A review by ilkjen
Eli Harpo's Adventure to the Afterlife by Eric Schlich

emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

Oh man. I read the synopsis on the inside cover and knew immediately I needed to read this. I grew up close to Orlando, going to an evangelical church, and have been to The Holy Land Experience (one of the inspirations for Eli’s Bible World). I’ve been on a healing journey after being many years removed from that life and I thought this sounded like a wild and fun addition to my quest. But that’s not at all what I got.

First, I hated the presentation. It’s so disjointed and you jump all over the place. Only two chapters take place in the ‘now’. And the rest of it is so difficult to get through. If I’m being honest I skimmed paragraphs and stuck to the dialogue for most of the non-key scenes.

What’s worse? I hated this story. Eli is manipulated by every person he ever meets and it doesn’t feel like he escaped that curse even when he grew up. There were very few genuine-feeling moments in the entirety of this novel. Everything else left me feeling either hollow or embarrassed. Eli deserved so much better than he got and if I had known how depressing this book was I would not have picked it up.
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