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Choking on a Camel
"A moving, dynamic debut." --Kirkus Reviews
In the spring of 1969, Alex Ferguson’s fiancé breaks their engagement. A strong Calvinist, he’s stung by Alex’s sharp questions about predestination, determinism, and the eternal damnation of non-Christians, ideas that horrify Alex.
On June 20, 1969, Alex is forced to face her questions again when her atheist brother is killed in an accident. To think of her beloved younger brother in eternal torment is more than she can handle. Who is God, that He should predestine people to damnation? Her emotions start to unravel.
She returns for her senior year to her fundamentalist university in the heart of the smoldering, still largely segregated South, her mind burning with questions. She’s always been a devout believer, but now she’s not so sure she can continue in her faith. Under intense pressure from the school, outwardly she conforms, but inwardly, she’s seething. She lives a double life to cover up how she really feels. She wrestles with a God she wants to love, maybe hates, and definitely doesn’t understand.
That December, Alex’s older brother’s birth date is selected in the lottery and he’s drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, a war he doesn’t support and is ill-suited to fight. If God is in control of everything that happens, Alex concludes that He must have been in control of the lottery. Her anger and confusion deepen.
To find answers, she turns to her mentor, her maverick philosophy professor, the son-in-law of the university president. He’s embroiled in a battle of his own. He finds the university’s anti-intellectualism and the lack of tolerance for diverse opinions stultifying. He wants to leave, but his wife, mistaking loyalty to her father for loyalty to Almighty God, refuses to go.
As Alex and her professor work together, they become embroiled in a relationship that is both helping her and hurting her.
"An intriguing, multifaceted portrayal of Alex's spiritual journey."--Kirkus Reviews
New release. Literary novel. Religious fiction.
In the spring of 1969, Alex Ferguson’s fiancé breaks their engagement. A strong Calvinist, he’s stung by Alex’s sharp questions about predestination, determinism, and the eternal damnation of non-Christians, ideas that horrify Alex.
On June 20, 1969, Alex is forced to face her questions again when her atheist brother is killed in an accident. To think of her beloved younger brother in eternal torment is more than she can handle. Who is God, that He should predestine people to damnation? Her emotions start to unravel.
She returns for her senior year to her fundamentalist university in the heart of the smoldering, still largely segregated South, her mind burning with questions. She’s always been a devout believer, but now she’s not so sure she can continue in her faith. Under intense pressure from the school, outwardly she conforms, but inwardly, she’s seething. She lives a double life to cover up how she really feels. She wrestles with a God she wants to love, maybe hates, and definitely doesn’t understand.
That December, Alex’s older brother’s birth date is selected in the lottery and he’s drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, a war he doesn’t support and is ill-suited to fight. If God is in control of everything that happens, Alex concludes that He must have been in control of the lottery. Her anger and confusion deepen.
To find answers, she turns to her mentor, her maverick philosophy professor, the son-in-law of the university president. He’s embroiled in a battle of his own. He finds the university’s anti-intellectualism and the lack of tolerance for diverse opinions stultifying. He wants to leave, but his wife, mistaking loyalty to her father for loyalty to Almighty God, refuses to go.
As Alex and her professor work together, they become embroiled in a relationship that is both helping her and hurting her.
"An intriguing, multifaceted portrayal of Alex's spiritual journey."--Kirkus Reviews
New release. Literary novel. Religious fiction.
340 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 11, 2013
23 people are currently reading
570 people want to read
About the author
Michal Ann McArthur
1 book14 followersMy father was an English professor and poet who exposed me at an early age to the love of language and great literature.
Before I could write my name, I was dictating stories to my mother, who patiently typed them. Although none went on to be best-sellers, my stuffed elephant seemed to appreciate them.
I fell in love with literary novels at age fourteen when I devoured The Grapes of Wrath. From that point on, I dreamed of creating literature with that kind of raw beauty and power.
Besides literary fiction, my other passion in life has been theology and philosophy, particularly epistemology and the question of the existence of God. After graduating from college with a BA in English, I went on to seminary to earn my MDiv. I taught in churches for years before deciding to devote myself full time to writing.
