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2.8 AVERAGE
2.8 AVERAGE
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I've read Alice LaPlante's first three novels now, and they are getting less and less appealing to me.
The basic premise of this book is that a depressed young teenage girl discovers a Christian sect very focused on the Rapture and the Tribulation. You may or may not know a lot of details about these two things. My parents are evangelist Christians, so I know a fair bit. I was curious to see how these ideas would be treated.
I've spoiler-warning-ed this review already, so I feel safe also saying that Anna, the young protagonist, also has seizures. I'm not on quite as familiar ground with this, but I have read before of seizures causing an aura that can feel very powerfully spiritual. A great novel about this phenomenon is Lying Awake by Mark Salzman. Anna feels connected to the apocalyptic focus of the church she has found, and some of the members see her as especially holy. This doesn't fit with the evangelicals I've known, who believe that God does not communicate through prophets at this point in history, and don't believe in fluffy-bunny visions. But, hey, fringe group, maybe it could happen.
So this sounds pretty fascinating, right? I thought so too, but the book failed to grab me. The problem began right at the beginning of the book with Anna's depression. It didn't feel real to me. I think it was because the author focused on Anna's behavior, which is frankly annoying to someone who isn't depressed. If there had been more emphasis on the emotional black pit that Anna was in, why she felt so hopeless, she would have been more sympathetic. I've struggled with this issue myself and know that it is biological as much as anything, but there is a definite thought pattern that goes with it. I wasn't just blankly depressed, I had a negative, anxious view of everything that happened to me and everything I focused on. Maybe the "show don't tell" mantra doesn't work as well for mental illness, because you do need to understand the POV of the person afflicted. This is what the author did so well in Turn of Mind. The first person POV really let the reader in to experience the progression of Alzheimer's. The third person POV of Anna left me just too removed.
Next, the crowd where Anna finds her comfort felt like a weird mix of Southern snake-handling cults and evangelical apocalyptic thinking. Most evangelicals I know come from a more northern, Protestant, mind-over heart tradition. It's the cold, white church with dreary hymns and lecturing sermons about God's judgement. Well, that's my experience anyway. Visions and doomsday preppers were not part of that world for me. Everyone kind of figured it would be obvious when the Anti-Christ came along because then we'd hit WWIII. There were no Red Heifers as signs- that's Jewish tradition, and at least where I grew up, that was right out of any Bible study we had. So the church didn't really feel convincing either. Neither did the strange young boy that brings Anna to the church for the first time.
To the end of the book, it was hard to figure out whether the mystical part of the book was to be taken literally, or whether it was Anna's skewed perception. The only character I really attached to was Anna's mother, who was at a total loss as to what to do with her child, who reached out, but couldn't make the connection. I couldn't make the connection either, so I suppose it's no surprise I related to her.
This book took an interesting premise and then failed to do anything with it that interested me, and in addition it did not ring true to my experience.
I've read Alice LaPlante's first three novels now, and they are getting less and less appealing to me.
The basic premise of this book is that a depressed young teenage girl discovers a Christian sect very focused on the Rapture and the Tribulation. You may or may not know a lot of details about these two things. My parents are evangelist Christians, so I know a fair bit. I was curious to see how these ideas would be treated.
I've spoiler-warning-ed this review already, so I feel safe also saying that Anna, the young protagonist, also has seizures. I'm not on quite as familiar ground with this, but I have read before of seizures causing an aura that can feel very powerfully spiritual. A great novel about this phenomenon is Lying Awake by Mark Salzman. Anna feels connected to the apocalyptic focus of the church she has found, and some of the members see her as especially holy. This doesn't fit with the evangelicals I've known, who believe that God does not communicate through prophets at this point in history, and don't believe in fluffy-bunny visions. But, hey, fringe group, maybe it could happen.
