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patty_s1000 's review for:
Under the Banner of Heaven
by Jon Krakauer
I think this book is Krakauer's attempt to emulate Truman Capote. He traces a couple of hideous murders done by a Fundamentalist Morman, interweaving the origins of the Morman faith and the splits that lead to fundamentalist sects, and how the religions influenced the murderer.
It's all well done, and Krakauer is a talented writer, but he manages to present everything in such a way that Mormonism just looks incredibly stupid, to the point where you can't imagine anyone taking it seriously. Now, I'm not Mormon and I do believe it, like all faiths, has some silly bits. But I have intelligent friends who ARE Mormons, and I'm pretty sure there's a way of presenting their fundamental beliefs that isn't quite so sneery.
Also, in the end, the guy who did the murders is really just a scumbag. He presents himself as a religious zealot, but still had no problem going on a drinking/drug rampage to steal stuff as a prelude and post-lude to the murders. I'm not at all convinced that fundamentalist Mormonism had much to do with his actions. So if Krakauer was trying to demonstrate that it did, he failed.
Anyway, well written and interesting but I think it's fundamentally dishonest to pretend to present an 'objective' history while actually framing everything to make the reader laugh at/ridicule/despise everything about Mormonism.
It's all well done, and Krakauer is a talented writer, but he manages to present everything in such a way that Mormonism just looks incredibly stupid, to the point where you can't imagine anyone taking it seriously. Now, I'm not Mormon and I do believe it, like all faiths, has some silly bits. But I have intelligent friends who ARE Mormons, and I'm pretty sure there's a way of presenting their fundamental beliefs that isn't quite so sneery.
Also, in the end, the guy who did the murders is really just a scumbag. He presents himself as a religious zealot, but still had no problem going on a drinking/drug rampage to steal stuff as a prelude and post-lude to the murders. I'm not at all convinced that fundamentalist Mormonism had much to do with his actions. So if Krakauer was trying to demonstrate that it did, he failed.
Anyway, well written and interesting but I think it's fundamentally dishonest to pretend to present an 'objective' history while actually framing everything to make the reader laugh at/ridicule/despise everything about Mormonism.