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reading_rainbow_with_chris's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
“A Children’s Bible” by Lydia Millet
A group of children and teenagers are frustrated by their parents, holed up in a shared vacation home where the parents act without care or responsibility. When a hurricane sweeps through and begins what appears to be the end of the world, the children take fate into their own hands guided by the prophecies of a child’s bible. I deeply enjoyed Millet’s writing style, especially the mostly consistent use of “we” and “they” as the primary pronouns. Although the narrative is from one teen’s point of view, the use of the collective reframes the story as a community narrative. I will admit that for the me the narrative point about the irresponsibility of past generations was a bit heavy handed at points, but I still felt that there were enough surprises in the story that I remained engaged despite catching the theme very early on. I listened to the audiobook and was compelled to keep listening, but the style of the book was such that I expect I would have been absolutely riveted reading it as well. I strongly recommend this novel.
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Violence, Alcohol, Animal death, and Blood
literarylion's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Pros:
- All-around well-crafted
- Interesting take on climate disaster
- Strong character development and establishment of POV
Cons:
- A bit derivative of other authors and stories (general dystopia)
- I had trouble orienting myself in the setting for the first quarter or so
- Felt rushed towards the end
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Vomit, Animal death, Cursing, and Torture
Minor: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Pregnancy
shaziareads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Confinement, and Drug use
jen_again's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Animal death, Gun violence, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Death, Alcohol, and Drug use
Minor: Infidelity
imds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Body horror, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, Torture, Drug use, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Homophobia, Abandonment, and Pregnancy
laurenmcnamara's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Drug abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Death of parent, and Violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
internationalreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I loved the sarcasm and humor, but ultimately the biblical parallels were a little too heavy-handed for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence
The “R” word is used to describe a character with a presumed intellectual disability in a very not-ok wayforeverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This was a fine story, but a lot of the allegories went right over my head. I think being more familiar with the Bible would make this a more interesting read. I did like that science wasn't disparaged for religion and the MC reminded me a lot of myself growing up. I don't have a lot of thoughts on this one, it was a good story but nothing really sticks out to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Torture, and Violence
Child birth, death from child birthjust_one_more_paige's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
My 7th book on the Aspen Words Literary Prize 2021 Longlist and this is one that was neither on my radar at all prior to this list nor one that I read anything about before picking it up (or, to be fair, starting the audio...the narrator for which has a particularly grating voice, in my opinion, though it did end up fitting the overall vibe of the story pretty well). Anyways, the point is that I went into this one with no expectations or preconceptions, which is pretty rare for me these days.
A Children's Bible is a sort of post-apocalyptic, parent/privilege judging, Bible parable. A very strange combination. It opens with a group of families going on vacation together, but, as it is told from the POV of the children (one in particular) it's got a very harsh "adults are dumb" tone to it. Though, in this case, it's hard to argue, since these adults seemed particularly detached from reality and the amount of attention they put into parenting appears to border on neglect. Anyways, a large hurricane hits and sends their location into an end of the world situation, with a children-adult split, illness, lawlessness, violence and all sorts of doomsday-prepping situations. And, as I said, it is all set against the backdrop of Bible allusions and the absolute opposition of realities of the "haves" and have-nots" of the world.
I need to just go ahead and say, right off here at the start, that this book just wasn’t for me. I am going to say a number of things I was impressed by or appreciated objectively, because I think that’s only fair. And I cannot honestly think of many things truly wrong with it, nothing struck me as particularly problematic, which is the only type of thing I give negative review for (at least, that’s my goal, in being critical and opinionated, but fair). So, this is still getting a neutral three stars from me. But I definitely was not a personal fan of this book. It just didn’t vibe with me.
First, there was so much Bible stuff up in here. And now maybe I should have guessed that, based on the title and cover design, but the number of references and sort-of parallels (both overt and more subtle), as well as the clear attempts to subvert the original and or make some sort of commentary about it, was all a bit much for me. And this is coming from (for full disclosure) a very not-at-all-religious person. I will say though, I did in some ways appreciate the interpretation of the Bible from a “non-indoctrinated” child’s perspective, as well as the clear lines drawn re: God and Jesus being essentially the same thing as, metaphors for perhaps, science and nature. It was an interesting and unique take.
The other major theme, that of the contempt children have for parents/adults was almost theatrical in how hard the author pushed it. I mean, Millet definitely captures the dismissal of age that youth have. And, since it’s written from the children’s perspectives, the actual level of parental disinvolvement is up for question, since I feel like they’re very unreliable narrators on that front, but the evidence does point towards these particular parents being pretty shitty guardians. The one thing about this blatant theme that I did feel was well done was the portrayal of the difference in what is important for youth versus for adults: the status placed on certain things (life, money, power, etc.) and the belief in systems along with the willingness (ability, even?) to adapt to new systems and situations. There is, truthfully, a resiliency and adaptability that children have that is really played up here, versus the “set in their ways” aspects of adulthood and adults’ (especially, in this case, privileged adults’) psychological incapacity to handle the end of everything that is familiar and knowable. It’s extreme, the way the children’s perspectives represent this adult separation from reality, almost to a satirical level (maybe?). But I see the points being made.
This whole novel felt weirdly surreal to read. The writing was gorgeous, creating a sort of sarcastic and detached melancholic vibe, which is not a set of adjectives that I ever imagined using together. This novel is original and has some fascinating commentary about the social structures of the world as we know it, the way an inability to act selflessly, to let go of arbitrary social constructs and resistance to change will bring about an eventual downfall. But the strange and violent (CW: death/killing, light torture, general violence, substance use/misuse) Bible retelling parable style was just not a feel that worked for me.
“If you could be nothing, you could also be everything. Once my molecules had dispersed, I would be here forever. Free. Part of the timeless. The sky and the ocean would also be me. Molecules never die…”
“We knew the drill: leave no trace. Of course, there would always be traces. The trick was to hide them.”
“Dryness was a temporary state. Like safety.”
“What people wanted to be, but never could, traveled along beside them.”
“We figured it was healthy, for the parents especially, not to try to deny the fact of what had been lost but to acknowledge it.”
“’I think you solved it, Jack. In your notebook. Jesus was science. Knowing stuff. Right? And the Holy Ghost was all the things that people make. You remember? Your diagram said making stuff.’ ‘Yes. It did.’ ‘So maybe art is the Holy Ghost. Maybe art is the ghost in the machine.’ ‘Art is the ghost.’ ‘The comets and the stars will be our eyes,’ I told him. And I went on. The clouds the moon. The dirt the rocks the water and the wind. We call that hope, you see.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, Death, and Animal death
Minor: Torture
quincy_kay_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, Animal death, and Violence