So this sounds pretty fascinating, right? I thought so too, but the book failed to grab me. The problem began right at the beginning of the book with Anna's depression. It didn't feel real to me. I think it was because the author focused on Anna's behavior, which is frankly annoying to someone who isn't depressed. If there had been more emphasis on the emotional black pit that Anna was in, why she felt so hopeless, she would have been more sympathetic. I've struggled with this issue myself and know that it is biological as much as anything, but there is a definite thought pattern that goes with it. I wasn't just blankly depressed, I had a negative, anxious view of everything that happened to me and everything I focused on. Maybe the "show don't tell" mantra doesn't work as well for mental illness, because you do need to understand the POV of the person afflicted. This is what the author did so well in Turn of Mind. The first person POV really let the reader in to experience the progression of Alzheimer's. The third person POV of Anna left me just too removed.
Next, the crowd where Anna finds her comfort felt like a weird mix of Southern snake-handling cults and evangelical apocalyptic thinking. Most evangelicals I know come from a more northern, Protestant, mind-over heart tradition. It's the cold, white church with dreary hymns and lecturing sermons about God's judgement. Well, that's my experience anyway. Visions and doomsday preppers were not part of that world for me. Everyone kind of figured it would be obvious when the Anti-Christ came along because then we'd hit WWIII. There were no Red Heifers as signs- that's Jewish tradition, and at least where I grew up, that was right out of any Bible study we had. So the church didn't really feel convincing either. Neither did the strange young boy that brings Anna to the church for the first time.
To the end of the book, it was hard to figure out whether the mystical part of the book was to be taken literally, or whether it was Anna's skewed perception. The only character I really attached to was Anna's mother, who was at a total loss as to what to do with her child, who reached out, but couldn't make the connection. I couldn't make the connection either, so I suppose it's no surprise I related to her.
This book took an interesting premise and then failed to do anything with it that interested me, and in addition it did not ring true to my experience.
A weird, weird book. I think it's one that's likely very, very good to some people, but it's just not my taste.
Again, a book that started out promising then somewhere in the middle started to lose its way. Maybe it's me. Maybe my attention span is getting shorter as I get older. I don't know. This book had some plot holes and implausibilities that kind of ruined it. The premise was good though so that's why it gets 3 stars.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.
I wanted to like this book, as I have enjoyed the author's previous work. It simply doesn't work for me. The initial premise of the story, the 16 year old girl, who never fits in; her new religious neighbors and her new religious fervour makes sense. We have seen this before with religion, with drugs, with music, etc. as teenagers work out who they are, who they will become. Then the story goes downhill. The strange neighbor Jim, the unsympathetic chemistry teacher and their relationship seemed tangential to the story, little did I know that they would become part of the gigantic deus ex machina at the end.
Anna's parents are not well developed characters, and Lars' parents are non-entities. The only in depth character we find is Anna. Lars seems more one dimensional.
The final scenes in the novel, actually from the time they go on the run, simply don't make sense at all and the grand finale- but of course, that was why her father had that hobby-and the deus ex machina swoops down to the rescue.
I wanted to like this book, as I have enjoyed the author's previous work. It simply doesn't work for me. The initial premise of the story, the 16 year old girl, who never fits in; her new religious neighbors and her new religious fervour makes sense. We have seen this before with religion, with drugs, with music, etc. as teenagers work out who they are, who they will become. Then the story goes downhill. The strange neighbor Jim, the unsympathetic chemistry teacher and their relationship seemed tangential to the story, little did I know that they would become part of the gigantic deus ex machina at the end.
Anna's parents are not well developed characters, and Lars' parents are non-entities. The only in depth character we find is Anna. Lars seems more one dimensional.
The final scenes in the novel, actually from the time they go on the run, simply don't make sense at all and the grand finale- but of course, that was why her father had that hobby-and the deus ex machina swoops down to the rescue.
This is the perfect example of a publisher's blurb gone wrong. If your author is changing genres, SAY SO CLEARLY.
"Alice LaPlante's acclaimed psychological thrillers are distinguished by their stunning synthesis of family drama and engrossing suspense. Her new novel is an affecting foray deeper into the creases of family life..." does not say "Hey, here's some women's fiction from thriller author..."