I have published more than 50 stories and articles. In 2012, I won both a gold and silver prize for my creative nonfiction. My work has appeared in such publications as the Oregon Report, the Goldman Review, and various Chicken Soup for the Soul books.
I live in Bend, Oregon, with my awesome tech-savvy husband and son. They rescue me regularly from my technology tangles and befuddlements. Our Michigan daughter and her husband are the parents of six rambunctious, charming children. Through the years, my husband and daughter have been my faithful editors and critics.
When I can sneak away from work, I enjoy hanging out with family and friends, reading good books, and doing anything outside in beautiful Central Oregon.
Before I could write my name, I was dictating stories to my mother, who patiently typed them. Although none went on to be best-sellers, my stuffed elephant seemed to appreciate them.
I fell in love with literary novels at age fourteen when I devoured The Grapes of Wrath. From that point on, I dreamed of creating literature with that kind of raw beauty and power.
Besides literary fiction, my other passion in life has been theology and philosophy, particularly epistemology and the question of the existence of God. After graduating from college with a BA in English, I went on to seminary to earn my MDiv. I taught in churches for years before deciding to devote myself full time to writing.
I have published more than 50 stories and articles. In 2012, I won both a gold and silver prize for my creative nonfiction. My work has appeared in such publications as the Oregon Report, the Goldman Review, and various Chicken Soup for the Soul books.
I live in Bend, Oregon, with my awesome tech-savvy husband and son. They rescue me regularly from my technology tangles and befuddlements. Our Michigan daughter and her husband are the parents of six rambunctious, charming children. Through the years, my husband and daughter have been my faithful editors and critics.
When I can sneak away from work, I enjoy hanging out with family and friends, reading good books, and doing anything outside in beautiful Central Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
August 14, 2013
I can't believe this is a debut book. It's really the only thing on Goodreads by McArthur? It was amazingly written. Ok, so she has written a ton of other articles and stories, and I will be looking out for those as well. But tackling a whole novel is a a different beast (or so I hear) and I am glad she did.
A note- there are SPOILERS here, so if you don't want to ruin the suspense, just read the book! You won't regret it!
Here's the thing- it's about a fundamentalist Christian girl attending a really, really strictly religious college in the 60's. So I was afraid it would be kind of preachy or alienating, because I grew up in a pretty fundamentalist church and it wasn't always awesome.
Also, religion can be a divisive topic. It's something a lot of people don't care about and a lot of people feel very strongly about. But this isn't a book about being a Christian as much as it is about being a person. I didn't feel preached to, but I did catch myself staying up too late reading it and looking forward to getting back to it because the characters were so well written.
The main character is Alex, a senior at PCU, a college so strict students are forbidden to leave the dorms before the waking bell, not permitted to mingle with the opposite sex, and girls are not allowed to run on campus. Also, it's the Vietnam era and people have this idea that the 60's were pretty laid back, but decorum for young ladies was still the norm for a lot of people.
Even though I haven't been in her situation exactly, I could completely relate to the character. Alex's family is divided, one brother killed in a car accident that she feels responsible for, the other hiding in Canada to avoid the draft, parents are getting divorced and a sister getting married on the fly.
Also, she's having something of a crisis of faith. No one in Alex's family is religious at all, and she is under so much pressure to be a perfect, sinless Christian. She struggles with the big questions of theology, like why a benevolent God allows bad things to happen, whether everything is preordained or people have free will, and of course whether the exact theology that her college preaches is right when there are so many other ideas out there.
Then Alex also struggles with the day to day things- helping everyone who asks for help at the expense of her own work, trying to maintain perfect grades and never get a demerit for behavior, and trying to be selfless and not self-indulgent, because she had learned that's so important.
I remember being in college and working full time and waking up after 4 hours of sleep with chest pains because I had so much work to do and so little time and was under so much stress. Reading from Alex's point of view brought all that back so clearly. It's a strongly written character when the reader wants to console the protagonist of a story because their struggles are so relatable.
