raised, hard-working, sensitive teenager, and she finishes the story the same way. She grows, but not in a way that can easily be put into words.
The writing is outstanding, but it’s not one of those books with lots of quotable lines.
There are flashes of insight, but they only make sense in the context of the story. Outside the story, they’re just words. Yet it’s compelling. It took me a while to pick up and begin All Manner of Things, but once I got to Chapter Two, I didn’t want to put it down.
I think the story is best summarised by the Julian of Norwich quote at the beginning:
All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.
(Julian was a fourteenth-century mystic—a woman, despite the name.)
Recommended for those looking for a novel set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, or those looking for understated yet powerful historical fiction.
Thanks to Baker Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.
About Susie Finkbeiner
Susie Finkbeiner is the CBA bestselling author of A Cup of Dust, A Trail of Crumbs, and A Song of Home. She serves on the Breathe Christian Writers Conference planning committee, volunteers her time at Ada Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and speaks at retreats and women’s events across the state. Susie and her husband have three children and live in West Michigan.
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About All Manner of Things
When Annie Jacobson’s brother Mike enlists as a medic in the Army in 1967, he hands her a piece of paper with the address of their long-estranged father. If anything should happen to him in Vietnam, Mike says, Annie must let their father know.
In Mike’s absence, their father returns to face tragedy at home, adding an extra measure of complication to an already tense time. As they work toward healing and pray fervently for Mike’s safety overseas, letter by letter the Jacobsons must find a way to pull together as a family, regardless of past hurts. In the tumult of this time, Annie and her family grapple with the tension of holding both hope and grief in the same hand, even as they learn to turn to the One who binds the wounds of the brokenhearted.
Author Susie Finkbeiner invites you into the Jacobson family’s home and hearts during a time in which the chaos of the outside world touched their small community in ways they never imagined.
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Read the introduction to All Manner of Things below:
