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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
This was SO GOOD. It's a searing, smart, darkly funny dystopian narrative run by an interesting bunch of kids with their sh*t together mixed with more than a dash of biblical imagery. If the description intrigues you, this short book might be for you.
The story took some turns I didn’t see coming. I can’t say I liked or disliked the book. It I am glad I read it, gave you a lot to think about. It would be a good choice for a book group & worth reading again, as I’m sure there are lots of things I missed.
Pissed me off but I think that was the goal. First half was very strong, second half not great.
Published in April 2020, Lydia Millet's novel, A Children's Bible may have slipped under the radar because of all that was going on in the real world. In her fictional world, circumstances have reached biblical proportions: floods, fires, famine, and sickness - so maybe it's not so fictional after all. Additionally, the personifications and actions of the characters have their parallels in familiar bible stories: prodigal daughters, prophets, angels, sinners, and saviors are just a few examples.
The novel opens with a group of families vacationing together in a lake home. Teenager Eve narrates as she, along with her extraordinary and equally mature peers, seek to rebuild their own "Garden of Eden" while the world around them dissolves into a maelstrom. The children's generalization of their parents is rooted in the recent "OK Boomer" meme. In their eyes, the adult's ongoing selfish, thoughtless, and apathetic behavior, or lack thereof, has adversely impacted environmental, economic, and social stability and the consequences are now being reaped. In the center of the storm is Jack, Eve's young brother, who decodes a children's bible and imparts a true out-of-the-mouth-of-babes revelation. The fact that the children's bible has been passed on to Jack by a parent suggests that we already have the tools to help ourselves, we may just need to consider a fresher perspective.
Lydia Millet has written numerous fantasy, science fiction, and apocalyptic fiction novels as well as short stories for all ages. But, even if these are not genres you typical are drawn to, don't let that keep you from picking up this book. A Children's Bible reads more like a forward to an apocalyptic fiction; answering how it was in the early days and how it all began. Millet conveys her message with offbeat, stylistic writing that lends itself to the bleak, dreamy, atmospheric tone of the story much like Cormac McCarthy and Delia Owens.
Perhaps “A Children's Bible” was overlooked while we stayed at home because it actually hits a little too close to home - but you should add it to your TBR now.
The novel opens with a group of families vacationing together in a lake home. Teenager Eve narrates as she, along with her extraordinary and equally mature peers, seek to rebuild their own "Garden of Eden" while the world around them dissolves into a maelstrom. The children's generalization of their parents is rooted in the recent "OK Boomer" meme. In their eyes, the adult's ongoing selfish, thoughtless, and apathetic behavior, or lack thereof, has adversely impacted environmental, economic, and social stability and the consequences are now being reaped. In the center of the storm is Jack, Eve's young brother, who decodes a children's bible and imparts a true out-of-the-mouth-of-babes revelation. The fact that the children's bible has been passed on to Jack by a parent suggests that we already have the tools to help ourselves, we may just need to consider a fresher perspective.
Lydia Millet has written numerous fantasy, science fiction, and apocalyptic fiction novels as well as short stories for all ages. But, even if these are not genres you typical are drawn to, don't let that keep you from picking up this book. A Children's Bible reads more like a forward to an apocalyptic fiction; answering how it was in the early days and how it all began. Millet conveys her message with offbeat, stylistic writing that lends itself to the bleak, dreamy, atmospheric tone of the story much like Cormac McCarthy and Delia Owens.
Perhaps “A Children's Bible” was overlooked while we stayed at home because it actually hits a little too close to home - but you should add it to your TBR now.
I recommend this highly. It’s unique and thought-provoking, and I know it will stay with me for a long time.
It’s written in a collective voice, and only gradually do we become aware of the individuals that make up the “we”. This narrative choice underlines the solidarity of this small band of young people. At first, they seem pretty frivolous. They are a group of a dozen or so children who accompany their parents to a large, pricy summer house on a lake. Cell phones have been forbidden and locked away in a safe, so that everyone can enjoy the experience.
These children are mostly teenagers, with a few younger kids tagging along. They all have a very jaundiced view of the older generation – fond contempt might be too charitable - and they start a game in which nobody can reveal which parents belong to who. The winner is the one who can keep their connection with their parents secret for the longest time. Meanwhile, they are all on their own, sleeping in a big attic room, scrounging for meals, only meeting the parents at dinnertime. The parents do their own thing, which mostly involves a lot of drinking.
For a few days, the group canoes on the lake and camps on a nearby beach, interacting with a bunch of rich kids who have arrived on their yacht. They hear rumors that some “weather” is on the way, and head back to the big house, to find the parents in a frenzy of preparation for a storm.
