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A review by serendipitysbooks
Revival Season by Monica West
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Ever read a book that you enjoy but then struggle to know what to say about it? Revival Season is that book for me. I finished it a couple of months ago and have drafted and deleted several reviews in the interim.
It’s a novel that explores aspects of patriarchal evangelical religion, something I’m oddly interested in - as an outside observer, definitely not planning to join any churches! So I enjoyed being exposed more to that community and trying to understand the people who inhabit it.
The feminist in me always loves to rage-read an awful male character. Rev. Samuel Horton certainly delivered in that regard. The more his power and control lessened, the more violent, manipulative, and abusive he became.
I also enjoyed reading this as a coming of age story. As her father’s fortunes decline and he reveals himself not to be the man 15 year old Miriam thought he was, she has to reevaluate how she views him, her parents’ marriage, and her faith. Complicating things is the fact that she comes to believe she has the power to heal, something her church and father say is reserved for men.
It’s a slow burn and overall a quiet book. There’s religion but not in a preachy way. Like I said I enjoyed it.
This book would pair well with God Spare the Girls which I read and enjoyed earlier in the year. (I had planned to read them back to back but my library had other plans.) It too looks at the impact an evangelical preacher’s fall from grace has on his daughters, and on their understanding and practice of their their faith.
It’s a novel that explores aspects of patriarchal evangelical religion, something I’m oddly interested in - as an outside observer, definitely not planning to join any churches! So I enjoyed being exposed more to that community and trying to understand the people who inhabit it.
The feminist in me always loves to rage-read an awful male character. Rev. Samuel Horton certainly delivered in that regard. The more his power and control lessened, the more violent, manipulative, and abusive he became.
I also enjoyed reading this as a coming of age story. As her father’s fortunes decline and he reveals himself not to be the man 15 year old Miriam thought he was, she has to reevaluate how she views him, her parents’ marriage, and her faith. Complicating things is the fact that she comes to believe she has the power to heal, something her church and father say is reserved for men.
It’s a slow burn and overall a quiet book. There’s religion but not in a preachy way. Like I said I enjoyed it.
This book would pair well with God Spare the Girls which I read and enjoyed earlier in the year. (I had planned to read them back to back but my library had other plans.) It too looks at the impact an evangelical preacher’s fall from grace has on his daughters, and on their understanding and practice of their their faith.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Self harm