You may be familiar with Elisabeth Elliot.

Perhaps you’ve heard of Jim Elliot, Elisabeth’s husband who was martyred in Ecuador in 1956.

Maybe you’ve read one of Elliot’s many books, like Passion and Purity, Through Gates of Splendor, or These Strange Ashes. 

But have you ever heard of No Graven Image?

This little volume caught my eye when our staff team was retreating at an acquaintance’s Lake home about 10 years ago.  It was tucked away neatly on a bookshelf, but I made a note and ordered it (not sure how — this was before Amazon Prime).

I loved it.

And I wondered why no one ever talked about this little treasure in my circles, where Elliot is a widely accepted hero. I have since discovered the answer to that question: No Graven Image was controversial.

The critics panned it, and evangelicals roasted it.

Christian America in 1966 was not into Elliot’s realistic tale of a young women’s awkward missionary journey, and now the book is out of print.

Of course, if you know much about Elliot, you will not be surprised to learn she went on to publish a dozen or so more biographical and devotional books.  She kept writing — she was not a people pleaser.

But she hung up her novel-writing hat. Fifty years ago, the world was not ready for an Elisabeth Eliot novel.

A quick search of online reviews for No Graven Image today shows our current generation has more of an appetite for the difficult truths Elliot tackled than their predecessors of 1966.  Post-modern readers seem to appreciate the realism in a Christian novel which leads to more questions than answers.

So if you have an appetite for truth and the patience to order from a third-party seller on Amazon, check out No Graven Image. 

Let me know what you think.