Vivid view of Amish life

Eyes at the Window Evie Yoder Miller. Good Books, 2003. Hardcover. 512 pages.

In her first novel, Evie Yoder Miller begins with the mysterious death, in 1810, of Marie Hershberger, an Amish infant, in Pennsylvania. The unsolved crime serves as the skeleton plot around which the author weaves an account of Amish life in America from 1810 to 1861.

The story is told by eight narrators, including both parents of the murdered child; a suspect in the murder, doomed to a lifetime of being shunned; one who is not suspected but carries through life a feeling of guilt and unworthiness; his sister; a woman who possesses the only available evidence, and that flawed; and two bishops. Each narrator has his or her aspirations and struggles, but the real protagonist is a collective: the Amish community.

Among the vital issues occupying this community are the push west to Ohio and beyond for more land; the challenge of keeping change out of the church; and the selection of leaders for the religious, pacifist community.

Some church leaders and members rely on the ban to keep the church pure; others are more open to change. Bishop Isaac Yoder understands his responsibility as “Keeping watch over the soul of another,” and is haunted by the fear that “Evil may be flourishing unnoticed” in the community. He is distressed to find a mirror in his daughter’s house and a wardrobe decorated with bright red and yellow paint in his son’s.

Bishop John M. Yoder questions, and fears, the constant use of the ban. He would “rather have my tender ones join the Mennonites . . . and find nourishment, than to languish unfed with us.”

The novel explores varying attitudes toward women in the male-dominated home, church and culture, and chronicles distinctive Amish practices with respect to healing, courting and marriage, cooking, and craft-making.

With eight narrators to keep track of, and many family networks to navigate, readers may get bogged down. However, those who persevere will be rewarded with a vivid, sympathetic and well-researched picture of a half-century of Amish life. Not to mention a skilful and moving resolution to the murder mystery.

Sarah Klassen is a Winnipeg poet and short story writer and attends River East MB Church.