James Rubart's The Chair ~ Reviewed

The Chair

By James L Rubart

Published by B&H

ISBN #: 978-14336-7154-2

386 Pages

Book Description:

If someone gave you a chair and said it was made by Jesus Christ, would you believe them?

When an elderly lady shows up in Corin Roscoe's antiques store and gives him a chair she claims was crafted by Jesus, he scoffs. But when a young boy is miraculously healed two days after sitting in the chair, he stops laughing and starts wondering . . . could this chair heal the person whose life Corin destroyed twelve years ago?

As word spreads of the boy's healing, a mega-church pastor is determined to manipulate Corin into turning over the chair. And that mysterious woman who gave him the piece flits in and out of his life like a shadow, insinuating it's Corin’s destiny to guard the chair above everything else. But why?

Desperate, he turns to the one person he can trust, a college history professor who knows more about the legend of the chair than he'll reveal. Corin's life shatters as he searches for the truth about the artifact and the unexplained phenomena surrounding it. What’s more, he's not the only one willing do almost anything to possess the power seemingly connected to the chair.

Review:

I’m thankful to have received a review copy of a book that took me on an unexpected, suspenseful, and wild journey. James Rubart also did that in his book Rooms too. I see a pattern here! Grin! Loved it!

One day an old woman leaves a mysterious chair at Corin Roscoe’s antique shop. She doesn’t want to sell it but says this chair belongs to him and says he’s now the keeper of the chair. She doesn’t stay long. Says she’ll be in touch with Corin. Corin thinks this woman is bizarre and doesn’t think much about it, he’s just glad the old gal was gone!

He soon forgets about the chair until his next customer enters with a boy who has bad asthma! He sits in this old chair while Corin helps his mom. The next day Corin catches the news and discovers the little boy’s been healed and tells reporters it was after sitting a magical chair in the antique store! The boy says he felt warm and peaceful after sitting there a while! Next thing you know Dr’s confirmed the little boy is healed. Corin starts to wonder about this chair and how to get a hold of the old lady- he had questions to ask her. He runs into the woman again and she says the chair was made by Jesus. Could it be possible? Did it really have the power to heal?

He found passages in the bible such as Matthew 14:35-36 and Mark 5:27-29 where objects were used to heal and a woman was healed by just touching Jesus’s clothes. So maybe there was something to this “Healing Chair.”

The old woman warns Corin to keep the location of the chair a secret to protect himself and the chair. The woman disappears leaving him with more questions than before. He shares his situation with his closest pal - who says, “I think it would be cool if you had a chair made by Jesus, you could start a cult. Pretend it gives people visions if they sit on it! Hey! Make them pay to sit on it to get their visions and make a few bucks by building duplicates, put them in stores and up on your website and sell ‘em!”

If his friend was acting like this what would happen if the world found out? It would be unimaginable to think about the ramifications! How does he validate if the chair is real and keep it quiet at the same time? How can he hide the chair during this process? If the chair was real then what? His life was complicated enough, he didn’t need this!

I liked the suspenseful drama, action and the deep love relationships talked about in this novel. The author says, “...the greatest healing would never be physical, but a healing of the heart and our soul...the restoration of man’s relationship to God and of our relationships with each other.”

Jim also says in his note to readers! “All of us long to be restored physically, emotionally. But I believe the restoration we long for most is the healing of broken relationships!”

I loved this story of discovery and wonder as Corin tries to find out if the chair’s made by Jesus and has healing powers. James L. Rubart talks about the important things in life, love, family and relationships. What would you be willing to do to protect them, love them, be restored to them? I highly recommend this book to everyone. It’s a fun, fast-paced read that will make you think about love, life and your relationship with the master!! Doesn’t get any better than that!

Reviewed: Nora St.Laurent

The Book Club Network