An engrossing autobiography that delivers believable, straightforward accounts of religious extremism and its large, complex...
In this debut memoir, a man recounts his struggles in a Christian cult and as a Muslim surrounded by radicals.
Despised by the other kids at his school for no apparent reason, Prentiss was always troubled. While living with his father south of Chicago, he became drawn to the occult, a startling development for himself and those around him. The author soon moved to St. Louis to live with his mother and the leader of a Christian “spiritual boot camp.” This intensive religious sect, called the Anointed of God Ministries, proved to be little more than torturous slave labor and endless beatings with loose biblical justifications. After finally escaping that harsh life, Prentiss married and had a child; his wife’s career with the Air Force took them to Britain, where he began to re-evaluate his life and his thoughts on religion. Following a divorce and a return to the U.S., he finally settled on Islam as the religion closest to his convictions. He converted, married a Muslim woman, and joined several organizations as an activist for community outreach on behalf of his new religion. But the tragic events of 9/11 would change some of his closest friends, leaving the author to face extremism yet again within his new brethren and make the devastating, dangerous choice to become an informant for the FBI. Prentiss does an excellent job of rendering the violence, fear, and trauma of his early years with brutal descriptions of beatings and the twisted logic he began to actually believe. But it’s in the book’s second half, which deals with the moral and emotional dilemma of turning in his jihadist friends to the police, that the memoir becomes the most dynamic and captivating. The author guides readers through his inner turmoil as well as the incredibly tense situations he was caught in as an informant. From one scene to the next, the absorbing story shifts from suspense to philosophically thorny questions about religion and community.
An engrossing autobiography that delivers believable, straightforward accounts of religious extremism and its large, complex consequences.Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4834-9549-1
Page Count: 220
Publisher: Lulu
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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