by Daniel Molyneux ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 10, 2015
A theologically intriguing novel that mimics the Bible’s dramatic presentation.
A parablelike tale of spirituality, religion, and persecution.
Molyneux’s debut reads like Scripture, as it tells a story of a mysterious, increasingly popular spiritual instructor. Set in the ancient city of Antioch, some two centuries before the life of Jesus Christ, the tale centers around Elias, an unassuming teacher who awes his ever-growing audiences with his eloquent wisdom. As his following grows into something akin to a band of disciples, the emperor and religious leaders become alarmed at what they perceive as a challenge to their authority. However, even after it becomes unsettlingly clear that his life is in danger, Elias refuses to abandon his spiritual mission. When one of his followers says, “Teacher we should leave. It is not safe here,” he replies, “My friend, for those who speak the truth and serve the Lord, it is not safe anywhere upon the face of this imperfect World.” In many respects, the narrative echoes the account of Jesus’ life in the Gospels, written from a devotee’s first-person perspective. The author plainly contrasts the intolerance and doctrinal rigidity of institutional religion with the peace of faithful, inner-directed spirituality. Much of the book consists of Elias’ sermons to followers and skeptics alike, and these philosophical explanations give readers plenty of fodder for contemplation. Unfortunately, their predominance makes the book as a whole feel preachy and didactic. Also, Molyneux devotes little space to character development; it takes many pages before the narrator even refers to the main characters by name. This work isn’t driven by character or plot; indeed, it’s less a novel than a disquisition on spirituality, delivered in the form of a parable. Thankfully, the author has some generally thought-provoking ideas on this subject. Nevertheless, readers may be left wishing that he’d simply written a nonfiction book.
A theologically intriguing novel that mimics the Bible’s dramatic presentation.Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0692349632
Page Count: 110
Publisher: Angel of Antioch
Review Posted Online: Feb. 27, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2006
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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by J.D. Salinger ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 1951
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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