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A review by catherine_the_greatest
A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet
4.0
Hiding our parentage was a leisure pursuit, but one we took seriously. Sometimes a parent would edge near, threatening to expose us. Risking the revelation of a family bond. Then we ran like rabbits. We had to hide the running, though, in case our haste betrayed us, so truer to say we slipped out quietly. When one of my parents appeared, my technique was: pretend to catch sight of someone in the next room. Move in a natural manner toward this figment of my imagination, making a purposeful face. Go through the door. And fade away.
A Children's Bible begins with a group of old college friends spending a summer together in a huge rented house, with spouses and children in tow. But unlike most adult fiction, we don't get to know the friends. They're just hazy, drunken figures, as the story is told from the point-of-view of the children. Initially, it seems to be a collective viewpoint, but eventually it becomes clear that teenage Eve is telling her story. Along with their game of hiding their parentage and avoiding their parents as much as possible, the children -- ranging from 17 to maybe 10 or 11 -- are relegated to sleeping communally in the attic. At one point, they decide to go camp on the nearby beach despite half-hearted protests from their parents, where they meet some wealthier counterparts summering on a yacht. We know the setting is modern, because they have cell phones which have been locked up for the summer. Otherwise, the story could easily be taking place in the 1970s with the nostalgic, endless summer feel.
When a severe storm sweeps through the area -- somewhere on the east coast -- the story changes to a survival story with a post-apocalyptic flavor as society breaks down in the wake of the storm. The parents are mostly useless and the children must rely on their own strengths and some less-conventional, less-horrifying adults they encounter. Eve's younger brother Jack has been given a copy of A Children's Bible -- one of those illustrated versions that featured in my childhood -- which is basically his first introduction to religion. He and his deaf friend try to decipher the meaning of the myths, which they're positive are related to the events they're living through. Ms. Millet lays all the Biblical allusions on thick, with the narrator's name being just the beginning.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this, and I'm still not entirely sure what happened. It's interesting and messy and often heavy-handed. As long as I don't overthink it, I liked it.
A Children's Bible begins with a group of old college friends spending a summer together in a huge rented house, with spouses and children in tow. But unlike most adult fiction, we don't get to know the friends. They're just hazy, drunken figures, as the story is told from the point-of-view of the children. Initially, it seems to be a collective viewpoint, but eventually it becomes clear that teenage Eve is telling her story. Along with their game of hiding their parentage and avoiding their parents as much as possible, the children -- ranging from 17 to maybe 10 or 11 -- are relegated to sleeping communally in the attic. At one point, they decide to go camp on the nearby beach despite half-hearted protests from their parents, where they meet some wealthier counterparts summering on a yacht. We know the setting is modern, because they have cell phones which have been locked up for the summer. Otherwise, the story could easily be taking place in the 1970s with the nostalgic, endless summer feel.
When a severe storm sweeps through the area -- somewhere on the east coast -- the story changes to a survival story with a post-apocalyptic flavor as society breaks down in the wake of the storm. The parents are mostly useless and the children must rely on their own strengths and some less-conventional, less-horrifying adults they encounter. Eve's younger brother Jack has been given a copy of A Children's Bible -- one of those illustrated versions that featured in my childhood -- which is basically his first introduction to religion. He and his deaf friend try to decipher the meaning of the myths, which they're positive are related to the events they're living through. Ms. Millet lays all the Biblical allusions on thick, with the narrator's name being just the beginning.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this, and I'm still not entirely sure what happened. It's interesting and messy and often heavy-handed. As long as I don't overthink it, I liked it.