I won't say any more because I don't want to give away all the details, but I will be putting this author on my list of people to watch in case she writes another book so I can snatch it up!
A note- there are SPOILERS here, so if you don't want to ruin the suspense, just read the book! You won't regret it!
Here's the thing- it's about a fundamentalist Christian girl attending a really, really strictly religious college in the 60's. So I was afraid it would be kind of preachy or alienating, because I grew up in a pretty fundamentalist church and it wasn't always awesome.
Also, religion can be a divisive topic. It's something a lot of people don't care about and a lot of people feel very strongly about. But this isn't a book about being a Christian as much as it is about being a person. I didn't feel preached to, but I did catch myself staying up too late reading it and looking forward to getting back to it because the characters were so well written.
The main character is Alex, a senior at PCU, a college so strict students are forbidden to leave the dorms before the waking bell, not permitted to mingle with the opposite sex, and girls are not allowed to run on campus. Also, it's the Vietnam era and people have this idea that the 60's were pretty laid back, but decorum for young ladies was still the norm for a lot of people.
Even though I haven't been in her situation exactly, I could completely relate to the character. Alex's family is divided, one brother killed in a car accident that she feels responsible for, the other hiding in Canada to avoid the draft, parents are getting divorced and a sister getting married on the fly.
Also, she's having something of a crisis of faith. No one in Alex's family is religious at all, and she is under so much pressure to be a perfect, sinless Christian. She struggles with the big questions of theology, like why a benevolent God allows bad things to happen, whether everything is preordained or people have free will, and of course whether the exact theology that her college preaches is right when there are so many other ideas out there.
Then Alex also struggles with the day to day things- helping everyone who asks for help at the expense of her own work, trying to maintain perfect grades and never get a demerit for behavior, and trying to be selfless and not self-indulgent, because she had learned that's so important.
I remember being in college and working full time and waking up after 4 hours of sleep with chest pains because I had so much work to do and so little time and was under so much stress. Reading from Alex's point of view brought all that back so clearly. It's a strongly written character when the reader wants to console the protagonist of a story because their struggles are so relatable.
I won't say any more because I don't want to give away all the details, but I will be putting this author on my list of people to watch in case she writes another book so I can snatch it up!
July 2, 2015
"http://mostlysensible.com/book-review... review and others are on my blog, MostlySensible.com.
The title of the story is a reference to Jesus words about the Pharisees who strained out a gnat, but swallow a camel (Matt. 23:24). The whole story is about the main character’s experiences in 1980s at a familiar fundamentalist college. I wonder if in the 80’s the fundamentalist churches and schools were the last to retain a culture that was a remnant of the pre-60’s era, a more polite, straight-laced, conservative era. The world of the Cleavers and Father Knows Best is gone, and the fundamentalists found themselves still fighting for purity and righteousness in a topsy-turvy world. The main character, Alex, apparently struggles with finding any genuineness among her fundamentalist friends. The world of her Christian college is too far removed from her unsaved family’s life.
She asks the age old theological conundrums. What about suffering? What about the holocaust, what about hypocrisy, what about questioning the establishment, what about my own family members who struggle with divorce, vices, or who have died and gone to hell, etc.? A lot of why questions. The answers are there for her but she’s too absorbed in her own struggles, and taken advantage of by friends and leaders, to hear. She is too afraid to ask those around her for answers. Her conflict ends triumphanty no thanks to those around her who should have known better, and the author seems to be making an indictment on all fundys for our insensitivity and shallowness. It’s a good reminder to us after we have grappled with those hard questions of life to learn to communicate the answers lovingly and biblically.
However, the world created by the author is a distortion of protestant fundamentalism. Hypocrites and bigots and self-centered, egotistical and abusive people can be found in any society, not just in historical fundamentalism. I grew up in a fundamentalist home, a fundamentalist preacher’s kid, I went to a fundamentalist grade school, I went to two fundamentalist colleges, and most of the time, the rules I lived under were pretty strict. Not once did I ever hear from anyone in any institution say that if I didn’t step up and tow the line or obey the rules that I was going to hell or that God would love me less. In fact, I was told more times than I can remember that works do not save, only Christ saves. I met good friends in all those places, and I avoided hurtful and hypocritical people in all those places. Overall, where there was genuine faith, there was genuine Christian love along the journey. Anyone who got a different impression wasn’t listening.
