And the Shofar Blew

By: Francine Rivers

Narrated by: Ruth Ann Phimister

Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Francine Rivers, the internationally best-selling author of Redeeming Love, has won many prestigious awards, including the Christy Award for Inspirational Historical Fiction and the ECPA Gold Medallion. More than a million copies of her books are in print. And the Shofar Blew is her poignant tale about the danger of straying from God's true path. Energetic young pastor Paul Hudson rejuvenates a dying church and boosts attendance so high that a new building must be constructed. But in his eagerness to please the new devotees, Paul loses touch with what truly matters.

©2003 Francine Rivers (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC

Great Book, definitely worth the listen.

This book was very difficult to read, considering it's subject matter. My parents were pastors, and I have attended churches both small and mega. Knowing the little I did of the behind the scenes drama and dynamics... this book scared me with it's reality. A Christian book about a pastor that makes mistakes that he doesn't think are mistakes. I found myself wanting his wife to cheat on him! However, the author only brings out this desire in her readers because she wants us to feel what the characters feel, and she sets the character and the reader straight. Very good book, very unsettling in its reality, but a must read for pastors, their wives, or anyone even considering going into the ministry... I wouldn't recommend this book for non-christians, as well written as it is, because of the harshness of the message behind it, and because I don't think they were this book's target audience.

If you want to recommend a christian book to a non-christian, I'd highly recommend her other novel, Redeeming Love

As for this particular audio version, I found that I didn't like the narrator. Her voice just sounded too old for most of the characters, and at times, in order to express certain emotions, she would speak REALLY slowly, especially with the older characters in the book. It wasn't bad, but it was just harder to get used to, but I eventually did. I considered giving this book 4 stars because of the narration, but it's so good as a piece of compelling christian fiction that I couldn't do it. Highly recommended. :)

And The Shofar Blew

I really enjoyed this book. It was hard to read though. I've seen a lot of these same things happen at my own church, and it was hard reliving them. At a point, i was wondering how the wife would handle her husband's misdeeds, but I was glad to see her stand up and be strong. i will warn everyone that this book is a christian novel, and so, if God doesn't appeal to you, don't read it. I loved this book myself. i honestly can say that I haven't read a francine Rivers book that I haven't liked, but that is just me. I really enjoyed the narator as well. She was good although I do feel that at times, she did speak a little slower that was necessary when the elderly people were speaking. Over all though, I give this book a five stars. It's good I highly reommend it.

Great book - so-so narration

This book is a must-read for any Christian thinking of going into, or marrying into, the ministry. The message that one must stand solely on God and his word is so important that it is often missed in our world and, sadly, even our Christian literature.
The book is long in spots, but each scene builds and builds and shows what can happen - editing anything out would have taken away from seeing the lives of the characters unfold.

The narrator, like other reviewers have said, does speak very slowly - particularly for the older characters - but once you look past that, she did a passible job. I rarely had difficulty differentiating between the characters - no small feat when there are 6-8 of them over the course of the novel!

This is an important work, well worth the credit.

Absolutely wonderful!!

Here's another excellent book by Francine Rivers. This book is just a perfect reminder of how we need to stand firm in God's plan for us and remain obedient;otherwise, hefty consequences will follow. This is my second book by Ms. Rivers. The first was Redeeming Love, which I absolutely loved, and now this one. My friend and I talk about these books as if we knew the characters personally. That's how real the story comes alive. Thank you Ms. Rivers for such wonderful Christian based books.

Highly recommend

If you could sum up And the Shofar Blew in three words, what would they be?

Sad, but true

What did you like best about this story?

With ethics crumbling around us, the story shows that believers can still live for God.

Which character – as performed by Ruth Ann Phimister – was your favorite?

I identified with Eunice and what she was going through.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Modern church in crisis

Any additional comments?

I got this book because I had enjoyed three historical Christian books by Francine Rivers. So when this book took place 'now' I was surprised. But then I started reading and I was really amazed because I've lived through this sort of thing twice in the last thirty years in my small town church. Francine put into words many things that I had experienced. I especially appreciated her message of hope.

And the Shofar Blew

What a wonderful story. It made me evaluate some things I have expirenced in my life. It had spiritual depth and the situations and characters relate to real life priorities and consequences of wrong or right choices. I really think it is one of my favorites. Francine Rivers is a very talented author.

Awesome book

I loved this book! As a PK I really related to the whole thing. It was a truthful story and very impacting. Every pastor should read it. The narrator read a little slow (pace) but I loved it anyway!

I almost gave up in the beginning but I'm glad I didn't

The beginning of this book was difficult to attach to for me. I struggled with all the details and all the characters, there were a lot of both. In the end it brought me to conviction on some situations in my life. It's definitely worth it!

And the Shofar Blew

Excellent!!! Ms. Rivers did an excellent job of portraying life on this earth and especially in weeding out the evolution of "church" and God's Church. No holds barred.

Very disappointing

Any additional comments?

This book seems to have been written to make a heavy-handed point about problems in some Christian churches today. The characters are one-dimensional stereotypes. There is no character development; one "bad guy" experiences a (predictable) epiphany and instantaneously has a complete 180 degree personality change. Every character is either bad or good--no shades of gray in this story! (No pun intended). Additionally, the dialogue is stilted and unnatural. Lots of cliches and platitudes, and even the slang phrases are quite outdated. This is underscored by the narration, which seems to have been done by an elderly woman. No matter how hard she tries to vary her tone for different characters, they all end up sounding like fussy old ladies. Having many friends who like Francine Rivers' books a lot, I had high hopes for "And the Shofar Blew". Needless to say, I was very disappointed.