Search
Search results
Baby's Brilliant
Education and Entertainment
App
Educational and entertaining presentations for babies and toddlers. From Animated Children's Songs...
Memnoch the Devil (The Vampire Chronicles, #5)
7.0
Rate It
Book
In the fifth Vampire Chronicle, Lestat is searching for Dora, the beautiful and charismatic mortal...
A Girl Like That
Book
Sixteen-year-old Zarin Wadia is many things: a bright and vivacious student, an orphan, a risk...
Hazel (1853 KP) rated The Followers in Books
Dec 17, 2018
My rating: 3.5
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
The Followers</i> is the compelling second novel of the British author Rebecca Wait. Stephanie is living a mundane life with her daughter, making what little money she can at a local coffee shop. But then she meets Nathaniel, a man who says he wants to love her, look after her and make her happy. Stephanie and Judith move in with Nathaniel at a place known as the Ark, with a bunch of other people who are part of a religious cult. Nathaniel, who proclaims himself as a prophet, is determined for Stephanie to forget about her past and turn herself to God. Judith, however, is not so easy to persuade. However a turn of events raise questions as to whether Nathaniel should really be trusted.
The story begins with Stephanie in prison where she is serving her sentence for a crime the reader has no knowledge of. It then switches between “before” and “after” with “before” being when Stephanie meets Nathaniel and “after” involving the prison scenes. From the very start the reader knows something bad is going to happen, that Stephanie is going to break a law bad enough for her to be imprisoned. The following chapters keep readers guessing what exactly that offence would be.
The novel gets darker and darker as the truth about the running of the Ark is revealed. With violence and punishments being doled out, Nathaniel is no longer the man he originally appeared. As the book climaxes it is shocking when the reader realizes what it is that Stephanie is going to do.
As well as Judith there are other children living in the Ark, but the difference is they were born there and have known nothing else except doing things in the name of God. Judith on the other hand was not sheltered from the “evils” of the outside world and thus has a different opinion about the way Nathaniel treats his followers. As it turns out, Judith is right to distrust the ways of this man, but there is nothing she can do about her situation.
Although containing a strong religious theme, <i>The Followers</i> is not a piece of Christian fiction. The behaviour of Nathaniel and the members of the Ark does not reflect the average Christian, and everyone, whether religious or not, will be shocked by the happenings in this book.
It took a while to get into the storyline and the first few chapters did not feel particularly well written, however readers will quickly be sucked into the plot and will want to keep reading to find out what happens. <i>The Followers</i> is not a happy story and there are a few sad and distressing scenes, which make the reader really feel for some of the characters. Overall it is a very interesting read.
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
The Followers</i> is the compelling second novel of the British author Rebecca Wait. Stephanie is living a mundane life with her daughter, making what little money she can at a local coffee shop. But then she meets Nathaniel, a man who says he wants to love her, look after her and make her happy. Stephanie and Judith move in with Nathaniel at a place known as the Ark, with a bunch of other people who are part of a religious cult. Nathaniel, who proclaims himself as a prophet, is determined for Stephanie to forget about her past and turn herself to God. Judith, however, is not so easy to persuade. However a turn of events raise questions as to whether Nathaniel should really be trusted.
The story begins with Stephanie in prison where she is serving her sentence for a crime the reader has no knowledge of. It then switches between “before” and “after” with “before” being when Stephanie meets Nathaniel and “after” involving the prison scenes. From the very start the reader knows something bad is going to happen, that Stephanie is going to break a law bad enough for her to be imprisoned. The following chapters keep readers guessing what exactly that offence would be.
The novel gets darker and darker as the truth about the running of the Ark is revealed. With violence and punishments being doled out, Nathaniel is no longer the man he originally appeared. As the book climaxes it is shocking when the reader realizes what it is that Stephanie is going to do.
As well as Judith there are other children living in the Ark, but the difference is they were born there and have known nothing else except doing things in the name of God. Judith on the other hand was not sheltered from the “evils” of the outside world and thus has a different opinion about the way Nathaniel treats his followers. As it turns out, Judith is right to distrust the ways of this man, but there is nothing she can do about her situation.
Although containing a strong religious theme, <i>The Followers</i> is not a piece of Christian fiction. The behaviour of Nathaniel and the members of the Ark does not reflect the average Christian, and everyone, whether religious or not, will be shocked by the happenings in this book.
It took a while to get into the storyline and the first few chapters did not feel particularly well written, however readers will quickly be sucked into the plot and will want to keep reading to find out what happens. <i>The Followers</i> is not a happy story and there are a few sad and distressing scenes, which make the reader really feel for some of the characters. Overall it is a very interesting read.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated What's Done in Darkness: A Novel in Books
Jun 24, 2021
An excellent dark and foreboding mystery
Sarabeth is seventeen when she's held captive for nearly a week and then dumped along the side of the road, bound and blindfolded. She doesn't know who took her, or where. The police doubt her story and her parents do not even report her missing from their rural Arkansas farm . Sarabeth had argued with her religious parents, who insisted she follow their strict rules and marry someone of their choosing. As she returns home and finds her family appalled by her kidnapping, she realizes something good may come from the abduction: she can escape life on the farm for good. Five years later, she's now known as Sara when investigator Nick Farrow asks her to help with the missing persons case of another girl--one incredibly similar to Sara's. Reluctantly, Sara returns home, where she must face her darkest fears (and her family) to assist in bringing this girl home.
"Sarabeth had come to think of her time on the farm as a sentence that she had to serve, one with an end date. Now it seemed like she'd have to plan an escape."
