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A review by emleemay
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes
5.0
Growing up, I believed in miracles. I guess I don’t anymore.
This book seems to have appeared out of nowhere. I haven't heard much hype about it, haven't seen many advance reviews in my feed and yet, from the very first chapter, I was hooked into this dark, horrifying and atmospheric novel. It gripped me from the start and I couldn't stop reading.
From the very opening line of "I am a blood-soaked girl", I had a feeling that this was going to be one of those books that sucks me in completely. I was right. Not only am I fascinated about the subject matter, but this happens to be one of the most moving, painful and well-written books about a religious cult, existing outside the rules and laws of society as we know it.
I think this novel is so well-balanced by many fantastic things. It offers us a horrifying portrait of life inside the "Community". It's seemingly sensational enough to have us outraged and emotionally affected, but a quick Google search will tell you how closely this resembles the reality of real life cults:
I want to tell him that these are the people who lashed their children with switches thick as forearms when the Prophet commanded, married their daughters off at sixteen to men generations older. These are the people who beat Jude until there was nothing left but a mess of blood and bone. They had to cover him in a sheet because it made the women sick to look at.
But that's not all. Almost all books about religious cults are disturbing, shocking, even gory sometimes, but [b:The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly|17185496|The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly|Stephanie Oakes|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412065594s/17185496.jpg|23634541] is much more powerful because of everything else it does.
For one, it is extremely well-written and atmospheric. The author uses a combination of horrific and beautiful imagery to paint each scene in our minds. For another thing, Minnow Bly - having escaped the Community - muses on the notion of religion, freedom of choice, and the reality of justice, in between recounting her tale of the time she spent under the rule of the Prophet. The book raises questions that made me stop and think for a while - I love it when a book can do that.
The story starts in the present where Minnow is being sent to juvenile detention for assault. We know a few things: 1) Her hands have been cut off, 2) She has escaped something horrific, 3) She viciously attacked someone, and 4) The Prophet is dead. Who killed him is a mystery; the details of how she lost her hands are also a mystery. Through flashbacks and her present time in prison, Minnow's story emerges.
It's the kind of book that has you on the edge of your seat, angry and scared for the protagonist. It's a heart-pounding kind of book. But it also contains moments of humour, lightness and friendship between Minnow and the other girls in juvenile detention - especially the hilarious Angel. As I said, it balances so many things and, I personally think, it leaves us with a lingering and unsettling message - not about religious cults, but about the way in which our laws can punish victims.
It really affected me and I hope you read it too. I'm going to leave you with this final quote that I believe to be a lovely little nod towards us book nerds:
When I remember her, I picture that expression, like behind her eyes she had entire rooms that she didn’t let anyone see. And I realize now it was the book in her hands that’d made them.
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This book seems to have appeared out of nowhere. I haven't heard much hype about it, haven't seen many advance reviews in my feed and yet, from the very first chapter, I was hooked into this dark, horrifying and atmospheric novel. It gripped me from the start and I couldn't stop reading.
From the very opening line of "I am a blood-soaked girl", I had a feeling that this was going to be one of those books that sucks me in completely. I was right. Not only am I fascinated about the subject matter, but this happens to be one of the most moving, painful and well-written books about a religious cult, existing outside the rules and laws of society as we know it.
I think this novel is so well-balanced by many fantastic things. It offers us a horrifying portrait of life inside the "Community". It's seemingly sensational enough to have us outraged and emotionally affected, but a quick Google search will tell you how closely this resembles the reality of real life cults:
I want to tell him that these are the people who lashed their children with switches thick as forearms when the Prophet commanded, married their daughters off at sixteen to men generations older. These are the people who beat Jude until there was nothing left but a mess of blood and bone. They had to cover him in a sheet because it made the women sick to look at.
But that's not all. Almost all books about religious cults are disturbing, shocking, even gory sometimes, but [b:The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly|17185496|The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly|Stephanie Oakes|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412065594s/17185496.jpg|23634541] is much more powerful because of everything else it does.
For one, it is extremely well-written and atmospheric. The author uses a combination of horrific and beautiful imagery to paint each scene in our minds. For another thing, Minnow Bly - having escaped the Community - muses on the notion of religion, freedom of choice, and the reality of justice, in between recounting her tale of the time she spent under the rule of the Prophet. The book raises questions that made me stop and think for a while - I love it when a book can do that.
The story starts in the present where Minnow is being sent to juvenile detention for assault. We know a few things: 1) Her hands have been cut off, 2) She has escaped something horrific, 3) She viciously attacked someone, and 4) The Prophet is dead. Who killed him is a mystery; the details of how she lost her hands are also a mystery. Through flashbacks and her present time in prison, Minnow's story emerges.
It's the kind of book that has you on the edge of your seat, angry and scared for the protagonist. It's a heart-pounding kind of book. But it also contains moments of humour, lightness and friendship between Minnow and the other girls in juvenile detention - especially the hilarious Angel. As I said, it balances so many things and, I personally think, it leaves us with a lingering and unsettling message - not about religious cults, but about the way in which our laws can punish victims.
It really affected me and I hope you read it too. I'm going to leave you with this final quote that I believe to be a lovely little nod towards us book nerds:
When I remember her, I picture that expression, like behind her eyes she had entire rooms that she didn’t let anyone see. And I realize now it was the book in her hands that’d made them.
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