Book Review: The Beauty of the Lilies

Age group: All Ages

Description: Once upon a time, there lived a painter. He dreamed, he painted, and he was troubled by only one thing, the great interruption of his life – the vast Empire among the stars. For, you see, he was emperor. As emperor he did nothing, and as long as nothing happened, all was well.
And then, unexpectedly and all at once, something happened.
In The Beauty of the Lilies, Shannon McDermott tells the story of the painting emperor. With vivid characters, with tenderness and humor, Beauty of the Lilies is an evocative novella.

This was the first story I have read by Shannon McDermott and I enjoyed it immensely. The story of a absent minded, but good king who is faced with a great pulled me in from the beginning. When I finished the story, I wanted to read more. I plan to read Shannon’s other book as soon as I can.

What I liked about the story: I loved the well devolved characters. Some books of large size struggle with well devolved characters, but even in the short pages of this book, Shannon was able to bring her characters to life.

Shannon also has a great gift for description. Places, colors, and people leapt off the page into living images with her words. She has a talent that takes many authors many years and books grasp.

Lastly, I loved the morals and lessons in the story. It is rare to find a book that is so full of good lessons without being overly preachy.

What I didn’t like about it: I did get the feeling I would better understand the world in which this story took place if I had read Shannon’s other book. Although the story made since and I didn’t feel lost, I couldn’t help but feel I was missing something.

My main complaint however is that I didn’t want the story to end so soon. I had already grown attached to the painter emperor and the rest. I wanted to read more.

I highly recommend this to anyone who likes short stories with rich characters, enjoys mild science-fiction stories, and/or is looking for clean, wholesome fiction.

You can buy it on Shannon's website.