Actual review of the book:
LaPlante's foray into mainstream fiction is an uneven one. The idea of a troubled young girl who sinks into a major depressive episode coming out of it when she joins a religious cult is a fascinating one, and this starts out as an absolutely riveting read.
Unfortunately, the cult aspect seems a bit contrived, the set-up for the book's ending too pat, and the heroine's borderline obsession with her older neighbor on the disturbing side. The eventual resolution is rushed -- pacing is a huge issue here -- and ultimately involves a medical issue that is never properly addressed other than the aside in the epilogue.
This is a book that had a great deal of potential that it fails to live up to.
"Alice LaPlante's acclaimed psychological thrillers are distinguished by their stunning synthesis of family drama and engrossing suspense. Her new novel is an affecting foray deeper into the creases of family life..." does not say "Hey, here's some women's fiction from thriller author..."
Actual review of the book:
LaPlante's foray into mainstream fiction is an uneven one. The idea of a troubled young girl who sinks into a major depressive episode coming out of it when she joins a religious cult is a fascinating one, and this starts out as an absolutely riveting read.
Unfortunately, the cult aspect seems a bit contrived, the set-up for the book's ending too pat, and the heroine's borderline obsession with her older neighbor on the disturbing side. The eventual resolution is rushed -- pacing is a huge issue here -- and ultimately involves a medical issue that is never properly addressed other than the aside in the epilogue.
This is a book that had a great deal of potential that it fails to live up to.
I didn't hate the novel, but it wasn't awesome. I feel like depth was missing. While the story had a solid skeleton, it did not have strong enough meat on its bones.
The setup was interesting, but then the sheer number of bad decisions by so many people just got to be too much for me.
Coming of Age at the End of Days may not be my typical type of book to read. It has a cult storyline, which quickly pulls teenager Anna in to their folds. From the very beginning I was concerned about her. She starts with a depression and stuck on death and dying. Then she meets her neighbor, Lars, who opens her eyes to the Termination that is coming. To say she becomes obsessive is an understatement. As a parent I am not sure how to handle this situation but I feel like her parents just let her do it. They are so happy to not have her depressed that they don’t fight her on her. When Anna’s life changes yet again her path in life also changes. This is where Alice LaPlante lost me a little bit. It took me some serious reading to catch on to what Anna was into now.
The adults in this book cause me serious concern. There was lack of concern, lack of care, and lack of knowledge. Both Lars and Anna came and went as they wanted, did as they wanted, and did not give a lot of thought to how their actions would affect anyone else. There were no repercussions or punishments for their actions.
I will say that the western part of the United States is part of the country that I want to visit. I love the descriptions of the mountains, the scenery. I could see where Anna and Lars were heading and what they were seeing as they traveled. The fact that you can go from dessert to mountains, heat to snow, all in the same state makes me love it even more.
I could not put Coming of Age at the End of the Days down, yet I am not sure how to recommend it. I enjoyed it. I came to care and worry for Lars and especially Anna. If you enjoy a cult story definitely check this out. If you are unsure if you like cult stories consider checking this out. If you struggle with cult stories pass on this book.
The adults in this book cause me serious concern. There was lack of concern, lack of care, and lack of knowledge. Both Lars and Anna came and went as they wanted, did as they wanted, and did not give a lot of thought to how their actions would affect anyone else. There were no repercussions or punishments for their actions.
I will say that the western part of the United States is part of the country that I want to visit. I love the descriptions of the mountains, the scenery. I could see where Anna and Lars were heading and what they were seeing as they traveled. The fact that you can go from dessert to mountains, heat to snow, all in the same state makes me love it even more.
I could not put Coming of Age at the End of the Days down, yet I am not sure how to recommend it. I enjoyed it. I came to care and worry for Lars and especially Anna. If you enjoy a cult story definitely check this out. If you are unsure if you like cult stories consider checking this out. If you struggle with cult stories pass on this book.
