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caseyxcat's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book a lot but found myself less engaged with chapters that weren’t about the death doula. What an incredibly interesting life to read about.
kiwialexa's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
2.75
jessicagarrett_'s review
4.0
I found the different perspectives so interesting. I particularly liked learning more about the death doula and her respect for the dying process. Such an important role in this world.
alexgsmith's review
These are the stories of many different people and different beliefs, from the existence of ghosts, to how to meet death, to the existence of a “homosexual agenda”. Some are commonly mocked, others could be dangerous. Some are instilled from a young age and must be true, others arise from traumatic experience. All tell us something about the life of the believer, and invite us to understand.
This book humanises the people behind those beliefs, but doesn’t avoid judging them; it’s written from more of a personal perspective than a journalistic one. That felt strange until I realised it, but I think it’s the heart of the book: how do our beliefs influence how we act toward the world and others, and how do others perceive and act toward us because of our beliefs?
The chapters focused on Anna, a Buddhist “death doula” and Katrina, a terminal cancer patient she’s working with, were the most affecting for me - I teared up at a section that provoked an image of dying in a hospital surrounded by strangers; confused, scared, alone. I also quite enjoyed the ghost hunter and ufologist chapters, which while often whimsical sometimes had me thinking “well, maybe…”
The interleaving of the different narratives didn’t work for me - I found that whenever I was getting into one, there would be an abrupt switch to another, and I didn’t feel like there was enough of a thematic link between them to justify that. The book is best when it allows people to speak for themselves, which it mostly does, but some of the reflective writing felt a bit awkward to me through forced metaphors and stretched similes, but that too was mostly good and often quite poignant.
I finished this in the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens, a place I’ve half jokingly thought of as my church in reference to Faithless (“where I heal my hurt”) and my habit of spending a morning there most weekends I’m able. After the final page I wandered space no less magnificent for the overcast sky, watching the new cygnets of spring, thinking about what I believe, and why. I think a book that has that kind of effect is a book worth reading.
This book humanises the people behind those beliefs, but doesn’t avoid judging them; it’s written from more of a personal perspective than a journalistic one. That felt strange until I realised it, but I think it’s the heart of the book: how do our beliefs influence how we act toward the world and others, and how do others perceive and act toward us because of our beliefs?
The chapters focused on Anna, a Buddhist “death doula” and Katrina, a terminal cancer patient she’s working with, were the most affecting for me - I teared up at a section that provoked an image of dying in a hospital surrounded by strangers; confused, scared, alone. I also quite enjoyed the ghost hunter and ufologist chapters, which while often whimsical sometimes had me thinking “well, maybe…”
The interleaving of the different narratives didn’t work for me - I found that whenever I was getting into one, there would be an abrupt switch to another, and I didn’t feel like there was enough of a thematic link between them to justify that. The book is best when it allows people to speak for themselves, which it mostly does, but some of the reflective writing felt a bit awkward to me through forced metaphors and stretched similes, but that too was mostly good and often quite poignant.
I finished this in the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens, a place I’ve half jokingly thought of as my church in reference to Faithless (“where I heal my hurt”) and my habit of spending a morning there most weekends I’m able. After the final page I wandered space no less magnificent for the overcast sky, watching the new cygnets of spring, thinking about what I believe, and why. I think a book that has that kind of effect is a book worth reading.
Grief is as individual as it is universal. In our efforts to avoid it, we fabricate bespoke delusions, tailor the terms of our personal negotiations with the intractable. But while we find ourselves washed up on shores so different they could be their own planets, the ground beneath our feet is always the same. I believe we are united in the emotions that drive us into the beliefs that separate us.
textpublishing's review
The following book reviews have been shared by Text Publishing – publisher of The Believer
‘The author has the rare combination of skills that allows her to not only build enough trust and rapport with her interview subjects that they will reveal intimate details about their lives, but to also distil a person down to their essence and put that on the page in a way that is simultaneously informative, sensitive and enthralling…’
Books+Publishing
'A philosophical meditation on all aspects of faith and self-delusion, with the elegant phrasing of ideas that made The Trauma Cleaner such a delight.’
