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kaitjosh's review
Somewhat interesting concept but very slow going. I might try again at some point.
shannonw19's review
4.0
Marianne is a poet. Her father is a professor. Her mother died when she was younger. Her younger sister is uber-religious and married to a man who is the same. Marianne's ex-fiancé, a writer, takes a joke she made in grad school about opening a Christian Writing school and makes it a reality thanks to his great-aunt and his brother Mark. Eric wants Marianne to run the school. An odd assortment of characters join the school - two teachers who are not religious and a bit eccentric, a former R&B superstar fallen on hard times who found a life coach and religion, a mother and school teacher who writes poems about Terri Schaivo, and a hotel owner down the beach. They all come together with a hurricane thrown into the mix to provide probably the most interesting book I've read all year.
When the school needs money, Mark, the venture capitalist, turns to God's Word, God's Word (or GWGW), an sketchy religious institution that has a string of private colleges. GWGW comes in and surprising things happen.
I really liked this book. Partly because I could so feel Marianne's position - in a job she doesn't necessarily want, in a place that's unfamiliar, with no prospects. Who hasn't been there? She's honest about her trepidation with the school. But she becomes kind of friends with Jeannine, the poet who writes about Terry Schaivo. She thinks she may rekindle her romance with Eric. And she's suspicious of GWGW and their intentions.
GWGW reminds me of CCI when I taught at Heald College. They came in with their uniforms and rah rah cheerleader get more students mentality. They seem creepy and nefarious and like conmen, but you can't put your finger on the actual wrongdoing. In my case CCI got Heald shut down. So I identified with Marianne's suspicions of GWGW.
Most of all, I like how this book was written. Because in the end, it's a meditation on how to get along with people you fundamentally disagree with and don't understand. Marianne and her sister, Ruth are not close, mostly because Ruth married young, got into the church after her mother died, and is the polar opposite of Marianne. But like Marianne and Jeannine, Marianne and Ruth manage to find a way to mend their differences and respect each other as people. I think that kind of attitude is desperately needed right now. It's entertaining and I really enjoyed it.
I won this book from Goodreads and received no compensation in exchange for this review. The opinions contained herein are mine and mine alone.
When the school needs money, Mark, the venture capitalist, turns to God's Word, God's Word (or GWGW), an sketchy religious institution that has a string of private colleges. GWGW comes in and surprising things happen.
I really liked this book. Partly because I could so feel Marianne's position - in a job she doesn't necessarily want, in a place that's unfamiliar, with no prospects. Who hasn't been there? She's honest about her trepidation with the school. But she becomes kind of friends with Jeannine, the poet who writes about Terry Schaivo. She thinks she may rekindle her romance with Eric. And she's suspicious of GWGW and their intentions.
GWGW reminds me of CCI when I taught at Heald College. They came in with their uniforms and rah rah cheerleader get more students mentality. They seem creepy and nefarious and like conmen, but you can't put your finger on the actual wrongdoing. In my case CCI got Heald shut down. So I identified with Marianne's suspicions of GWGW.
Most of all, I like how this book was written. Because in the end, it's a meditation on how to get along with people you fundamentally disagree with and don't understand. Marianne and her sister, Ruth are not close, mostly because Ruth married young, got into the church after her mother died, and is the polar opposite of Marianne. But like Marianne and Jeannine, Marianne and Ruth manage to find a way to mend their differences and respect each other as people. I think that kind of attitude is desperately needed right now. It's entertaining and I really enjoyed it.
I won this book from Goodreads and received no compensation in exchange for this review. The opinions contained herein are mine and mine alone.
kategci's review
3.0
I am not sure where i heard of this book, but the premise interested me enough that it was on my Christmas list and I received a copy from one of my sons. This was a perfect read after a couple of heavy books. Marianne Stuart is living a struggling poet's life in NYC when her ex-fiancee calls to offer her a job in Florida running a low residency program for Christian writers (or writers who write Christian themed literature). This was totally entertaining while Marianne realizes as an atheist, she has trouble with all the religious aspects as well as a problem with the right wing nut group of investors. Set in a run down motel on the Gulf of Mexico, this is a great summer read, or maybe a middle of the winter read if you are looking for something warm.
emilyjhopk's review
4.0
What an absolutely unique and bizarro book. Didn’t expect to, but I liked it a lot.
I rarely say I like an ending, but this one?? Chefs kiss
I rarely say I like an ending, but this one?? Chefs kiss
k80uva's review
4.0
Excellent! A simultaneously warmhearted and critical look at Big Issues like political discourse and academic precarity but also the struggle to survive in a hostile economy and the things that threaten a person's integrity. And although it is sort of ominous and disturbingly realistic, I should also note that it's funny too.
axbell's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ariel937's review
4.0
this was a really good, really interesting read. i found it somewhere in at my local library, and the plot of the novel immediately struck me. this book surprised me, and these strange, imperfect characters are all so fascinating.
carolwk's review
2.0
A thoroughly unsatisfying novel. The authors created some good characters and then—didn’t really do anything with them.
karibaumann's review
4.0
This is a novel that satirizes low-residency Christian writing workshops but does so with a lot of kindness and empathy for the people who are taken in by these types of scams. The unqualified (atheist) leaders of the workshop program accidentally get funding from an extremely problematic Christian organization that develops for-profit schools and pushes a far-right religious agenda, which leads protests from the local community and a mixed response from the workshop attendees themselves. I really enjoyed the humanity of the characters as the social and political situation got worse and worse (including a literal hurricane approaching Florida) and think this is a great book for these divided days. I came away with empathy for everyone except the male politician introducing a personhood amendment, that guy was, deservedly, just as terrible in the book as he would be in real life.
mashmuk's review
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
it gets very gripping towards the end but meanders a bit in the middle. still a fun read overall