Review of One Hand Two Hearts

[Jane Ogwang]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "One Hand Two Hearts" by S.K. Alfstad.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Some people naturally carry an aura of kindness, gentleness, and humility. I love those people. You know, the ones that almost always know the right thing to say at every moment? Well, the main character in this book was one such person. Jimmy Vansbricken was a Christian minimalist who carried genuine love and kindness wherever he went and with everyone he met.

One Hand Two Hearts by S.K. Alfstad tells a fictional tale of the legendary street singer Jimmy. The story starts by narrating the plight of homeless people in the city before highlighting the differences between Jimmy and his other family members. It turns out he had the choice to be rich but chose to be poor. This is unlike his brother, Fred, who had an immense desire for riches. Nevertheless, he develops a good relationship with his niece, Francesca, who makes it a habit to visit him on the streets. The story develops to involve his street friend, Bobby, and Scott, a lawyer, in one of the offices in town. The three form a close-knit group, taking part in several activities together. A manuscript written by Jimmy would later come and change the fortunes of these three people in unimaginable and massive ways. That manuscript is also included in the book and holds vital and helpful secrets about Jimmy's life. It ends with the lately uncommon tale of friends becoming family.

I absolutely enjoyed reading this book. The story was creatively thought-out and excellently presented by Alfstad. The author has a strong message to send to his audience, and he does it well. Themes of kindness and minimalism take center stage in the book, seemingly fulfilling the author's intentions for writing the book. Jimmy was wise. The quotes and teachings he gave in the book were deep and valuable. He used them as one-liners in conversations, a trick that made them seem even more authentic and relatable. My favorite Jimmy quote was, "As much meaning as one can find in this life, for me it's, live simply and help others." He seemed to have been an ardent follower of the Greek philosophy of stoicism.

Most books get confusing when stories are told within stories. Alfstad, however, did an excellent job jelling Jimmy's manuscript story and the real-life story of Jimmy. They intersected quite smoothly and were easy for me to follow. As a Christian, I also enjoyed the religious mentions and teachings in the book. The author worked well to ensure every chapter had a relevant chapter from the Bible that taught and was relevant to that particular story. The traditional quotes at the beginning of the chapters were also quite refreshing. There was absolutely nothing I disliked about this book. The language was friendly and simple enough for people to comprehend. My biggest takeaway, however, was the consistent and vital messages of humility, kindness, and simplicity. I think the world seriously needs to talk about these values, particularly now.

I am, therefore, happy to give this book an excellent rating of four out of four stars. It was enjoyable to read and seemed to have been professionally edited. I only noticed a few minor errors that did not distract my reading. I recommend it to lovers of Christian fiction books. It is also a nice story to teach our kids about virtues.

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One Hand Two Hearts
View: on Bookshelves

[expansive writer]

I like how you you have described the main character, you stated his qualities in a clear way

[Opara Jerry]

By the looks of this review, the book had a very happy ending. I dunno if I’m convinced enough to start reading this very book but I’ll keep an eye out for any other reviews about it.

[MsH2k]

This sounds like a refreshing story. Indeed, humility, kindness, and simplicity are very much needed today. Thank you for your review and recommendation. I'll have to keep an eye out for this book!

[Lisa Park17]

I am delighted by your depiction of the protagonist. Your analysis of the book is excellent and embodies vital points to draw a potential reader in. Nice work.

[Elize Vermaak]

From the review, it sounds like a book full of life lessons. Lessons that bring home that life always equalizes itself out and that you have a choice whether you want to be kind and caring or not. I am not a fan of Christian fiction, but the possible lessons in the book does intrigue me.

[Margi zuu202]

Book of the day BOTD is historical fiction tale of legendary street singer jimmy, he was a Christian his view on the homeless people he and his street buddies had an urge of helping the less fortunate jimmy had a choice of being rich but he saw it best to remain poor, he was a kind man his inspirational quotes he used to narrate the act of kindness and simple minimizing lifestyle.the book was well written and reviewed I will recommend it

[Timothy Rucinski]

I don't read Christian literature, so this book is definitely not for me. However, two thumbs up to the author for tackling the topic of homelessness. And congrats on BOTD.

[AntonelaMaria]

I love kindness in people too, and I believe that people are inherently good at their core. I know it can seem naive but that is just the way I am. It seems like Jimmy is a beautiful person. I don't think I have read books about a homeless person, ever. Great review.

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

This is an interesting historical fiction tale of an amazing street singer, kindness, gentleness, friendship, and humility. The book has a free sample on Amazon Kindle and has a well-written OnlineBookClub review. Congrats
@skalfstad on the BOTD selection.

[Favour Ugwu Chidinma]

I enjoyed reading this review. The reviewer did a perfect triggering clue about the book, presenting it as an interesting one to read. Congratulations BOTD!

[María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda]

You are right. Stories within stories can be super confusing, so I'm glad the author got it right. I also think minimalism (done right) is the best way to stop climate change and other problems that our society faces, so this book presents a crucial message for me.
Thank you!

[bookwormnbugz]

Hey. Thanks for the review.

So it seems the book is basically about the life and wise words of a humble, minimalist Christian man - Jimmy. He's a humble, minimalist, homeless Christian man, so it is expected that there will be themes of humility and kindness both from and towards Jimmy. Those are all great, but I feel you could have mentioned a bit more about the book.

Overall, seems like an ok book on kindness and humility. Perhaps we could learn something from it.

Thank you for your review

[Abimbola Oladokun]

A little bit of kindness goes a long way in changing someone's life. This book of sends an important message to humanity. Congratulations on being the BOTD.

[Jack King]

The main character sounds great and the story follows a path not often tread. A street singer is not often the main character of a book, I hope it works well.