Guardian
'This book has got me thinking far more than most. Sarah Krasnostein tells the stories of people who live in mindsets unfamiliar to her with compassion and respect... Krasnostein’s art is that she never places herself on the throne of judgment...The result is both beautiful and unpredictable. Krasnostein is neither naïve nor cynical. She is an existential adventurer.’
Sydney Morning Herald
‘[T]ranscendent, expansive writing that does the thing that many writers strive for but only few achieve: to show us humanity in clear and compassionate detail, to deepen our understanding of it and to reveal the mysterious and myriad ways in which we are all connected. It is nothing short of astounding.’
WellRead
‘Krasnostein writes beautifully, and emerges as a thoughtful and compassionate observer…The Believer is, in many ways, my favourite kind of book: one that requires a little extra attention and engagement, calling on the reader as an active participant in its project of making meaning…The result is a meditative and intensely rewarding reading experience, the impact of which lingers long after the final page.’
West Australian
'Sarah Krasnostein, who blew us all away with her fantastic book The Trauma Cleaner brings her inquisitive nature and empathetic way with people to her new book The Believer...By seeking such disparate subjects, Krasnostein has woven the threads of their stories, and their very different belief systems, into a tapestry that is rich with life, love and stories. I expect this will be running off the shelves, and deservedly so.’
Readings
'Krasnostein’s writing is lyrical and stylish, and imaginative in a way that often feels invigorating...The Believer is a fascinating book, and one that asks big questions – about connectedness and separation, certainly, but also about love and grief, resilience and faith, and all the ways in which we situate ourselves within the world. And it is informed always by a sprawling curiosity and deep humanity, which make it an affirming, and deeply moving read.’
Guardian
‘[Sarah Krasnostein] listens and records and keeps going back for more until she has built up a picture, complete with all the subtleties that human emotion, faith and intellect offer…there is no judgement here, just the healthy scepticism of an inquiring mind willing to listen, even when the encounters make her uncomfortable or challenge her own theories and convictions.’
Herald Sun
‘A fascinating journey, with an erudite, compulsively reflective companion.’
InDaily
'Fans of Krasnostein’s first book, The Trauma Cleaner (2017), will find much to admire in her second: her curiosity, her even hand, her focus not on people’s coherence but on their contradictions, her lateral thinking...Krasnostein’s narrative voice – a blend of insight, authenticity, and journalistic skill – is like a slow-cooked Shabbat cholent, rich and wholesome, every flavour running into the other.’
Australian Book Review
‘A tender observation of humanity and the unanswerable questions we ask...The joy and discovery of this book, and in life, is in the asking.’
Kill Your Darlings
'[Sarah Krasnostein] is a wonderful, wonderful writer…The best follow-up to The Trauma Cleaner you could have. Highly recommended.'
Loose Reads
'Deeply compassionate while still retaining an observational and, at times, critical eye...Krasnostein is a fine, thoughtful writer and it is a pleasure to follow her into the consideration of these strongly held, at times odd, even objectionable, belief systems which can only provoke you to consider your own view of the world and those around us.'
Writing NSW
'This book is a superb achievement; Krasnostein is a masterful storyteller and describes her cast of characters in a rich and vibrant manner..This is a collection of people seeking out different ways to reassure themselves that they are not alone in the universe.'
ArtsHub
'[A] fascinating and sometimes bonkers investigation into self-delusion...Krasnostein takes care to get inside her subject's heads to find out what makes them tick.'
NZ Herald
‘A polyphonic work that reverberates across the wide spectrum of the human experience, lending credence and kindness to differing beliefs without judgment...Krasnostein’s generosity, curiosity and lack of judgment towards her subjects made me believe that there is a way to stay true to one’s rational self while also being open to other possibilities.’
Sydney Review of Books
'Sarah Krasnostein holds a mirror to the world we inhabit but don’t fully understand, helping us see how our lives are shaped by beliefs at once wholly strange and unexpectedly familiar. Lyrical, haunting, endlessly curious, The Believer will restore your faith in the power of stories to bridge the gaps between us.'
Peter Manseau, author of The Apparitionists
‘Deeply wise. If reading a book can make you more human, The Believer does just that.’
Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, author of The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir
'Krasnostein brilliantly shows us how to look more carefully, listen more closely, and love more expansively. A complicated, lyrical portrait of belief, meaning making, and the stories we tell that might save us.’
