Christy

By: Catherine Marshall

Narrated by: Kellie Martin

In the year 1912, 19-year-old Christy Huddleston leaves home to teach school in the Smoky Mountains – and comes to know and love the resilient people of the region, with their fierce pride, their dark superstitions, their terrible poverty, and their yearning for beauty and truth. But her faith will be severely challenged by trial and tragedy, by the needs and unique strengths of two remarkable young men, and by a heart torn between true love and unwavering devotion. And don't miss another heart-soaring best seller from Catherine Marshall: Julie.

©1976 Catherine Marshall (P)2010 Oasis

Critic reviews

"First released in 1967, Christy is based on the life of author Catherine Marshall's mother and was the inspiration for the recent television series of the same name. Beautifully told, this is a charming, timeless tale of love and faith that will appeal to romance readers of all ages." (Amazon.com review)

An impactful story, but not for the sensitive

This is going to be a complicated review. In my opinion, Christy is a good book, just maybe not for all audiences. I'm giving it a solid 3.5 stars for "didn't-love-didn't-hate-but-liked-it-more-than-3 stars-but-not-quite-4-stars". There were things I liked and things I didn't like and things that simply were. Things that were uplifting and things that were depressing.

I liked Christy herself for the most part. She was lively, and an entertaining narrator. It was good to watch her grow and mature, and her faith journey was especially touching. The thing I disliked was her romantic journey. She was the most immature in that area, and had that immature attitude of, "If I'm not in love with him, then why do I have tingles when he kisses me?" Just guessing, but that might be hormones, maybe? Love should be so much more than physical attraction and tingles, dear. I also didn't like her main love interest hardly at all, which brings me to my next point.

David, her love interest, didn't seem like a bad guy at first, but the more she got to know him the more I disliked him. The man was in the ministry, not because he genuinely felt a calling, but because *other people* thought the ministry would suit him, and he was just there to do a job he was assigned to do, with no real love for the people. On top of that, he would preach fiery sermons using Scripture to back himself up, but then we find out that he doesn't even believe everything in the Bible, and is so unsure of his own faith that when Christy asks what he believes and why, he gets defensive/condescending saying she's "diving into deep theological waters" and he "doesn't want to confuse her". Um...who was the one who was just saying how unsure he was about the existence of heaven, Jesus' miracles being true miracles, etc. and keeps referring to debates back at the theological seminary rather than his own solid beliefs? You, not her.

Then there was the other love interest: Dr. McNeill. To be honest, I was neutral about him throughout most of the book. I never thought he seemed as arrogant as Christy thought he was at first, though he had a strong personality. And while I didn't agree with what he believed, at least he knew WHY he believed it, unlike David.

A character I was not neutral about was Miss Alice, who may have been my favorite side character in the whole story. She was a woman of integrity and strong, unwavering faith, who made for an excellent mentor and friend for Christy and others, and her personal story held interesting surprises.

There were other likable side characters as well, Fairlight and Ruby May coming to mind first. I also liked several of the school children and enjoyed loved the difference Christy made in her student's lives by actively showing them love even when it was difficult.

For the story itself, as I said at the start, it's a good story, but not necessarily suitable for all readers, due to differences in personal taste, and some content issues. It could be very uplifting seeing Christy's accomplishments and the sweet personal connections she made with individuals in the community, and ultimately, the change she brought to the community is the heart and point of the story. At the same time, the story didn't pull punches when it came to thematic elements and there were things that happened that could be considered depressing, and some things that aren't appropriate for readers of all ages. The mountain community lived in desperate poverty and ignorance, and just like back in the day when their ancestors lived in Scotland, there was little in the way of traditional law enforcement, and family feuds and acts of revenge that sometimes resulted in murder were the norm. There were other illegal acts as well, like the making and selling of illegal moonshine, the discovery of which could also lead to murder.

