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alexreadsboooks's review against another edition
4.0
This review also appears on my blog alexreadsboooks
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Lydia Hawkins is an Evangelical Christian and a lesbian. Everyone knows the former, but no one can ever find out the latter.
But when she meets the inhabitants of 27 Alma Road, she starts to realise that maybe it doesn't have to be this way. And as she accepts that there are more ways to be Christian, she also begins to discover that there are more ways to be herself.
But when a member of the Catholic Society starts questioning if the Christian Fellowship that Lydia is a part of is as Christian as it claims, Lydia finds herself part of a row that will not remain confined to the campus of Stancester University.
Thanks a lot to Kathleen Jowitt for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
I have to admit that I jumped at the opportunity to review this, because first of all, it is about queer practicing Christians, and second of all, I was curious to see how Lydia would come to terms with her sexuality and her faith.
I am a non-practicing Catholic myself and its been years since I even read the Bible, but Speak its Name made me get out my old Bible from school and cross check on the parts I could find. I really love it when books make me think, and this one made me really think about a lot of stuff in a way I haven't done before. I didn't really expect this when I started reading Speak its Name, but I'm actually glad it happened.
What I also loved about it was the way Jowitt described uni life. It was really well done, and I had to think back to my own uni days a lot. In a funny coincidence all the talk about walking down a hill from campus to walk up another hill kept making me think of my own way between my house and campus the last year of uni, so in my mind Stancester probably looks more like Aberystwyth than it's supposed to be.
I also really enjoyed the balance between the different elements of the story. It never really felt like either campus politics, faith or romance took over the story; it always felt like they were balanced out.
Speak its Name is a great read about faith and sexuality. It's a great exploration of what it means to accept two seemingly contradictory aspects of yourself, and what it means to do that.
____
Lydia Hawkins is an Evangelical Christian and a lesbian. Everyone knows the former, but no one can ever find out the latter.
But when she meets the inhabitants of 27 Alma Road, she starts to realise that maybe it doesn't have to be this way. And as she accepts that there are more ways to be Christian, she also begins to discover that there are more ways to be herself.
But when a member of the Catholic Society starts questioning if the Christian Fellowship that Lydia is a part of is as Christian as it claims, Lydia finds herself part of a row that will not remain confined to the campus of Stancester University.
Thanks a lot to Kathleen Jowitt for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
I have to admit that I jumped at the opportunity to review this, because first of all, it is about queer practicing Christians, and second of all, I was curious to see how Lydia would come to terms with her sexuality and her faith.
I am a non-practicing Catholic myself and its been years since I even read the Bible, but Speak its Name made me get out my old Bible from school and cross check on the parts I could find. I really love it when books make me think, and this one made me really think about a lot of stuff in a way I haven't done before. I didn't really expect this when I started reading Speak its Name, but I'm actually glad it happened.
What I also loved about it was the way Jowitt described uni life. It was really well done, and I had to think back to my own uni days a lot. In a funny coincidence all the talk about walking down a hill from campus to walk up another hill kept making me think of my own way between my house and campus the last year of uni, so in my mind Stancester probably looks more like Aberystwyth than it's supposed to be.
I also really enjoyed the balance between the different elements of the story. It never really felt like either campus politics, faith or romance took over the story; it always felt like they were balanced out.
Speak its Name is a great read about faith and sexuality. It's a great exploration of what it means to accept two seemingly contradictory aspects of yourself, and what it means to do that.
sadie_slater's review against another edition
5.0
I bought this because everyone on my DW reading list seemed to be reading it, and the author, Kathleen Jowitt, is a friend of friends and someone I've recently started following (and who I hope to come to know better, as she seems lovely - I'm not sure how I missed making her acquaintance for so long). And because it sounded like something I'd enjoy.
It was indeed something I enjoyed. It's set at a fictional university in the West of England at some point after mobile phones, laptops, email and Facebook became common, but it reminded me very much of my time st university in the Midlands before any of those things were part of the average student's life. The main characters are all members of various student Christian groups, which is an aspect of student life I was never involved in beyond sharing a house with two members of the CU for a couple of terms, but from the sound of things the way student Christian groups work - the meetings, the rivalries, the campaigns and events, the personalities and the relationship with the Students' Union - isn't entirely dissimilar to the way the political and campaigning groups I was involved with worked. Reading the book felt like a very nostalgic experience in a lot of ways; I was vividly reminded of how it felt to be young and away from home for the first time, taking my first steps towards becoming a truly independent, individual adult, of how serious everything felt, how many possibilties life held, how my whole future depended on the choices I made.
