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cathiedalziel's review against another edition
2.0
Not my cup of tea.
A story about a small town and the influence of a snake-handling preacher and his followers.
If you liked Deliverance you would probably like this.
Are all American Southerners lyin', cheatin' bullyiing, Church-going folks that like to take matters into their own hands?
A story about a small town and the influence of a snake-handling preacher and his followers.
If you liked Deliverance you would probably like this.
Are all American Southerners lyin', cheatin' bullyiing, Church-going folks that like to take matters into their own hands?
mmseitz822's review against another edition
4.0
This book is told from three different perspectives ...
Jess Hall is a young boy who knows better than to spy on adults but that's exactly what he does when his brother, Stump, is taken into the church where no other children ever go. Stump is mute and has never said a word since he's been born. When he is taken into the church, Jess has to spy through the windows to see what happens since he knows his brother won't be able to tell him. What he witnesses leaves him uneasy and makes him feel like he has to protect Stump from it happening again.
Adelaide Lyle is an older woman in the town. She teaches Sunday school to the children of the town while the adults are at church. Adelaide refuses to let the children attend the church run by Pastor Chambliss after witnessing someone die during one of his services. His ways of finding Jesus and "saving" parishioners is very extreme and unorthodox.
Clem Barefield is the town sheriff who is haunted by a dark past of his own. He looks into Pastor Chambliss when he first comes into town and finds out he's not what he seems. After something tragic happens to Stump during one of his services, Clem is left to try to make sense of what has happened and make sure justice is served.
Jess Hall is a young boy who knows better than to spy on adults but that's exactly what he does when his brother, Stump, is taken into the church where no other children ever go. Stump is mute and has never said a word since he's been born. When he is taken into the church, Jess has to spy through the windows to see what happens since he knows his brother won't be able to tell him. What he witnesses leaves him uneasy and makes him feel like he has to protect Stump from it happening again.
Adelaide Lyle is an older woman in the town. She teaches Sunday school to the children of the town while the adults are at church. Adelaide refuses to let the children attend the church run by Pastor Chambliss after witnessing someone die during one of his services. His ways of finding Jesus and "saving" parishioners is very extreme and unorthodox.
Clem Barefield is the town sheriff who is haunted by a dark past of his own. He looks into Pastor Chambliss when he first comes into town and finds out he's not what he seems. After something tragic happens to Stump during one of his services, Clem is left to try to make sense of what has happened and make sure justice is served.
mollygoods's review against another edition
3.0
Picked up from the library. It was an overall good read. It fell apart too much fore in the last chapters. Didn’t have to have a happy ending necessarily, but geez all the characters that you built faith in just disappoint you in one fell swoop. I understand that it’s perhaps time and place accurate for that sort of outcome but geez. At least - why would Jess be dropped off to that church after everything that happened?
lcoverosey's review against another edition
2.0
I had to send it back,,,, read 3 chapters and couldn’t read anymore. The pastor was obsessed with a backwoods hell and fury religious sermons filled with live snakes , and other strange ceremonies. Nope. Cannot read , I will have nightmares.
amchica's review against another edition
3.0
I had such high hopes for this book because of the rave reviews. I was disappointed. The characters were all pretty much stereotypes and the story was pretty predictable. Lots of grief and tragedy, but nothing really to be learned from it. I can't believe it was compared to "To Kill a Mockingbird." Someone in my book discussion group summed it up pretty well when she said she probably won't remember anything about it a week from now.
mmc6661's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed the story and the different personality of the main characters. Being from N.C. and spending several summers in Hot Springs and Marshall really brought this book to life for me. I will look forward to Wiley Cash's next novel !
geer08's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing and unexpected. A modern day To Kill a Mockingbird.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
4.0
This book tells the story of the Hall family. Growing up north of Asheville, North Carolina in the Appalachian mountains, Jess loves his father, a tobacco farmer, his mother and his older brother, nicknamed Stump, who doesn't talk, but who is his constant companion. His mother is involved in the local Church of God with Signs Following, a small, secretive pentecostal congregation led by a charismatic pastor. In this rural community, everyone knows everyone else and what their parents did. And then one event precipitates another and things go badly wrong.
This is a book whose sum is greater than its parts. Yes, there's fantastic atmosphere and a solid sense of place. And the characters are complex and even the secondary ones are fully fleshed out. The plot is well put together and moves with a sort of inevitable speed toward the conclusion, but this book just works. There are a few false notes. Cash missed a step by not fully exploring the beliefs of the church, which are more complex than he set forth, but as a whole, this was a fantastic book that fully deserves its reputation.
This is a book whose sum is greater than its parts. Yes, there's fantastic atmosphere and a solid sense of place. And the characters are complex and even the secondary ones are fully fleshed out. The plot is well put together and moves with a sort of inevitable speed toward the conclusion, but this book just works. There are a few false notes. Cash missed a step by not fully exploring the beliefs of the church, which are more complex than he set forth, but as a whole, this was a fantastic book that fully deserves its reputation.
dsbressette's review against another edition
3.0
This was a good book set in the South. It had the feel of "To Kill A Mockingbird" as far as the secrets. There was a little something missing, though, that made me rate it 3 vs 4 stars. The writing was fabulous and each of the narrators were well-written.