Sarah Sentilles, author of Stranger Care
'Compassion and curiosity permeate Sarah Krasnostein’s writing. Every few pages there is a line so poignant it takes my breath away.’
Sasha Sagan, author of For Small Creatures Such as We: Rituals for Finding Meaning in Our Unlikely World
'A thoughtful meditation on humans’ desire for certainty, security, and solace.’
Kirkus Reviews
'A fascinating portrait of the human condition, Sarah Krasnostein’s latest explores a range of belief systems through six profiles—of a death doula, a geologist, a ghost-hunting neurobiologist, ufologists, a woman accused of murder, and Mennonite families living in New York. A great read for our “deeply fractured times,” as they say.’
LitHub
‘An illuminating meditation on the nature of belief and the quest for meaning…Compassionate and engrossing.’
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
‘As The Believer progresses and harmonies accrue among what Krasnostein calls "six different notes in the human song of longing for the unattainable," the brilliance of [her] approach reveals itself…The Believer succeeds at its goal of bridging distances, of transcending the self to comprehend the other.’
NPR (US)
'Krasnostein holds her subjects with tenderness. They entrust to her their questions that have never received satisfying answers, the emotional and psychological voids they have worked to fill themselves, left with their beliefs as their only mode of belonging…Brimming with poetic hope and rooted in negative capability, The Believer is an outstanding treatise on human relationships, with one another and the unexplained.'
Shelf Awareness (starred review)
‘Perceptive and compassionate.’
Irish Times
‘Here is humanity in all its messy, wild and weedy depths. This book is a sensitive and respectful journey into the belief systems of astonishingly disparate people, and the reasons they have taken paths that have veered off the mainstream. Never once straying into the judgmental, it’s a book more likely to draw people together, rather than divide.’
Michelle Johnston, Herald Sun
‘The author has the rare combination of skills that allows her to not only build enough trust and rapport with her interview subjects that they will reveal intimate details about their lives, but to also distil a person down to their essence and put that on the page in a way that is simultaneously informative, sensitive and enthralling…’
Books+Publishing
'A philosophical meditation on all aspects of faith and self-delusion, with the elegant phrasing of ideas that made The Trauma Cleaner such a delight.’
Guardian
'This book has got me thinking far more than most. Sarah Krasnostein tells the stories of people who live in mindsets unfamiliar to her with compassion and respect... Krasnostein’s art is that she never places herself on the throne of judgment...The result is both beautiful and unpredictable. Krasnostein is neither naïve nor cynical. She is an existential adventurer.’
Sydney Morning Herald
‘[T]ranscendent, expansive writing that does the thing that many writers strive for but only few achieve: to show us humanity in clear and compassionate detail, to deepen our understanding of it and to reveal the mysterious and myriad ways in which we are all connected. It is nothing short of astounding.’
WellRead
‘Krasnostein writes beautifully, and emerges as a thoughtful and compassionate observer…The Believer is, in many ways, my favourite kind of book: one that requires a little extra attention and engagement, calling on the reader as an active participant in its project of making meaning…The result is a meditative and intensely rewarding reading experience, the impact of which lingers long after the final page.’
West Australian
'Sarah Krasnostein, who blew us all away with her fantastic book The Trauma Cleaner brings her inquisitive nature and empathetic way with people to her new book The Believer...By seeking such disparate subjects, Krasnostein has woven the threads of their stories, and their very different belief systems, into a tapestry that is rich with life, love and stories. I expect this will be running off the shelves, and deservedly so.’
Readings
'Krasnostein’s writing is lyrical and stylish, and imaginative in a way that often feels invigorating...The Believer is a fascinating book, and one that asks big questions – about connectedness and separation, certainly, but also about love and grief, resilience and faith, and all the ways in which we situate ourselves within the world. And it is informed always by a sprawling curiosity and deep humanity, which make it an affirming, and deeply moving read.’
Guardian
‘[Sarah Krasnostein] listens and records and keeps going back for more until she has built up a picture, complete with all the subtleties that human emotion, faith and intellect offer…there is no judgement here, just the healthy scepticism of an inquiring mind willing to listen, even when the encounters make her uncomfortable or challenge her own theories and convictions.’
Herald Sun
‘A fascinating journey, with an erudite, compulsively reflective companion.’