On top of this, there were medical things that some could find icky. (One time in particular, I listened while eating breakfast to the part where one character gets double pneumonia and...ugh...I wish I hadn't.) Some descriptions of illness and one surgery, while not graphic to an extreme, could be more than some people want to read, especially as nearly the entire last third of the book centers around an epidemic of typhoid in the community, and that is one nasty disease that, sadly, caused a number of deaths, thus adding to the depressingness.

And finally, and probably the most problematic were a mention of rape and the discovery that rape is part of the backstory of one prominent side character. When this character made this revelation, this was probably the one place where I thought a description went farther than it should have. The sex act was not described, but the character did mention where the wicked, evil, DESPICABLE excuse for humanity touched her, and I thought she should not have included this detail as it went from the simple knowledge that the evil person touched her inappropriately to being asked to picture *where* he touched her, and that's not something that needs to be pictured, especially as the mere knowledge that it happened was sickening enough to begin with.

Now, having said that^ I will make note that hearing about the positive way the community supported this character when they found out what happened was uplifting. The individual's parents and the Quaker community, one older woman in particular, rallied around her and protected her from gossip, ensuring that she and her child felt loved, not rejected. Her experience also taught them that they'd neglected educating their girl children about natural bodily acts like sex so they are not ignorant lambs among wolves if an evil person was to come into the community again with the intention of taking advantage of them.

All things considered, Christy is a complex book. I can see why those who have loved it over the years loved it, as it is very uplifting in some ways and, minus a little confusing moment, I liked the way it ended. At the same time, it is depressing in places, and with the hatred, revenge, icky medical descriptions, and one instance of a remembered rape, I was unable to completely fall in love with it, hence my rating of 3.5. Still, there is a reason this is a classic, and I think the right audience will enjoy it very much.

Content advisory for those who want to know:

Due to limits on review length, I cannot detail the content issues as I normally would, but I'll say that I would not personally recommend this book for anyone under the age of 16, maybe older depending on the individual, due to sexual content and themes as well as heavier themes that may be too much for young children.

One of the best

Would you listen to Christy again? Why?

One of the best stories I have heard in a very long time. Very well written. I did not want it to end.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Christy?

The end was beautiful.

What about Kellie Martin’s performance did you like?

Perfect narration.

Excellent

I laughed, I cried. This is a beautifully written book. Amazing story. So many nuggets of wisdom.

The Best!!

I read this book when I was a young girl twice because I loved it so much. Now about 50 years later I read it it’s wonderful!

Christy

I loved this story at 57 as much as I did at 20. I was afraid it would be trite when I came back to it as a mature person- but the characters were complex and the nuances of the situation were intact.

The narrator, however was not very good. At times the stiffness of the Narration made some of the most poignant scenes sound forced and the characters contrived and this was irritating.

Excellent!

No wonder this is considered a classic! It’s an excellent story. And Kellie Martin does an excellent job of reading it. The language and pronunciation of the Appalachian people is beautifully read by her, something one would miss if reading it for oneself. It’s so good that I plan to listen again—all 19+ hours!

Amazing and uplifting

Amazing and uplifting audio book Kellie Martin is the true Christy and hap p we get somewhat a conclusion in the book than the show Christy and McNeil fan their scenes in the book made my heart melt

Beautiful story and narration

A favorite audio book listed to many times over the years. Bittersweet story of an idealistic girl’s journey of becoming an adult. Wish that Kellie would narrate other titles. Her voice fits perfectly with the main character.

Why condensed?

I read this book many times.
It is one of the best books ever written.
Why, oh why did you left out portions of it?!?
It took away from the relationship between Christy & Neil. And some other parts. It is heartbreaking.
Will have to read it for myself to satisfy my soul.
The narrator is great except for the part where David and Neil is in conversation and, with no difference in tone, you don't know who is saying what...
Still, great book!

Truly captivating!

I loved everything and already missing the characters, time and place; wishing the story would continue on. Definitely, a favorite of all time.