The Brethren, by Beverley Lewis

The Brethren, by Beverley Lewis, is an endearing novel about life on the Pennsylvania countryside. It grants us a portal into a world understood by few: the world of the Amish, of the Brethren. Its tale tells of unrequited love, regret, daring boldness to buck against the established order and think in new ways, and a simple belief in God most "Englischers" find odd, perhaps even backward.

Annie Zook - daughter of an Amish preacher - is paying a heavy price for her indulgences. She's acted questionably in the eyes of the People; engaging in such indulgent activities as painting for the sake of painting, (even having the audacity to sell one to a magazine), and spending undue time with an Englisher, skirting on the edges of love.

She's not shunned - not yet - but she traipses along the edges by leaving home to live with one of their shunned people, Esther - who's been cast out for leaving the People's church for one preaching of Christ's saving grace. Annie wishes to return home, but try as she might; she can't take her mind off painting, or even worse - an Englisher named Ben Martin.

Meanwhile, Ben struggles to re-adjust to life back home, away from Annie and the Amish. Driven by a strange wanderlust, he's about to sign up with the Peace Corps to travel far from home when his family unveils a startling secret: he's adopted, not their biological son. Shocked, Ben now understands why he never seemed to fit in, always driven to move from one place to another. He wonders about the urge to return to Annie, so he embarks on a journey to discover who he is, and where he's from. What he discovers challenges everything he knows about himself, and everything the People think they know about their town.

The Brethren is an easy-going story that would make a good fit for the Lifetime channel. Lewis paints a realistic portrayal of the Amish, and the novel is enlightening as well: I can confess my own ignorance of their ways, not knowing many sects didn't believe in Christ's saving grace. In any case, the characters are for the most part believable; the countryside images vivid.

However, The Brethren does have a few problems. I was thrown off by the dialogue every now and then; at points Lewis emulates accurate Amish dialect: "Ach, I was ever so worried" - but then the same character would speak in a very contemporary manner only lines later: "You're joking!". It made me think of Kevin Costner's much-maligned Brooklyn accent in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

Also, Louisa's character - a friend of Annie who apparently inspired her to paint in a previous book - felt "tacked" on, mostly for the sole purpose of convincing her unsaved friend not to have an abortion near the end of the novel. She was an interesting character, her angst over choosing between Sam - who's going to leave the People to become "fancy" - and Michael, her former fiancé, was somewhat compelling, but she didn't seem to add anything to the story.

In the end, The Brethren was interesting, but the plot wore down at the end. A twist comes far too early in the story, and the narrative seems to drift along after that. However, if you're interested in the life of the Amish, perhaps The Brethren is the book for you.