The reader never knows the extent to which civilization breaks down, during and after this storm, and the storms that follow. Everyone is just dealing with the emergencies of the moment. When the kids steal a car and run away, they are trying to go back to one of their homes, but because so many roads are blocked or impassable, they end up in an old farmhouse. This is a refuge for a while, and they are helped by a group of “angels” – that is, people whose personal mission is to stock the nearby hiking trail with provisions for hikers. But then a gang of violent armed men arrive, looking for food.
Six-year-old Jack – the narrator’s brother - has been given a children’s Bible to read, and he interprets it in his own way. His interpretations provide an eerie background to the cataclysmic events around this group of young people. The story is told by one young girl, and yet it’s also a the story of the last chapter of the human race.
It’s written in a collective voice, and only gradually do we become aware of the individuals that make up the “we”. This narrative choice underlines the solidarity of this small band of young people. At first, they seem pretty frivolous. They are a group of a dozen or so children who accompany their parents to a large, pricy summer house on a lake. Cell phones have been forbidden and locked away in a safe, so that everyone can enjoy the experience.
These children are mostly teenagers, with a few younger kids tagging along. They all have a very jaundiced view of the older generation – fond contempt might be too charitable - and they start a game in which nobody can reveal which parents belong to who. The winner is the one who can keep their connection with their parents secret for the longest time. Meanwhile, they are all on their own, sleeping in a big attic room, scrounging for meals, only meeting the parents at dinnertime. The parents do their own thing, which mostly involves a lot of drinking.
For a few days, the group canoes on the lake and camps on a nearby beach, interacting with a bunch of rich kids who have arrived on their yacht. They hear rumors that some “weather” is on the way, and head back to the big house, to find the parents in a frenzy of preparation for a storm.
The reader never knows the extent to which civilization breaks down, during and after this storm, and the storms that follow. Everyone is just dealing with the emergencies of the moment. When the kids steal a car and run away, they are trying to go back to one of their homes, but because so many roads are blocked or impassable, they end up in an old farmhouse. This is a refuge for a while, and they are helped by a group of “angels” – that is, people whose personal mission is to stock the nearby hiking trail with provisions for hikers. But then a gang of violent armed men arrive, looking for food.
Six-year-old Jack – the narrator’s brother - has been given a children’s Bible to read, and he interprets it in his own way. His interpretations provide an eerie background to the cataclysmic events around this group of young people. The story is told by one young girl, and yet it’s also a the story of the last chapter of the human race.
I love a good dystopian novel and this is an interesting one. A group of children and teens are caught in an apocalyptic storm (believed to be caused by climate change) while on vacation with their parents. While the adults ignore the crisis and spend their time drinking and having sex, the children are left to cope on their own. I loved all the biblical allusions and trying to figure out which plot points and characters paralleled which bible stories. Some were obvious- such as the narrator being named Eve; some were more subtle and left to the reader's interpretation. I also appreciated what I feel was the message of the book: that past and current generations have ravaged the earth and it will be future generations that bear the burden.
What a cool book. The narrator is a teenage girl on holiday with several families, but from the get-go there is a strong group identity among the children. We had a game of guessing which parents belonged to which kids. We gave demerits. We took boats to the beach… We don’t learn Eve’s name for quite a while.
A storm causes so much damage it brings down the infrastructure of civilization. Eve’s younger brother, Jack, makes correlations between God and Nature, Jesus and Science, the Holy Ghost and Art. The parents are hopeless, but the kids are resourceful. They get some help from a groundskeeper, some “trail angels” and a mysterious property owner. They also meet some of the worst imaginable people possible.
At times I wanted to shake them and say “stop wasting gas on ATV races” or “you better figure out a way to generate your own electricity if you want to keep charging your phones” but somehow the kids manage. There is, however, the lingering question of how long their days are numbered.
Millet does a great job of laying bare themes of civilization, young v. old, good v. evil and the end of the world. And her writing style is delicious.
A storm causes so much damage it brings down the infrastructure of civilization. Eve’s younger brother, Jack, makes correlations between God and Nature, Jesus and Science, the Holy Ghost and Art. The parents are hopeless, but the kids are resourceful. They get some help from a groundskeeper, some “trail angels” and a mysterious property owner. They also meet some of the worst imaginable people possible.
At times I wanted to shake them and say “stop wasting gas on ATV races” or “you better figure out a way to generate your own electricity if you want to keep charging your phones” but somehow the kids manage. There is, however, the lingering question of how long their days are numbered.
Millet does a great job of laying bare themes of civilization, young v. old, good v. evil and the end of the world. And her writing style is delicious.
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
3.8 I'm stingy w 4s. This was good but not a 4. Early post apocalyptic w the changes in society. Addictions, malaise, cessation of supply avenues, and how that all evolves as the climate changes.
People really loved this one. More of a 3.5 than a 3. Kids in a post-apocolyptic world...it's pretty gripping. But I liked "Leave The World Behind" so much more and couldn't help comparing the two.