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dorothynaysayer's review
5.0
To preface this review, I'll just say that I'm not good with the supernatural. I never read fantasy, sci-fi or horror novels, and I'm also an atheist. However, the fact that I still wanted to pick up this book after reading the description, and the fact that I can't stop thinking about it now that I've read it says a lot in my book. LaValle is doing a lot of different things here, from urban realism to allegory, from philosophical novel to mystical fantasy, and I would say that LaValle is about 95% successful. And those parts he's successful at?--he's 200% successful. I've mostly broken my college habit of marking up my books, but it was very hard to resist the urge with this one. There's so much to chew on here, and if I were a college English professor, I would go out of my way to build a course around this book. I particularly love the way the book looks at faith and doubt, not as opposites, but as a system of checks and balances to keep religious fanaticism at bay.
snmrrw's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed it when I read it last year, I totally forgot I'd read it until I saw it mentioned an hour ago. It's that kind of book.
lilli_l_f's review against another edition
3.0
I'm quite conflicted over this book. On one hand I found the plot and concept really intriguing and spent the whole second half of the novel wondering what on earth would happen next. But sadly I spent an equal amount of time quite bored while i was reading.
ce_read's review
3.0
There were quite a few really poignant quotables in this one. I liked the concept a lot, and really liked the moments of clarity when LaValle's main point came through. I think the execution could have been better - Ricky's narration seemed weirdly inauthentic, some of the narrative devices / symbolism was a bit too thick to understand, and others were really hamfisted.
Overall, I enjoyed reading the book, but I didn't connect with it terribly much.
Here's some of my favorite quotes, mainly the ones related to complicated faith:
“‘Most Christians speak of doubt like it’s blasphemy,’ Karen said. ‘But doubting God is like disbelieving oxygen. Thankfully neither needs our permission to sustain us.’ [...]
‘Doubt is an essential human trait. But why? If we really believe we’re created by God, then nothing got dropped in by accident, right? So what purpose does doubt serve? If it’s useless to disbelieve heaven, then maybe we should cast our eyes to earth.
‘Who do you believe in and why? Do you see men wise in their own eyes? There’s more hope for fools than for them. Jalen deceived Eric. Larry deceived Jalen. Saul fooled the astrologer in Birmingham. Half the Bible is folks getting tricked! So maybe we rethink doubt. Not as our enemy but our ally.
‘Think of King Jesus as our greatest doubter. Who saw the order of society and taught us to defy it. Who saw the ugly urges in ourselves and taught us to resist them. As we navigate through the powerful tides, doubt is our rudder. If we questioned our motives, maybe Reverend Cook would be alive. [...]’” (p. 204)
“[...] I like America.
I’m not going to say love. Forget about love, not because I don’t feel it but because love’s easy. Lots of people say they love their families, but still treat their families terribly. So I’m purposeful when I say this. I like America, where believers eddy around one another like currents of air. Even our atheists are devout! To be an American is to be a believer. I don’t have much faith in institutions, but I still believe in people.” (p. 365
Overall, I enjoyed reading the book, but I didn't connect with it terribly much.
Here's some of my favorite quotes, mainly the ones related to complicated faith:
Spoiler
"The picture of the poor is usually one of wild, chaotic lot. Loud, combative, quick to complain, but that isn’t so, not in my experience. Just dip into that emergency room and watch every tired face; we’ve been there for a half a day and have yet to receive treatment. Most will only heave and sigh, that’s the extent of our rebellion. The poor are poor and we expect to stay that way. We don’t like it, but what can you do? That’s our attitude. The poor aren’t defeated, we’re domesticated.” (p.42-3)"“‘Most Christians speak of doubt like it’s blasphemy,’ Karen said. ‘But doubting God is like disbelieving oxygen. Thankfully neither needs our permission to sustain us.’ [...]
‘Doubt is an essential human trait. But why? If we really believe we’re created by God, then nothing got dropped in by accident, right? So what purpose does doubt serve? If it’s useless to disbelieve heaven, then maybe we should cast our eyes to earth.
‘Who do you believe in and why? Do you see men wise in their own eyes? There’s more hope for fools than for them. Jalen deceived Eric. Larry deceived Jalen. Saul fooled the astrologer in Birmingham. Half the Bible is folks getting tricked! So maybe we rethink doubt. Not as our enemy but our ally.
‘Think of King Jesus as our greatest doubter. Who saw the order of society and taught us to defy it. Who saw the ugly urges in ourselves and taught us to resist them. As we navigate through the powerful tides, doubt is our rudder. If we questioned our motives, maybe Reverend Cook would be alive. [...]’” (p. 204)
“[...] I like America.
I’m not going to say love. Forget about love, not because I don’t feel it but because love’s easy. Lots of people say they love their families, but still treat their families terribly. So I’m purposeful when I say this. I like America, where believers eddy around one another like currents of air. Even our atheists are devout! To be an American is to be a believer. I don’t have much faith in institutions, but I still believe in people.” (p. 365
kevinhendricks's review against another edition
3.0
This is kind of a bizarre mystery, not unlike Lost. I liked the narrator, and that probably helped keep me engaged. As the story goes on, not a lot is explained and you're kind of just along for the ride. By the end it felt a bit too fantastical for my taste.
eliz_s's review
5.0
Really, I think it's more of a 4 1/2 star book. This concoction of race, class, gender, faith, mysticism, history, family issues and more is hard to classify. The book is unlike anything I've ever read before - the only comparison I can make to it is Neil Gaiman's American Gods, but they're just barely similar. The way LaValle spins the story completely sucks the reader in.
Even though you may not like the main character (Ricky Rice) at first, his backstory is just fantastic enough that you start to care for him and his partner Adele (who has her own fantastic backstory). I look forward to more books by this author.
Even though you may not like the main character (Ricky Rice) at first, his backstory is just fantastic enough that you start to care for him and his partner Adele (who has her own fantastic backstory). I look forward to more books by this author.
superunison's review against another edition
3.0
Totally decent, 3.5 really. LaValle is clearly a gifted writer, by turns amusing, sentimental, and blunt. The plot is a little all over the place, and it feels a little like he's cramming too much characterization into the characters, oddly. He could use a little restraint, but he's still reasonably early on, career-wise, and it'll be interesting to see what does next.