An engrossing tale of the ups and downs of family and faith.
In this debut novel, a teen’s newfound Christianity may have landed her in the midst of a cult.
Kate Bennett doesn’t leave her Salem, Massachusetts, family on good terms. Her loved ones do not approve of her decision to attend The Ark, a “Bible school” that her mother calls a cult. When Ma suddenly dies of a stroke, Kate’s dad puts the blame solely on her. But things are looking rosy at The Ark’s New Hampshire campus, with its tranquil backdrop of mountains and pine trees. The generally reticent Kate makes friends and even catches the eye of Luke Carlson, the attractive nephew of The Ark’s founder, pastor Steve Carlson. In between her training to become a missionary, Kate grows close to Luke, who abides by The Ark rules—nothing more than hugs and hand-holding. Kate craves a bit more affection, and Nick, her much more passionate co-worker at a local grocery store, complicates her life. But her greater choice involves The Ark, as she uncovers a shocking secret or two that may validate her mother’s weighty cult label. Agnew’s initially breezy tale—Kate adjusting to campus life—gradually turns moody, though never outright scary. For example, The Ark unquestionably displays cultish traits (the “witness bus” essentially gathers recruits). In this absorbing story, the author offers a familiar interpretation of Christianity. Some readers will reject such biblical lessons as women being submissive to men (for example, the pastor or a husband), while the message of loving everyone is one most will embrace. But the audience will quickly sympathize with Kate; guilt over her mother’s death burdens her, and it seems what she really craves from The Ark is companionship. She’s a multilayered character with an intriguing backstory. In Salem, she handled schoolwork while serving as a mother to her younger sisters when Ma simply wasn’t interested. Despite her parent’s flaws, Kate sometimes assumed Ma’s caustic attitude, which proved effective against loathsome guys.
An engrossing tale of the ups and downs of family and faith.Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 979-8-9850024-0-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Angel Hill Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A welcome literary resurrection that deserves a place alongside Wright’s best-known work.
A falsely accused Black man goes into hiding in this masterful novella by Wright (1908-1960), finally published in full.
Written in 1941 and '42, between Wright’s classics Native Son and Black Boy, this short novel concerns Fred Daniels, a modest laborer who’s arrested by police officers and bullied into signing a false confession that he killed the residents of a house near where he was working. In a brief unsupervised moment, he escapes through a manhole and goes into hiding in a sewer. A series of allegorical, surrealistic set pieces ensues as Fred explores the nether reaches of a church, a real estate firm, and a jewelry store. Each stop is an opportunity for Wright to explore themes of hope, greed, and exploitation; the real estate firm, Wright notes, “collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent from poor colored folks.” But Fred’s deepening existential crisis and growing distance from society keep the scenes from feeling like potted commentaries. As he wallpapers his underground warren with cash, mocking and invalidating the currency, he registers a surrealistic but engrossing protest against divisive social norms. The novel, rejected by Wright’s publisher, has only appeared as a substantially truncated short story until now, without the opening setup and with a different ending. Wright's take on racial injustice seems to have unsettled his publisher: A note reveals that an editor found reading about Fred’s treatment by the police “unbearable.” That may explain why Wright, in an essay included here, says its focus on race is “rather muted,” emphasizing broader existential themes. Regardless, as an afterword by Wright’s grandson Malcolm attests, the story now serves as an allegory both of Wright (he moved to France, an “exile beyond the reach of Jim Crow and American bigotry”) and American life. Today, it resonates deeply as a story about race and the struggle to envision a different, better world.
A welcome literary resurrection that deserves a place alongside Wright’s best-known work.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-59853-676-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Library of America
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
Uneven but fitfully amusing.
Betrayed by her husband, a severely depressed young woman gets drawn into the over-the-top festivities at a lavish wedding.
Phoebe Stone, who teaches English literature at a St. Louis college, is plotting her own demise. Her husband, Matt, has left her for another woman, and Phoebe is taking it hard. Indeed, she's determined just where and how she will end it all: at an oceanfront hotel in Newport, where she will lie on a king-sized canopy bed and take a bottle of her cat’s painkillers. At the hotel, Phoebe meets bride-to-be Lila, a headstrong rich girl presiding over her own extravagant six-day wedding celebration. Lila thought she had booked every room in the hotel, and learning of Phoebe's suicidal intentions, she forbids this stray guest from disrupting the nuptials: “No. You definitely can’t kill yourself. This is my wedding week.” After the punchy opening, a grim flashback to the meltdown of Phoebe's marriage temporarily darkens the mood, but things pick up when spoiled Lila interrupts Phoebe's preparations and sweeps her up in the wedding juggernaut. The slide from earnest drama to broad farce is somewhat jarring, but from this point on, Espach crafts an enjoyable—if overstuffed—comedy of manners. When the original maid of honor drops out, Phoebe is persuaded, against her better judgment, to take her place. There’s some fun to be had here: The wedding party—including groom-to-be Gary, a widower, and his 11-year-old daughter—takes surfing lessons; the women in the group have a session with a Sex Woman. But it all goes on too long, and the humor can seem forced, reaching a low point when someone has sex with the vintage wedding car (you don’t want to know the details). Later, when two characters have a meet-cute in a hot tub, readers will guess exactly how the marriage plot resolves.
Uneven but fitfully amusing.Pub Date: July 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781250899576
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2024
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