I adore Laura McHugh's writing at this point. She's an excellent writer, and this is a great mystery in her deft hands. The religious, almost cult-like aspect of Sarabeth's family seems extremely timely in this era. We see how they narrow her options, forcing her to choose between her family and her own life. Religion and darkness are major themes in this book, with darkness playing not just in the title but across the entire novel. McHugh weaves it in and out of her story--Sara being afraid of the dark, darkness and shadows lurking at every turn. And it's a dark book to read too, even if it has its light moments. Still there's hope here as well.
I loved how Sara was a complicated heroine, with a complex past and many scars. She reminded me of Joanna Schaffhausen's Ellery Hathaway in that sense--a troubled soul who must overcome her own darkness to try to save others. Her interactions with Nick were an excellent respite, and I certainly could see myself reading about these two again.
"A piece of me was still there in Arkansas, but I was gone. No one in my new life knew who I was, what had happened to me, and I wanted to keep it that way."
The book is atmospheric, sucking us into both the deep religious aspect of the Ozarks and the Arkansas countryside. The Arkansas hills seem to play their own role in the book--another character so to speak. This one kept me guessing and even as I worked out some pieces, there were plenty of twists and turns. It's a fairly quick read, but an excellent one. Certainly recommend to mystery fans and those who enjoy a character-driven read.
"Sarabeth had come to think of her time on the farm as a sentence that she had to serve, one with an end date. Now it seemed like she'd have to plan an escape."
I adore Laura McHugh's writing at this point. She's an excellent writer, and this is a great mystery in her deft hands. The religious, almost cult-like aspect of Sarabeth's family seems extremely timely in this era. We see how they narrow her options, forcing her to choose between her family and her own life. Religion and darkness are major themes in this book, with darkness playing not just in the title but across the entire novel. McHugh weaves it in and out of her story--Sara being afraid of the dark, darkness and shadows lurking at every turn. And it's a dark book to read too, even if it has its light moments. Still there's hope here as well.
I loved how Sara was a complicated heroine, with a complex past and many scars. She reminded me of Joanna Schaffhausen's Ellery Hathaway in that sense--a troubled soul who must overcome her own darkness to try to save others. Her interactions with Nick were an excellent respite, and I certainly could see myself reading about these two again.
"A piece of me was still there in Arkansas, but I was gone. No one in my new life knew who I was, what had happened to me, and I wanted to keep it that way."
The book is atmospheric, sucking us into both the deep religious aspect of the Ozarks and the Arkansas countryside. The Arkansas hills seem to play their own role in the book--another character so to speak. This one kept me guessing and even as I worked out some pieces, there were plenty of twists and turns. It's a fairly quick read, but an excellent one. Certainly recommend to mystery fans and those who enjoy a character-driven read.
This book had an interesting insight into the mind of a dying old man. It is quite a religious text, the main character being a preacher and all. It is set up by this man writing letters to his seven-year-old son to read after he has died. I thought this was a pretty cool way to set up the novel.
The characters and their experiences were heavily mediated through the main character's mind. His likes and dislikes for certain people were very apparent while reading it. There were a few points that were really cool to read where he finds out that what he thought he knew about people turned out to be very wrong. In that moment, he allowed himself to really ask himself why he felt that certain way and how it changed.
The characters themselves were pretty interesting as well. Even though they were kind of biased against, they all had their mysteries about them. And some were even able to change throughout the course of the book.
Since it was written in the form of letters, it was harder to get the other characters' thoughts about what happened in the plot. It was just all John Ames all the time, but that is how the book is meant to be.
I gave this a three out of five because, even though I did not hate the book, I didn't love it either. Since I had to read this for class, it is not one I would have picked out for myself. Personally, I don't really enjoy reading heavily religious texts, that is why I didn't overly enjoy reading this one. But, the plot moved at a relatively quick pace (even though there were a few moments where the interior reflection did get a little repetitive). I recommend this to anyone who wants to just read something different and out of their normal wheelhouse.
The characters and their experiences were heavily mediated through the main character's mind. His likes and dislikes for certain people were very apparent while reading it. There were a few points that were really cool to read where he finds out that what he thought he knew about people turned out to be very wrong. In that moment, he allowed himself to really ask himself why he felt that certain way and how it changed.
The characters themselves were pretty interesting as well. Even though they were kind of biased against, they all had their mysteries about them. And some were even able to change throughout the course of the book.
Since it was written in the form of letters, it was harder to get the other characters' thoughts about what happened in the plot. It was just all John Ames all the time, but that is how the book is meant to be.
I gave this a three out of five because, even though I did not hate the book, I didn't love it either. Since I had to read this for class, it is not one I would have picked out for myself. Personally, I don't really enjoy reading heavily religious texts, that is why I didn't overly enjoy reading this one. But, the plot moved at a relatively quick pace (even though there were a few moments where the interior reflection did get a little repetitive). I recommend this to anyone who wants to just read something different and out of their normal wheelhouse.
PI
Personal Identity and Applied Ethics: A Historical and Philosophical Introduction
Book
'Soul', 'self', 'substance' and 'person' are just four of the terms often used to describe the human...
The Colour of Injustice: The Mysterious Murder of the Daughter of a High Court Judge
Book
Based on actual (sometimes exclusive) materials, The Colour of Injustice raises questions about...
LS
Long Strange Journey: On Modern Zen, Zen Art, and Other Predicaments
Book
Long Strange Journey presents the first critical analysis of visual objects and discourses that...
WH
Walter Hilton, the Scale of Perfection: A Critical Edition Based on British Library Mss Harley 6573 and 6579: Book II
Stanley Hussey and Michael Sargent
Book
The Scale of Perfection is the major work of the late fourteenth-century contemplative writer,...