Beware of the gritty language especially toward the end. So read it if you like a moving portrayal of a spiritual journey, but remember…it’s only fiction.
The title of the story is a reference to Jesus words about the Pharisees who strained out a gnat, but swallow a camel (Matt. 23:24). The whole story is about the main character’s experiences in 1980s at a familiar fundamentalist college. I wonder if in the 80’s the fundamentalist churches and schools were the last to retain a culture that was a remnant of the pre-60’s era, a more polite, straight-laced, conservative era. The world of the Cleavers and Father Knows Best is gone, and the fundamentalists found themselves still fighting for purity and righteousness in a topsy-turvy world. The main character, Alex, apparently struggles with finding any genuineness among her fundamentalist friends. The world of her Christian college is too far removed from her unsaved family’s life.
She asks the age old theological conundrums. What about suffering? What about the holocaust, what about hypocrisy, what about questioning the establishment, what about my own family members who struggle with divorce, vices, or who have died and gone to hell, etc.? A lot of why questions. The answers are there for her but she’s too absorbed in her own struggles, and taken advantage of by friends and leaders, to hear. She is too afraid to ask those around her for answers. Her conflict ends triumphanty no thanks to those around her who should have known better, and the author seems to be making an indictment on all fundys for our insensitivity and shallowness. It’s a good reminder to us after we have grappled with those hard questions of life to learn to communicate the answers lovingly and biblically.
However, the world created by the author is a distortion of protestant fundamentalism. Hypocrites and bigots and self-centered, egotistical and abusive people can be found in any society, not just in historical fundamentalism. I grew up in a fundamentalist home, a fundamentalist preacher’s kid, I went to a fundamentalist grade school, I went to two fundamentalist colleges, and most of the time, the rules I lived under were pretty strict. Not once did I ever hear from anyone in any institution say that if I didn’t step up and tow the line or obey the rules that I was going to hell or that God would love me less. In fact, I was told more times than I can remember that works do not save, only Christ saves. I met good friends in all those places, and I avoided hurtful and hypocritical people in all those places. Overall, where there was genuine faith, there was genuine Christian love along the journey. Anyone who got a different impression wasn’t listening.
Beware of the gritty language especially toward the end. So read it if you like a moving portrayal of a spiritual journey, but remember…it’s only fiction.
June 6, 2013
I appreciated the honesty in this book. The reader is able to identify with the heroine because the questions that she asks are questions that I think we all wonder about at some point in our lives (and I felt that the whole conundrum of the sovereignty of God versus the responsibility of man for their own choices was very poignantly expressed). However, by the end of the book it was still not clear whether Alex had clarity over these issues - to be fair, though, I wonder whether any of us will have full understanding of these things on this side of eternity.
This book is most definitely not a fairytale. Although part of its effectiveness lies in the fact that it is (sometimes brutally) honest, it contained parts which so realistically descriptive that I felt uncomfortable; personally, I think that certain issues did not have to be described in quite so much detail.
This book is most definitely not a fairytale. Although part of its effectiveness lies in the fact that it is (sometimes brutally) honest, it contained parts which so realistically descriptive that I felt uncomfortable; personally, I think that certain issues did not have to be described in quite so much detail.
June 29, 2013
I read this in 2 days, which is saying a lot for me since I have a 1 yr old at home. The strength of this book lies in the honest and insightful portrayal of a young woman's crisis of faith, and when it comes to unpacking that the author doesn't pull any punches. It would have been nice to have another few chapters to have a better sense where Alex's spiritual journey ended up heading, but I think that's more about me wanting resolution than a flaw of the book, which was focused more on the dismantling of Alex's religious fundamentalism. For anyone who's been burned by Christian fundamentalism or just likes richly psychological fiction, this will be an interesting read.
