Heaven Lake

Just finished this novel. I've been taking a lot of books out of the library lately in an attempt to save money. And I wasn't sure I was going to like this one, but I felt like I'd been browsing the fiction shelves long enough. I ended up really enjoying this book though. The main character is Vincent, he's 23, and heads to Taiwan as a young Christian volunteer to spread the Christian word to the Tawainese. At first I didn't like Vincent very much - he was self-righteous, a goody-two shoes, and far too judgemental for a person his age. I thought I was going to go through the book hating him (which is sort of enjoyable, hating characters becomes almost as fun as liking them) but events unfolded and soon Vincent was changing, adapting to his new situations, and dealing with his life in a variety of ways - sometimes with strength and confidence, and sometimes with weakness and cowardice. I think that Vincent is a good example of a complex character, and I think that that's a lof of what made this book great. The amazing descriptions of travel and life in Taiwan and China didn't hurt either. I recommend this read!