The main thing I loved about the book wasn't the nostalgia, though; it was the characters, who are amazingly vivid and lifelike. It's not a long book, and I read it in a few days, but I felt as though Lydia, Colette, Becky, Peter and Georgia were real people who I'd got to know and become friends with, not just characters in a book I was reading. I was utterly involved in the ups and downs of their lives, desperately wanting everything to turn out well for them, delighted at their triumphs and heartbroken by their sorrows. I was sorry to finish the book and have to leave them behind, and I might have to read it again soon just so I can revist them.
It was indeed something I enjoyed. It's set at a fictional university in the West of England at some point after mobile phones, laptops, email and Facebook became common, but it reminded me very much of my time st university in the Midlands before any of those things were part of the average student's life. The main characters are all members of various student Christian groups, which is an aspect of student life I was never involved in beyond sharing a house with two members of the CU for a couple of terms, but from the sound of things the way student Christian groups work - the meetings, the rivalries, the campaigns and events, the personalities and the relationship with the Students' Union - isn't entirely dissimilar to the way the political and campaigning groups I was involved with worked. Reading the book felt like a very nostalgic experience in a lot of ways; I was vividly reminded of how it felt to be young and away from home for the first time, taking my first steps towards becoming a truly independent, individual adult, of how serious everything felt, how many possibilties life held, how my whole future depended on the choices I made.
The main thing I loved about the book wasn't the nostalgia, though; it was the characters, who are amazingly vivid and lifelike. It's not a long book, and I read it in a few days, but I felt as though Lydia, Colette, Becky, Peter and Georgia were real people who I'd got to know and become friends with, not just characters in a book I was reading. I was utterly involved in the ups and downs of their lives, desperately wanting everything to turn out well for them, delighted at their triumphs and heartbroken by their sorrows. I was sorry to finish the book and have to leave them behind, and I might have to read it again soon just so I can revist them.
lezreviewbooks's review
4.0
'Speak its name' follow a couple of years in the campus life of Lydia, an English undergraduate student at the fictional University of Stancester in England. Lydia is as an Evangelical Christian struggling with her own sexuality. As a practising Christian, can she still feel welcome in her church if she comes out as a lesbian?
This novel present two main themes. One is the relationship - often more political than religious - between different Christian churches in university life. The other is the personal struggle of Lydia who wants to be accepted as both a Christian and a lesbian by her church and her family and friends. The story gives an interesting insight into the core of beliefs of the different Christian churches such as Roman Catholic, Anglican, Evangelical, among others. It shows what they have in common and mostly what they disagree with and how their own religions' teaching of loving each other usually develops into bigotry and intolerance. This is not an easy read, sometimes the book takes the shape of a non-fictional essay about church politics in the context of a university campus. At moments for me it felt longer than necessary. However, it's well written and informative for an outsider. Regarding the main character's story, Lydia is a believable and lovable young woman struggling with accepting her sexuality first, and then fighting for acceptance in her religious group and family. Any queer reader, religious or not, can relate to her identity struggle. Far from being a romance, her relationship with her girlfriend Colette is one of support and redemption, a companion in the hardships of life. 'Speak its name' is a book about love in all its forms and shapes and a call for more tolerance and acceptance of minorities specially in a religious context.
Overall, a well written book recommended if you are interested in religion and sexual identity. 4 stars.
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at
www.lezreviewbooks.com
This novel present two main themes. One is the relationship - often more political than religious - between different Christian churches in university life. The other is the personal struggle of Lydia who wants to be accepted as both a Christian and a lesbian by her church and her family and friends. The story gives an interesting insight into the core of beliefs of the different Christian churches such as Roman Catholic, Anglican, Evangelical, among others. It shows what they have in common and mostly what they disagree with and how their own religions' teaching of loving each other usually develops into bigotry and intolerance. This is not an easy read, sometimes the book takes the shape of a non-fictional essay about church politics in the context of a university campus. At moments for me it felt longer than necessary. However, it's well written and informative for an outsider. Regarding the main character's story, Lydia is a believable and lovable young woman struggling with accepting her sexuality first, and then fighting for acceptance in her religious group and family. Any queer reader, religious or not, can relate to her identity struggle. Far from being a romance, her relationship with her girlfriend Colette is one of support and redemption, a companion in the hardships of life. 'Speak its name' is a book about love in all its forms and shapes and a call for more tolerance and acceptance of minorities specially in a religious context.
Overall, a well written book recommended if you are interested in religion and sexual identity. 4 stars.
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at
www.lezreviewbooks.com
apartmentcat's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Religious bigotry
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