May 29, 2013
Wish half stars were an option, this would get 4.5. For having gone to a conservative Christian college myself, I could identify with a lot of things in this book, from the rules to her introspection and questioning of herself and her faith.
July 23, 2013
I definitely identified with this book. I attended a university very similar to Alex. I felt at times like the author had jumped inside my brain and evesdropped on my thoughts. I became very attached to the character and wanted to keep reading. I very much enjoyed the writer's style...full of imagery and almost poetic at times. Word of caution...this is not a book for a Christian weak in faith..it will challenge you.
July 2, 2013
The main character struggles to find the answer to why a loving God would allow suffering and pain. Attending a very strict fundamentalist college she puts on the right face and does what is expected, at great cost personally. I eventually got caught up in the story and was interested to see how her faith struggle would be resolved. The story ended abruptly. I was hoping for more.
July 6, 2013
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Although this is not the type of book I would typically read, I was pleasantly surprised with how well written this was and how drawn I was to the character of Alex. The ending was great and a complete surprise. Definitely would recommend!
October 15, 2018
3.5 stars. This book was not without flaws and sometimes my head was left spinning by abrupt transitions, but it was a compelling story that kept me reading. It’s hard to know how much of the stereotypes were hyperbole, but I enjoyed the personal journey of the main character as she discovered that perfection is simply not attainable.
January 26, 2018
I would give this book five stars (I really, really loved it) but I found it difficult to keep so many characters straight and the time changes were confusing.
Amazing writing with fantastic depth of character.
Amazing writing with fantastic depth of character.
May 6, 2022
Yuck. Yuck, yuck, yuck.
October 1, 2013
Alex Ferguson is an intelligent and devout young woman who attends a fundamental Bible College in the year 1970. Her intention has always been to soak in all she can about the nature of God, to be a blessing to the world and make her family proud. But now things have changed. She's close to the end of the course, but doubts and depression have crept in, which she keeps bottled up, knowing they will be highly inflammatory and unacceptable to the staff. Other students have been culled for being controversial and uncooperative, for voicing thoughts more mild than hers. And Alex has the reputation of being a good girl and reliable helper.
She is smothering family grief. Her younger brother, Jack, recently died in a horrific car smash, and her older brother, Mark, has dashed over the Canadian border to escape being called up to serve in the Vietnam War. Why has God allowed this, when she loved and prayed for both boys? Her parents have announced that they want a divorce. And her sister, Lauren, the most generous, loving and stable influence in Alex's life, is a self-proclaimed atheist. Alex is being peppered by observations of heartache and grief wherever she turns; deep poverty, injustice, cruelty. It's getting harder to go through the motions of declaring that God is in control, that His will prevails, and that she loves Him. She's like a simmering pot and I was reading on wondering if, and when, she would erupt.
Her favourite teacher at college is Dr Levi Wells, the president's handsome son-in-law, whose manuscript she's been proof-reading. He has similar issues to her regarding the college philosophy. I've rarely read another story in which temptation is written as such a believably slippery slope.
I appreciate it that this novel isn't one that traces and tries to justify the main character's slide into agnosticism. I've come across plenty of that type of book in the past. Alex retains her faith, but her gradual way of regarding God's mysterious ways and the role of personal choice is interesting. I can certainly relate to her, as somebody else with a history of covertly looking to others to be informed how to think and talk, and believing that dropping whatever you're doing to perform others' bidding should be an automatic 'nice' response. I also appreciate the glimmer of truth in some of her friends' suggestions that she may be wise to be less intense and look at the good around her instead of focusing on the bad. This is something all "Alexs" in the world may get better at with practise.
For anybody who has labored hard at something to the point of weaving your whole identity with it, and then figuring out that it's not what you thought at all, this is a touching read.
I would warn readers to be careful while reading the story. Alex has so much internal dialogue going on all through the story, you need to keep your eye out for the quotation marks to distinguish what she actually says from what she simply imagines herself saying, or wishes she dared say. But Michal Ann McArthur is a very skilful writer who creates wonderful images with words.
