Jamie Langston Turner, unlike most authors of CF, knows how to draw complex and interesting characters. Perry Warren is an ethnographer sent to observe (and disparage) a fundamentalist Christian community in South Carolina. He doesn't really know why his wife has asked for a divorce. As the story unfolds, he discovers that Christians aren't the lunatics he had supposed and finds healing for some of his many hurts. Turner does a wonderful job showing how weird church must be for first-timers.
But to be honest, I did not love this book. Eldeen, the Christian dingbat, seemed like a caricature, and the preachiness was laid on pretty thick. I'm glad I read JLT's Winterbirds first, which is a much better novel.
But to be honest, I did not love this book. Eldeen, the Christian dingbat, seemed like a caricature, and the preachiness was laid on pretty thick. I'm glad I read JLT's Winterbirds first, which is a much better novel.