InDaily
'Fans of Krasnostein’s first book, The Trauma Cleaner (2017), will find much to admire in her second: her curiosity, her even hand, her focus not on people’s coherence but on their contradictions, her lateral thinking...Krasnostein’s narrative voice – a blend of insight, authenticity, and journalistic skill – is like a slow-cooked Shabbat cholent, rich and wholesome, every flavour running into the other.’
Australian Book Review
‘A tender observation of humanity and the unanswerable questions we ask...The joy and discovery of this book, and in life, is in the asking.’
Kill Your Darlings
'[Sarah Krasnostein] is a wonderful, wonderful writer…The best follow-up to The Trauma Cleaner you could have. Highly recommended.'
Loose Reads
'Deeply compassionate while still retaining an observational and, at times, critical eye...Krasnostein is a fine, thoughtful writer and it is a pleasure to follow her into the consideration of these strongly held, at times odd, even objectionable, belief systems which can only provoke you to consider your own view of the world and those around us.'
Writing NSW
'This book is a superb achievement; Krasnostein is a masterful storyteller and describes her cast of characters in a rich and vibrant manner..This is a collection of people seeking out different ways to reassure themselves that they are not alone in the universe.'
ArtsHub
'[A] fascinating and sometimes bonkers investigation into self-delusion...Krasnostein takes care to get inside her subject's heads to find out what makes them tick.'
NZ Herald
‘A polyphonic work that reverberates across the wide spectrum of the human experience, lending credence and kindness to differing beliefs without judgment...Krasnostein’s generosity, curiosity and lack of judgment towards her subjects made me believe that there is a way to stay true to one’s rational self while also being open to other possibilities.’
Sydney Review of Books
'Sarah Krasnostein holds a mirror to the world we inhabit but don’t fully understand, helping us see how our lives are shaped by beliefs at once wholly strange and unexpectedly familiar. Lyrical, haunting, endlessly curious, The Believer will restore your faith in the power of stories to bridge the gaps between us.'
Peter Manseau, author of The Apparitionists
‘Deeply wise. If reading a book can make you more human, The Believer does just that.’
Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, author of The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir
'Krasnostein brilliantly shows us how to look more carefully, listen more closely, and love more expansively. A complicated, lyrical portrait of belief, meaning making, and the stories we tell that might save us.’
Sarah Sentilles, author of Stranger Care
'Compassion and curiosity permeate Sarah Krasnostein’s writing. Every few pages there is a line so poignant it takes my breath away.’
Sasha Sagan, author of For Small Creatures Such as We: Rituals for Finding Meaning in Our Unlikely World
'A thoughtful meditation on humans’ desire for certainty, security, and solace.’
Kirkus Reviews
'A fascinating portrait of the human condition, Sarah Krasnostein’s latest explores a range of belief systems through six profiles—of a death doula, a geologist, a ghost-hunting neurobiologist, ufologists, a woman accused of murder, and Mennonite families living in New York. A great read for our “deeply fractured times,” as they say.’
LitHub
‘An illuminating meditation on the nature of belief and the quest for meaning…Compassionate and engrossing.’
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
‘As The Believer progresses and harmonies accrue among what Krasnostein calls "six different notes in the human song of longing for the unattainable," the brilliance of [her] approach reveals itself…The Believer succeeds at its goal of bridging distances, of transcending the self to comprehend the other.’
NPR (US)
'Krasnostein holds her subjects with tenderness. They entrust to her their questions that have never received satisfying answers, the emotional and psychological voids they have worked to fill themselves, left with their beliefs as their only mode of belonging…Brimming with poetic hope and rooted in negative capability, The Believer is an outstanding treatise on human relationships, with one another and the unexplained.'
Shelf Awareness (starred review)
‘Perceptive and compassionate.’
Irish Times
‘Here is humanity in all its messy, wild and weedy depths. This book is a sensitive and respectful journey into the belief systems of astonishingly disparate people, and the reasons they have taken paths that have veered off the mainstream. Never once straying into the judgmental, it’s a book more likely to draw people together, rather than divide.’
Michelle Johnston, Herald Sun
caseyxcat's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book a lot but found myself less engaged with chapters that weren’t about the death doula. What an incredibly interesting life to read about.