I'd recommend this as a must-read for those who say they avoid Christian fiction because they believe it has no depth or reality.
Finally, as 1970 is around the time I was born, I feel funny putting this on my 'historical fiction' shelf, but it definitely isn't contemporary. All the unrest in that time period makes it a good backdrop for the turmoil happening in Alex's heart.
She is smothering family grief. Her younger brother, Jack, recently died in a horrific car smash, and her older brother, Mark, has dashed over the Canadian border to escape being called up to serve in the Vietnam War. Why has God allowed this, when she loved and prayed for both boys? Her parents have announced that they want a divorce. And her sister, Lauren, the most generous, loving and stable influence in Alex's life, is a self-proclaimed atheist. Alex is being peppered by observations of heartache and grief wherever she turns; deep poverty, injustice, cruelty. It's getting harder to go through the motions of declaring that God is in control, that His will prevails, and that she loves Him. She's like a simmering pot and I was reading on wondering if, and when, she would erupt.
Her favourite teacher at college is Dr Levi Wells, the president's handsome son-in-law, whose manuscript she's been proof-reading. He has similar issues to her regarding the college philosophy. I've rarely read another story in which temptation is written as such a believably slippery slope.
I appreciate it that this novel isn't one that traces and tries to justify the main character's slide into agnosticism. I've come across plenty of that type of book in the past. Alex retains her faith, but her gradual way of regarding God's mysterious ways and the role of personal choice is interesting. I can certainly relate to her, as somebody else with a history of covertly looking to others to be informed how to think and talk, and believing that dropping whatever you're doing to perform others' bidding should be an automatic 'nice' response. I also appreciate the glimmer of truth in some of her friends' suggestions that she may be wise to be less intense and look at the good around her instead of focusing on the bad. This is something all "Alexs" in the world may get better at with practise.
For anybody who has labored hard at something to the point of weaving your whole identity with it, and then figuring out that it's not what you thought at all, this is a touching read.
I would warn readers to be careful while reading the story. Alex has so much internal dialogue going on all through the story, you need to keep your eye out for the quotation marks to distinguish what she actually says from what she simply imagines herself saying, or wishes she dared say. But Michal Ann McArthur is a very skilful writer who creates wonderful images with words.
I'd recommend this as a must-read for those who say they avoid Christian fiction because they believe it has no depth or reality.
Finally, as 1970 is around the time I was born, I feel funny putting this on my 'historical fiction' shelf, but it definitely isn't contemporary. All the unrest in that time period makes it a good backdrop for the turmoil happening in Alex's heart.
July 21, 2013
Michal demonstrates her gifted use of language in Choking on a Camel, crafting gorgeous phrases and images throughout the book. She has a mastery of mood as well, conveying the protagonists emotion clearly and powerfully. Chapters often conclude with a thoughtful sentence or concept which invites contemplation.
Unlike some of the other reviewers, I thought the ending was handled very well. It made sense, and it wasn't trite, which I appreciate. Michal might have created a new genre called "literary fiction for questioning Christians". It's certainly a literary piece.
My primary criticism is also a suggestion for readers. The initial tone of the book carries through for quite a few chapters. There is not a lot of action (being literary) and not a lot of range of emotion. This changes however, and as the change happens, the pace of your own involvement as a reader also picks up. So don't give up! Keep reading!
Thanks for writing the book Michal. Hope you have more in the works!
Unlike some of the other reviewers, I thought the ending was handled very well. It made sense, and it wasn't trite, which I appreciate. Michal might have created a new genre called "literary fiction for questioning Christians". It's certainly a literary piece.
My primary criticism is also a suggestion for readers. The initial tone of the book carries through for quite a few chapters. There is not a lot of action (being literary) and not a lot of range of emotion. This changes however, and as the change happens, the pace of your own involvement as a reader also picks up. So don't give up! Keep reading!
Thanks for writing the book Michal. Hope you have more in the works!
