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lilyrooke 's review for:
Atonement Camp for Unrepentant Homophobes
by Evan J. Corbin
Imagine the discovery of a 'New Revelation' that turns America on its head. Pastor Rick Harris refuses to move with the times and, despite being warned of the consequences to follow, delivers an incendiary homophobic sermon, putting him at odds with the financial backers of his church. Shipped off to Atonement Camp, Rick must face his past and come to terms with himself if he's ever going to understand what love truly means.
Of all the books in all the world, what are the chances of running into this one? If you want something different and daring, if you want something thought-provoking and tender, if you want something that's littered with absolutely hilarious moments on one page while sprinkling utterly heartbreaking moments on the next, you need to give Atonement Camp for Unrepentant Homophobes a chance. It is so, so much more than I thought it would be.
By and large, this is a very funny book, but it also explores challenging, heavy topics. To be clear, Rick is deeply entrenched in internalised homophobia (the reasons for which are explored at the perfect moment in the book, in excruciatingly powerful chapters that left me floored). His sermon at the start of the book is definitely difficult to read, although I doubt it's anywhere near as bad as the contemporary reality. I think the point is that Rick *changes*, and that he has the potential to change throughout the book. He struggles and resists that change, as any well-drawn character should. But it's no spoiler to say Rick is a closeted gay man bearing deep adolescent trauma, and the whole point of the story is that he's on a journey of healing. Even as someone not particularly religious, I resonated with the message at the end of the book about the duty to challenge the hypocrisy of hate in a tradition that claims to be based on love.
This is a book that I would argue is written with a lot of passion and purpose behind it, and that strength of emotion shines through. However, it never loses its charm or sparkle, its joy and message that anyone can find redemption if they can learn to love themselves and challenge the messages of hatred and shame that are drummed into so many throughout their lives, starting in childhood. I'm so happy to be able to read the sequel next!
Of all the books in all the world, what are the chances of running into this one? If you want something different and daring, if you want something thought-provoking and tender, if you want something that's littered with absolutely hilarious moments on one page while sprinkling utterly heartbreaking moments on the next, you need to give Atonement Camp for Unrepentant Homophobes a chance. It is so, so much more than I thought it would be.
By and large, this is a very funny book, but it also explores challenging, heavy topics. To be clear, Rick is deeply entrenched in internalised homophobia (the reasons for which are explored at the perfect moment in the book, in excruciatingly powerful chapters that left me floored). His sermon at the start of the book is definitely difficult to read, although I doubt it's anywhere near as bad as the contemporary reality. I think the point is that Rick *changes*, and that he has the potential to change throughout the book. He struggles and resists that change, as any well-drawn character should. But it's no spoiler to say Rick is a closeted gay man bearing deep adolescent trauma, and the whole point of the story is that he's on a journey of healing. Even as someone not particularly religious, I resonated with the message at the end of the book about the duty to challenge the hypocrisy of hate in a tradition that claims to be based on love.
This is a book that I would argue is written with a lot of passion and purpose behind it, and that strength of emotion shines through. However, it never loses its charm or sparkle, its joy and message that anyone can find redemption if they can learn to love themselves and challenge the messages of hatred and shame that are drummed into so many throughout their lives, starting in childhood. I'm so happy to be able to read the sequel next!