Title: Mai Grace
Author: Thomas B. Polvogt III
Language: English
Pages: 368
Reviewed by: Barbara Bamberger Scott
Hollywood Book Reviews
Author Thomas V. Polvogt has constructed a dynamic portrait of a man whose experiences range from bullying and disdain for others to regret and revelation in Mai Grace.
Gene Harrisen and his sister Mai Grace are children of a father who served with the US military in Japan in the aftermath of World War II, and his Japanese wife, Akiko, a Christian convert; together, while residing in Houston, Texas, they establish a ministry in Japan. Mai remembers the family’s early trips to Japan, when Gene begins to show signs of rejection of that culture. Also vividly depicted are his violent reactions to certain circumstances, including an incident when Mai was under threat by a gang of Texan teens; Gene seriously injured them, using his karate skills. Over the following years, Gene became less communicative with family, showing little interest in his parents’ mission work. Still, he developed positive relationships with other family members including his grandfather and demonstrated admirable work skills. While in Japan in his early twenties, and hearing of sexual threats against Mai by a man named Kaito, Gene resolves to force Kaito to confess and suffer consequences. Circumstances are against him, however, and he would wind up in a Japanese prison with a ten-year sentence for what the jury perceived as intended murder. His sentence would bar his parents from returning to Japan. Yet, as Mai would learn through letters and later proofs, prison had a positive effect on her brother; he took his punishments as deserved, and began to befriend fellow inmates, learning Japanese from and teaching English to his fellow inmates, so that he was allowed a special classroom and duty as an instructor. And gradually, Gene begins to embrace Christian principles, demonstrating his wish to atone for past perfidies and reunite with his estranged family.
Polvogt has pursued a business career while immersing himself in international Christian mission callings. He has written many novels and, like this book’s characters, is known for posing profound questions, some of which have no immediate answers. In Mai Grace he takes on the perspective of a Japanese American young woman who continues to admire and trust her seemingly unrepentant sibling, and whose faith in him will eventually blossom, revealing a new, strong and spiritual adult. Polvogt’s well-honed writing skills and his gift for sharing complex details of culture, language, and human behaviors are such that readers will become magnetized as they immerse themselves in this skillfully constructed plot. His novel will doubtless attract an enthralled audience who can benefit from his deftly woven plot and its positive, enheartening outcomes.
For readers who appreciate meaningful stories about the human experience, Mai Grace offers an intimate reflection on love, perseverance, and the enduring qualities that connect us all. It would be particularly suited to readers who appreciate books that encourage contemplation about life’s challenges and the ways compassion and grace can shape the human journey.
