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Title: The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds ISBN: 0-425-16244-3 Publisher: Putnam Pub Group Pub. Date: April, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.35 (212 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Beautifully, painfully written
Comment: Some books read like poetry. This is one of those books. I knew it was going to be a wonderful read from the beginning, when the author describes tapestries that Ninah (the main character of the story) wove, speaking of her turning the tapestry over and seeing the backside weeping, the colors running together.
This is a story about a girl who grows up in an extremely controlling, religious environment - a cult, really. Her youth is filled with joy, superstition, guilt, pain, punishment, love, and yearning, the last of which lands her in some trouble. Ninah maintains a sense of innocence through her difficulties. She also questions, not really rebelling, but just doesn't fully accept the beliefs of the Church of Fire and Brimstone and God's Almighty Baptizing Wind.
If you're from a strong religious background, this book may be difficult to read. It's a story of a girl's growing up and exploring in a religious environment, and as such, some of the references to religious things are not always in the most reverent of terms. Some of them are necessary to making this real, but some of them seem to cross the boundaries (example: many suggestions that Ninah is making love to Jesus when she is making love) and lessen the delivery of a story that would seem more true without them.
All in all, this is a book well worth reading. The characters don't turn from religion in the end... they only turn from fanatacism and abuse in religion.
Rating: 4
Summary: A rapturous read
Comment: Don't let the fact this book was selected by Oprah's Book Club throw you--"The Rapture of Canaan" is not flash-in-the-pan, trendy lit but rather an evocative examination of religious devotion and the power of forgiveness.
Ninah, the 15-year-old protagonist, is a member of a radical religious sect, but finds it difficult to reconcile her sinful thoughts--particularly about her prayer partner James--with her religion's insistence on purity in preparation for the Second Coming. Despite her attempts to banish such thoughts from her mind, she and James consummate their love, and disaster ensues. Her black-and-white world is upended, and she stands on the brink of despair. But Ninah perseveres, learning, as well as teaching, a powerful lesson of redemption.
Though the novel is religious in subject and theme, its appeal spans both sacred and profane tastes. The writing is fast-paced, and the characters just eccentric enough to be completely believable. Ultimately, Reynolds shows that miracles can be found in the most mundane, secular places and that, as Hawthorne says, some things, however carnal and worldly, have a consecration of their own.
Rating: 1
Summary: nasty, just nasty
Comment: if it was the author's intent to disgust me, then she was successful. i put off reading this book, and now i know why. i think the author's intent was to come up with a story to make us rethink our value systems/religious beliefs...but she did it so immaturely...concentrating on the bizarre punishments to feel jesus's pain. let's take the basic same events, and set the story in a normal child's life...one who isn't in a cult-like religion...still have her struggle with her morality...and i think you have a much better story.
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Title: A Virtuous Woman by Kaye Gibbons ISBN: 0375703063 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 05 November, 1997 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
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Title: Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons ISBN: 0375703055 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 05 November, 1997 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
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Title: Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen ISBN: 0440226104 Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 02 February, 1999 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: While I Was Gone by Sue Miller, Sue Miller ISBN: 0345443284 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 12 May, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage ISBN: 038079487X Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 01 November, 1998 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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