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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
Wasn't as compelling as I had hoped. An in depth account of the family and the history they had with entering the Brethren Church, being raised Brethren and leaving the Church after the Aberdeen scandal in 1970. I learnt more about the Brethren and that branch of the Christian Evangelical movement, but found that the book lost its momentum and urgency about a third of the way through.
So this book has taken me longer to read than it should have as I started it back in November and then Christmas and job interviews and all sorts happened. So started again a few days ago and whizzed through it. I thought it was a fascinating evocation of an all too close world we know so little of and also a chance for some of the silenced female stories within male dominated cults to be heard. Plus it’s a moving tale of a daughter and fathers complex relationship. I thought it was fantastic and wept at the end even though you know what the outcome is from the start.
gripping book about growing up in a cult, and then the aftermath of leaving it. While it focuses on her relationship with her truly charismatic and chaotic father, one is left longing to know what happened with her mother? Stott repeatedly says that in the Brethren women have no say...and her mother remains voiceless. Nor do we find out the names of her siblings which strikes me as odd as this is very much or could have been, the story of a family. It is beautifully told, and while I couldnt tell you much about the theology of the Brethren, this isn't a problem. We see the theology through her child's eyes and that is one of the strengths of the book.
I think that loving this book is a matter of expectations, I expected a very close (and almost cosy) personal narrative and it is. It's more of an autobiography rather than a dissection of the Exclusive Brethren. There is of course, a very personal history of that world, but as an autobiography of a childhood, there is much that Stott admits that she doesn't understand. It's about how this experience changed her life, her father’s life and her family in general. It is not a detailed expose of the suffering inside this cult, but as it says on the cover about a father and daughter. If that's what you're looking for, then I highly recommend this.
3.5 stars.
It’s good storytelling, the epitome of personalizing the narrative: emotion-driven but reasonable, logical; it even has sociohistorical context to ground it. At its core, it describes the relationships listed in the subtitle — father, daughter, cult — but also the impact on those around them, on the main players themselves, and even to some extent the world at large. There’s insight into religious fanatacism and brainwashing; personal anecdotes of both faith and doubt; examinations of various human and literary influences on the narrator’s own development and beliefs.
None of the characters are extraordinary, though that’s not to say they’re not unlikable or unimportant. They’re very human, and through them the memoir comes to life.
It’s good storytelling, the epitome of personalizing the narrative: emotion-driven but reasonable, logical; it even has sociohistorical context to ground it. At its core, it describes the relationships listed in the subtitle — father, daughter, cult — but also the impact on those around them, on the main players themselves, and even to some extent the world at large. There’s insight into religious fanatacism and brainwashing; personal anecdotes of both faith and doubt; examinations of various human and literary influences on the narrator’s own development and beliefs.
None of the characters are extraordinary, though that’s not to say they’re not unlikable or unimportant. They’re very human, and through them the memoir comes to life.
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
informative
sad
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
This book had been staring at me from my book shelves for a while and when I was picking up a new audio book I decided to go with this one. I think the audio book was a great choice for this one.
Religion is a subject that has always fascinated me. After all, it shapes the lives of so many people around me. Yet, I am always a bit hesitant when it comes to reading about cults/sects. Often these kind of books feel too sensationalised and that is not really my kind of thing. I felt this book was not that. The author’s voice in this feels conflicted still with the indoctrination she grew up with and her current beliefs. However, this is also a book about her relationship with her father and his relationship with the Brethren, the strict Christian church he was born into. This book also looks at the the history of the Brethren through the experiences of her own family.
I thought this book was really well written and thought out. The perspective was always very clear. This is the author’s perspective and her father’s, and they clearly feel this is a story that needed to be told. Their experiences with this particular church are harrowing at times.
Living in a country amongst several Christian belief systems, some of which are very strict indeed, I can see how religion permeates every aspect of their daily lives. Like I said, this has always been so strange, but fascinating to me. The way the author wrote this story was interesting and informative. It satisfied my curiosity, without straying into sensationalism, like so many of these books do. Neither did I find it overly emotional.
I really enjoyed this book and if the subject matter appeals to you, I would highly recommend it.
Religion is a subject that has always fascinated me. After all, it shapes the lives of so many people around me. Yet, I am always a bit hesitant when it comes to reading about cults/sects. Often these kind of books feel too sensationalised and that is not really my kind of thing. I felt this book was not that. The author’s voice in this feels conflicted still with the indoctrination she grew up with and her current beliefs. However, this is also a book about her relationship with her father and his relationship with the Brethren, the strict Christian church he was born into. This book also looks at the the history of the Brethren through the experiences of her own family.
I thought this book was really well written and thought out. The perspective was always very clear. This is the author’s perspective and her father’s, and they clearly feel this is a story that needed to be told. Their experiences with this particular church are harrowing at times.
Living in a country amongst several Christian belief systems, some of which are very strict indeed, I can see how religion permeates every aspect of their daily lives. Like I said, this has always been so strange, but fascinating to me. The way the author wrote this story was interesting and informative. It satisfied my curiosity, without straying into sensationalism, like so many of these books do. Neither did I find it overly emotional.
I really enjoyed this book and if the subject matter appeals to you, I would highly recommend it.