June 13, 2013
***WON VIA GOODREADS GIVEAWAYS***
At some point or another, we all question the role of religion in our life. The main character, Alex, struggles with many questions about her Christian religion. Alex attends a fundamentalist school, her sister Lauren is an atheist, and her parents are having marital troubles. I would say more, but don't want to give away any spoilers. My only qualms are that the book was too detailed at times and used a liberal amount of words whose meaning I didn't understand; thus, I wrote them down and have a long list of words to define at some future time...overall, it was good book; as a debut, I say it is an excellent book.
At some point or another, we all question the role of religion in our life. The main character, Alex, struggles with many questions about her Christian religion. Alex attends a fundamentalist school, her sister Lauren is an atheist, and her parents are having marital troubles. I would say more, but don't want to give away any spoilers. My only qualms are that the book was too detailed at times and used a liberal amount of words whose meaning I didn't understand; thus, I wrote them down and have a long list of words to define at some future time...overall, it was good book; as a debut, I say it is an excellent book.
May 29, 2013
I'm having a hard time rating this book. I really enjoyed it (even with excessive flowery adjectives and confusing present to past transitions) but the ending was so abrupt. Alex is a very likeable character struggling with very real, raw questions and situations, however after 29 chapters of struggle it was as if she said, "eh, guess I just won't think that way anymore," which I felt was a very unrealistic way to end the book. Disappointing to say the least.
October 22, 2013
As a child raised in the Catholic Church and leaving it by age 16; I have experienced and seen much pain and suffering, in my life and of those I love. However, I believe that we all have free will and it is this that leads to the pain and suffering in the world - not the lack of any God, gods or lack of them or their intervening.
I did enjoy the majority of the book, despite a lack of clarity in past versus present. However, I found the very ending of the story to be a disappointment.
I did enjoy the majority of the book, despite a lack of clarity in past versus present. However, I found the very ending of the story to be a disappointment.
June 7, 2013
An interesting book that left me with more questions than answers. I was left feeling as though I'm missing a chapter or two at the end of the book. The narrative was at times stilted and disjointed. I sometimes had to go back and re-read a few pages in order to try to reorient myself to where I was in the story.
Not the book you want to read if you want butterflies and kittens. It's honest, almost to a fault. And it will challenge you to think. Overall a good debut novel.
Not the book you want to read if you want butterflies and kittens. It's honest, almost to a fault. And it will challenge you to think. Overall a good debut novel.
May 30, 2013
It took me a little bit to get into the story but once I got in, I was in. Alex has many questions of God and so few answers. Trying to follow all the rules of the Bible and God can be very difficult and only a “perfect” person can do it. I believe it ended the way it should have. I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
October 21, 2013
I forced myself to read this book because I won it. It took me over 2 months because ever time I started to read it, I put it right back down. The main character is very shallow and the depth of the book is very lacking. Don't waste your time.
September 21, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Great first novel. re a young girl attending a Christian fundamentalist college & coming to her own enlightenment. Addresses the "doubting Thomas" in some of us. Uplifting!
May 28, 2013
Page turner! Enjoyed the reality of Alex's thoughts compared to her actual spoken words. Thought provoking and oddly inspirational as the "good versus evil" battle rages in the well developed central character who faces utter grief, despair and a dilemma of love and loyalty.
June 29, 2013
I felt this book left me hanging, and that the central character did not ever get to any relevant life conclusions. I think it gave a pretty clear picture of the boarding school world, and questions often asked, but got bogged down in details, and didn't have a real conclusion.
July 10, 2013
Giving it four stars because the subject matter was so interesting and relevant, and I believe, under-explored in the world of literature. I loved how the author asked the tough questions about Christianity instead of giving pat answers, as most Christian fiction seems to do.
June 3, 2013
Brilliantly written, you feel the confusion. Amazing how people can twist things to their own agenda.
May 31, 2013
Excellent book. I'm so terribly disappointed with the abrupt ending though. I could have read on about Alex's journey and was looking forward to reading more.
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May 13, 2014Not what I expected
not much of a story line and the questions the character asked never really got answered. no solution to her dilemma.
not much of a story line and the questions the character asked never really got answered. no solution to her dilemma.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews