An engrossing, provocative novel.
A young, born-again, American evangelical goes to Guatemala in 1983 to study Spanish in preparation for future work as a missionary, but his experiences over the subsequent three months in a country run by the fundamentalist dictator Gen. José Efraín Ríos Montt shock, frighten and ultimately challenge him to question his faith.
Kasten’s novel is unapologetically political, a vehicle for presenting “an object lesson for those who think theocracy leads to peace and justice.” As such, it suffers from occasional plot contrivances. But her well-crafted prose and attention to detail bring Kit Lamb to life. The third-person narration is from Kit’s perspective, blending his current experiences with memories of the troubled life—and salvation—that brought him to the small town of Antigua. Kasten offers poignant portrayals of the indigenous population, as well as detailed descriptions of clothing, colors and landscapes. These create vibrant images that convey a sense of being with Kit as he walks the narrow streets and wanders the hillsides. An amateur artist, Kit sketches portraits of children in the center plaza, connecting with them even before his studies begin. His artist’s eye for nuance and inherent compassion compel him to notice the discrepancies between Montt’s stated fundamentalist doctrine and the reality of indigenous life in Guatemala. Colleen, a 20something American girl, is seated next to Kit on the plane. She serves as the love interest as well as the catalyst for the upheavals and discoveries that propel Kit through the tortuous journey from a naïve boy to a self-sufficient young man. He struggles against her obvious contempt for his religious devotion, determined to save her soul from eternal damnation, even as he finds himself drawn to her physically. Ultimately, it is Kit’s relationship with Colleen that results in his first-hand experience with the brutality of the Rios Montt regime.
An engrossing, provocative novel.Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2010
ISBN: 978-0615390857
Page Count: 345
Publisher: Islet
Review Posted Online: Oct. 31, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2011
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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