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sarahareinhard's review
4.0
I didn’t expect to read A Land Without Sin in a weekend, so be warned. This is a well-crafted and very compelling novel.
The storyline is pretty basic, when I think about it: main character Eva is trying to find her missing brother Stefan. It involves a journey through Central America, some flirting with politics at a level I'm pretty sure I just don't appreciate, and examination of faith and relationships.
There are some characters in this novel that I'd like to meet in real life, which is a testament to Huston's writing. I have vivid mental images of them: I can hear their distinct voices, see their faces, picture what they'd do.
I’ve been a fan of Huston’s nonfiction work for a while, and I was delighted that her fiction-telling is as good (or better?) than her other writing. I felt like I had traveled to Mexico and was crawling through the jungle, even as I related with the main character, Eva.
This is a book that keeps it real and, though the ending isn’t depressing, it’s also not a song-and-dance-happy-snappy-eyeroll affair. I must say, I appreciated that.
Highly recommended, and a book I’ll be recommending to my fiction book club, sharing with friends, and that has my name in the front cover (because yes, I want to reread it).
The storyline is pretty basic, when I think about it: main character Eva is trying to find her missing brother Stefan. It involves a journey through Central America, some flirting with politics at a level I'm pretty sure I just don't appreciate, and examination of faith and relationships.
There are some characters in this novel that I'd like to meet in real life, which is a testament to Huston's writing. I have vivid mental images of them: I can hear their distinct voices, see their faces, picture what they'd do.
I’ve been a fan of Huston’s nonfiction work for a while, and I was delighted that her fiction-telling is as good (or better?) than her other writing. I felt like I had traveled to Mexico and was crawling through the jungle, even as I related with the main character, Eva.
This is a book that keeps it real and, though the ending isn’t depressing, it’s also not a song-and-dance-happy-snappy-eyeroll affair. I must say, I appreciated that.
Highly recommended, and a book I’ll be recommending to my fiction book club, sharing with friends, and that has my name in the front cover (because yes, I want to reread it).
johnadonaghy's review
4.0
A fascinating novel set in Guatemala and Chiapas in the early nineties. In many ways it's a story of multiple "conversions." It's also influenced by the thought of René Girard.
Some aspects at the end of the novel were a little too predictable. I would have liked to see more development of the plot in San Cristobal and Lacondon as well as of the character of Stefan.
It is delightful - though not emotionally easy.
Some aspects at the end of the novel were a little too predictable. I would have liked to see more development of the plot in San Cristobal and Lacondon as well as of the character of Stefan.
It is delightful - though not emotionally easy.
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