Theological Tango - Christianity Today

Retired dairy farmer Gerrit Appeldoorn, a nearly 60-year-old Dutch Reformed widower, finds himself inexplicably drawn to the new piano teacher from the East Coast. Homegrown fellow that he is, Gerrit tries to erect mental and spiritual blockades against this fresh-faced city woman.

Though he wants to honor the memory of his dead wife, Gerrit is increasingly eager to escort his granddaughter to her piano lessons—puzzling as this flimsy pretense is even to himself.

Thus begins The Duet, the debut adult title for youth series author Robert Elmer. The tempo picks up as the Calvinist worldview of Gerrit clashes with that of Joan Horton, the also-widowed piano teacher whose Nazarene roots emphasize actively “doing” rather than letting life unfold around her. Gerrit and Joan’s theological conversations give their relationship a spark. Casual debate turns to verbal sparring.

This is no tract, though. Elmer draws his readers in for a closer look, then teases them with a bit of introspection or laughter before unveiling another truth. Like writers such as Jan Karon, Elmer avoids theological lectures in favor of prudent, timely, and telling remarks from his characters.

With this work, Elmer—the author of The Young Underground, Adventures Down Under, Promise of Zion, and AstroKids—also reminds us that many new Christian fiction writers are crafting their work more skillfully than ever.

Elmer mainly teaches by example. As the widower and the widow stumble into a tenuous friendship revolving around 9-year-old granddaughter Mallory’s piano lessons (which she abhors), they journey, often comically, into places of deeper understanding. The author expertly unfurls a story in which both characters learn to hold their beliefs while making room to listen to the other.

Elmer paints Joan Horton as a wounded, guarded pianist extraordinaire who likes to be in control. She has entered the rural community of Van Dalen, Washington, on a year’s sabbatical from a prestigious music school in New York.

Desperate for a respite from her self-imposed, guilt-ridden past, Joan feels compelled to make up for failing her husband and her wayward adult son. Her husband suffered depression before he died, and her son’s bizarre behavior continues to reflect their frightening past.

In contrast with Joan, the stout, opinionated Gerrit bellows that nothing comes to pass that God himself has not foreordained. Ironically, heart disease is slowly rendering him incapable of lending a hand to the family’s failing dairy farm. He refuses to follow any advice from a doctor—it is God’s will or nothing.

Both characters react strongly to each other’s stances, then retreat to private thoughts for further self-discovery. During these solitary interludes, Gerrit and Joan unpeel layer after layer of long-held tenets of their faith, asking more questions of themselves and their beliefs. Elmer’s intent is clear: Believers can maintain their theological integrity and simultaneously learn a thing or two from those different from themselves.

The author handles the personal and theological tensions well. Elmer artfully only hints at Joan’s past as he develops multidimensional characters. Occasionally one may sniff out a formula character, such as the wily but cute granddaughter who devises clever tactics to avoid piano practice.

Overall, though, the figures in the novel make readers both smile and think. Once when Gerrit visits Joan’s church, Elmer notes, “After a while he grudgingly had to allow the remote possibility that maybe this wasn’t a wild cult after all. Shoot. Because if they had been, this visit would have been a whole lot easier. As it was, the longer he stayed, the harder it became to dismiss this little congregation out of hand.”

Readers will discover a fresh voice in Elmer. The Duet is a refreshing journey through small-town America, where life and faith are still largely taken for granted. It is a difficult task to explore the mysteries of God’s sovereign workings and still maintain a handle on one’s free will, yet Elmer balances on this tightrope with a gentle finesse that will endear him to readers from both camps.

Michele Howe is a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly and CBA Marketplace.