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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
I have an interest in religious cults and I have a read a lot of books on the subject, including memoirs from former members; but I’d never heard of The Brethren. I was surprised therefore to find out that it existed in the U.K. and that the author had grown up within a cult in liberal, progressive Brighton - a place I know very well.
“In the Days of Rain” tells the author’s story but is particularly centred on her father, who, as a former member, had intended to write his memoirs but died before he could complete the task. Roger Stott comes across as a formidable figure, if at times terrifying, who steals the show in the book: Stott herself cannot compete with her Yeats quoting, Bible wielding, whisky glugging father.
Written in a beautifully evocative style, “In the Days of Rain” is no ordinary memoir: at times it reads like a novel, reminding me of another - albeit fictional - memoir, ‘My Name is Lucy Barton’ by Elizabeth Strout, only this is a true story that, astonishingly, took place in modern Britain. Regardless, Stott’s account of her life within The Brethren makes for compelling reading - I could not put it down. A terrific memoir and a must for any self-professed cult scholar.
“In the Days of Rain” tells the author’s story but is particularly centred on her father, who, as a former member, had intended to write his memoirs but died before he could complete the task. Roger Stott comes across as a formidable figure, if at times terrifying, who steals the show in the book: Stott herself cannot compete with her Yeats quoting, Bible wielding, whisky glugging father.
Written in a beautifully evocative style, “In the Days of Rain” is no ordinary memoir: at times it reads like a novel, reminding me of another - albeit fictional - memoir, ‘My Name is Lucy Barton’ by Elizabeth Strout, only this is a true story that, astonishingly, took place in modern Britain. Regardless, Stott’s account of her life within The Brethren makes for compelling reading - I could not put it down. A terrific memoir and a must for any self-professed cult scholar.
Stott, a fourth generation Exclusive Brethren, speaks of her experience growing up in, and leaving, this fundamentalist Christian cult. This focuses a lot on her father as the tutor alludes. I’d never heard of this group, so I was excited to gain some insight, but I really struggled to pay attention. It seems like a fairly typical Christian offshoot, because you know I’m a self-proclaimed expert on cultish matters.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Like a meandering stream, this memoir is an undulating journey through several poles of the author's coming-of-age experience: growing up and recovering from a childhood in a cult, grappling with her dad's involvement in that cult and the aftermath of his decisions, and finally coming to terms with her relationship with her father. The book is full of memorable impressions, painful honesty, and masterfully crafted sentences and metaphors.
At times the overall structure of the narrative feels confused: is this the author's memoir, her father's autobiography, a micro history of the closed brethren cult, a series of random reflections...? At times it's not clear--there are multiple anchors. At other times, I found the author's treatment of religion in general a bit shallow. She never really explores the legitimacy of religious and spiritual inclinations--what draws people to religion? It's not always cultish fervour. Because of that, at times I felt her descriptions and reflections were a bit lacking. However, I'm giving the book five stars simply because of the scenes and language--just when I'd worry the author was getting too shallow or dismissive, there would be a line or picture that took my breath away. I'm glad I read this. It will appeal to anyone who comes from a fundamentalist Christian background and who is still trying to pick up the pieces.
At times the overall structure of the narrative feels confused: is this the author's memoir, her father's autobiography, a micro history of the closed brethren cult, a series of random reflections...? At times it's not clear--there are multiple anchors. At other times, I found the author's treatment of religion in general a bit shallow. She never really explores the legitimacy of religious and spiritual inclinations--what draws people to religion? It's not always cultish fervour. Because of that, at times I felt her descriptions and reflections were a bit lacking. However, I'm giving the book five stars simply because of the scenes and language--just when I'd worry the author was getting too shallow or dismissive, there would be a line or picture that took my breath away. I'm glad I read this. It will appeal to anyone who comes from a fundamentalist Christian background and who is still trying to pick up the pieces.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Memoir about a family's life in the Exclusive Brethren cult -- reminscent to me of a suffocating mash up of The Handmaid's Tale and Scientology. I don't know if maybe I'm getting fatigued on memoirs at the moment or if it is just the style in which this book was written, but I skimmed through a good portion of the book - it just didn't reel me in like I thought the subject matter would.
Many familiar echoes in this tale of a girl who began her life as the last of a long line of family members who were part of a religious group (cult?) known as the Brethren. I really enjoyed the way the story was told, as both the memoir of the author as a child growing up in the Brethren, and the memoir of her father whose dying wish was to have the history of the group and his time with them written down.
It's so easy to see how flawed these groups are, from the outside. This year I've really been enjoying seeing perspectives from those who were in and managed to see their way out, which is much more difficult.
It's so easy to see how flawed these groups are, from the outside. This year I've really been enjoying seeing perspectives from those who were in and managed to see their way out, which is much more difficult.
A memoir exploring Stott’s childhood in the Exclusive Brethren, a very strict Christian sect that became a cult in the ’60s and was rocked by a sex scandal in the ’70s. Stott’s father, who had been a pillar of their EB community in Brighton, pulled the family out then, and the book is something of an attempt to lay his ghost (Stott uses this metaphor herself) after he dies several decades later. It’s beautifully written, a thoughtful, curious, compassionate and fascinating account of religious mania but also of her family history and her father’s character. She has, apparently, written at least two novels as well, though this is what won her the Costa biography prize in 2017; her fiction must be well worth seeking out.
I love reading about cults, but the author didn't capture the fear or the sense of being trapped. Instead she was too caught up in minutiae.