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sarahjsnider's review
5.0
I rarely find a collection of short stories that are so consistent in quality and tone. Most of these deal with Mormons (well, ex-Mormons) in western U.S. in the 1980s, but even the ones that don't (Gulls, Diviner, and the amazing first one) fit the theme of sinners and mistake-makers finding their way.
glitterandtwang's review
4.0
I picked this up a year or two ago solely because of the title (and because I was visiting Idaho at the time). I was pleasantly surprised by the short stories in this book -- if you've ever wanted to know what it feels like to grow up in Idaho, these stories do a good job of evoking the strange sadness and occasional beauty of it. Vestal was raised LDS, and this fact permeates several of the stories -- who among us, living in Idaho, hasn't briefly fantasized about handily dispatching a persistent missionary?
Vestal's prose is spare and evocative both, a rare and admirable feat. I'll probably read this again down the line, and that's not something I do often.
Vestal's prose is spare and evocative both, a rare and admirable feat. I'll probably read this again down the line, and that's not something I do often.
robk's review
5.0
Godforsaken Idaho caught my eye when it randomly popped up on my facebook newsfeed. The title was all I read, and it piqued my interest. The cover art was arresting and provocative, and the publisher's blurb was enough to convince me to buy it. The stories were fantastic, almost all of them wrestling with one aspect of Mormonism or another. The stories do not condemn Mormonism, nor do they champion the doctrines of the LDS church. Rather, Mormonism is to these stories as Judaism is to Philip Roth: it's complicated. It's simultaneously condemnable and triumphant; it's indelible for better or worse, but it's there and it ain't going nowhere if you're from Godforsaken Idaho.
The fact that most of these stories took place in Southeast Idaho made this a very enjoyable read for me. I knew exactly what the author was describing because I've been to the places he mentions.
My favorite stories, "The First Several Hundred Years Following My Death" and "Opposition In All Things," were both re-imaginings of the afterlife that captured the seeming contradiction between human life and eternal life. Vestal's book challenges many popular notions in Idaho-Mormon culture without being dismissive. He has a way of finding peace with the absurdity of life in these stories.
The fact that most of these stories took place in Southeast Idaho made this a very enjoyable read for me. I knew exactly what the author was describing because I've been to the places he mentions.
My favorite stories, "The First Several Hundred Years Following My Death" and "Opposition In All Things," were both re-imaginings of the afterlife that captured the seeming contradiction between human life and eternal life. Vestal's book challenges many popular notions in Idaho-Mormon culture without being dismissive. He has a way of finding peace with the absurdity of life in these stories.
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