One great thing about being sick is, you can curl up next to the fire (or in my case, space heater) with some coffee and a few warm cats, and read all day long. Which is just what I did, since I've been down with a cold.
At the James River Writer's Conference, our favorite speaker was Sheri Reynolds. We agreed that she made the most sense, had the best real-world advice for aspiring authors, and seemed like the smartest person there, as well as the most down-to-Earth. I'd heard great things about this novel (one of Oprah's picks), so I put it on my Christmas list.
This book centers on a teenage girl named Ninah, who is a part of an evangelical/religious fanatic-type community that call themselves the Church of Fire and Brimstone and God's Almighty Baptizing Wind and use medieval torture methods (water torture, sleeping on nettles, and using barbed wire in places it should never be used) as a means of cleansing their sins.
The writing is great, and Reynolds weaves a story that you don't want to put down. It's not exactly action-packed; it's just that, you can't wait to see what insanity these people will think up next. Granted, there really are cults like this, and some of them practice in broad daylight. From a personal angle, I have no use for people who twist the words of The Bible to suit whatever their misguided desires and beliefs are. So I had a hard time containing my anger at the sheer ignorance of these characters. All of them, that is, except Ninah and her grandmother, both of whom seem to be free-thinkers, yet they never leave this cult. I kept waiting for Ninah to leave.
But she didn't. She had a child out of wedlock (well, she's only 15, anyway), named Canaan, who her grandfather (the head of this cult) at first condemns her for, then later sees as the New Messiah. The ending made it all worth it; such beautiful imagery and such a poignant life commentary. I'll let you check it out, if you haven't read this book.
I recommend it.
4 comments:
So sorry you have been sick - but glad that you read the book! I agree, it was not action-packed and yet, you keep turning the pages. I really did enjoy it, and continue to think of it every now and then. Perhaps the best tribute one can give to a great author!
I finished reading this book not long ago and I loved it. I was thinking of explaining it on my blog as well but couldn't put it into words, all I know is I want friends to read it. Thanks for putting my thoughts down for me!
Glad the review helped! It was a very good book.
i am a 17 year old and i loved the book it was great
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