Hey, I should have a book on the New York Times bestseller list, but I don't. So good for the author on the success of this book.I wanted to really like it and I came away with just an okay feeling.
Early on you discover this book is going to be more story than style, and the story is good...but then it breaks down into the theological aspect and starts to come across way too forced.
Even the story becomes very predictable. I'm not Nostradamus but very few twists surprised me, including the "Room 222" style break down of the celestial beings.
When we first meet God, he's revealed as an old black woman. I half expected her/him to say "My name is Abigail Freemantle, I'm 106-years old, and I still bake my own bread."
(Wasn't the Oracle in one of the Matrix movie disasters also represented by an older black woman?)
The author's efforts to incorporate ethnicity into the trinity are moronic...one minute you're pounding home a story...the next minute you're preaching at the reader between the lines.
Standard social justice themes like the rich feeding off the poor are played out...and I was kind of wondering what happened to the story. While I have my own issues with denominational structure the passages about there being no rules wasn't offset at all by any mention of an absolute. (Folks, there are absolutes in life)
The informality of the interaction between the lead character and the God-Head wears thin. I like an approachable Jesus, but I can't envision him saying; "True that."
But, hey, I'm not a smart guy. The smart guys love this book, I didn't,...thankfully, in this case, the light shines dimly on young grasshopper.
This actually really ironic I had to buy this book for my Intro to lit. Class. Its sitting on my desk in my dorm room right now. I think from what i've read on the back and what you just wrote it seems really good. Hope the lioght will shine on me.
ReplyDelete-Josh O