The Mennonite/Amish Outcast

THE OUTCAST             By: Jolina Petersheim             3.7 Stars

The Outcast is a modern retelling of The Scarlet Letter. Even though I did not remember many of the details of the original story, The Outcast was predictable. However, it was still a quick read that kept my attention throughout the entire novel.

The story begins at the funeral of Amos, the former bishop of the Mennonite Community in Tennessee. At this point Rachel has already had her illegitimate child. Amos’s eldest son and Rachel’s twin sister’s husband, Tobias, has become the new bishop. He has failed to fully cast out Rachel only because Leah (the twin and wife) has been pleaded for her to stay.

Unfortunately, Leah has had many complications since the delivery of her own child, which Rachel has been helping her handle. Soon Leah ends up in the hospital and Tobias, sure that Rachel is the reason Leah is unable to heal, sends her away from the community without transportation or a place to stay. Rachel is fortunate to run across Ida Mae, who takes her and little Eli in.

With a loss of communication Rachel is not quite sure how Leah is recovering until her own parents visit both daughters from their Amish community in Pennsylvania. Soon we find out Leah has healed, but little Eli’s health becomes dire. Life starts to spin out of control for Rachel when she feels anger about her suffering while the father of her child remains unknown.

The plot thickens and roles reverse in this retelling. There are few surprises, but that shouldn’t stop you from picking it up. The story is told from a first person perspective with Rachel and with a third person perspective from the deceased Amos. This unique way to narrate the book was a brilliant step in causing us to feel Rachel’s emotions, yet still have an outsider’s opinion on the whole situation.

The book has biblical undertones and language that is characteristic of the Amish and Mennonite communities. At least, it seems like it is authentic based on the author’s biography. It is a well written story that will make it almost impossible to put down.