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missyjohnson's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book. I like that Ian Cron qualified the memoir as being as he remembered it. We all see things in life through different lenses no matter what our age or circumstance. This book was lovingly written and I felt the honesty and anguish throughout. This book is worth reading if only to read Miss Annie’s opinion of an episode in Ian’s life that he was confused about and to know that there are therapists like Dan Barnigan, or to know about what happens in an abandonded quarry swimming hole. Thank you Ian Cron for sharing your story. I will sit quietly for a moment to honor the story that you have told.
lukedaloop's review against another edition
2.0
While I definitely felt there was a worth-while narrative being told, I didn't find much cohesion among the different elements that made up the narrative. While the author/narrator is very direct in letting the reader know the effect his father had on him (for better or worse), he never seemed to make an adequate comparison to his actions and his father's influence on those actions. Each chapter would tell a story from Ian's life, but very rarely would there be the corollary the title and premise of the book promises. Each chapter seems to be "This is a time where I screwed up or where something went wrong, and it's my father's fault"; aside from the few chapters where Ian's father is directly involved in the story being told, we have no real connection between these events and his father. His father is a constant presence in the story, but as a reader we are never presented many solid facts as to why something is happening. The narrator presents it as a given, and this being a memoir (of sorts) that makes sense, but it limits the empathy we can give the character.
His religious epiphanies also seem to fall flat because of this. Because he never illuminates the day to day struggle with his father, only the impact that this struggle had on him, his conversion (or reversion) to faith doesn't seem as dramatic to the reader as it must have felt for Ian.
And while this is more of a personal preference, I feel that expounding on his father's connection to the CIA would have helped to illustrate his father's double life and aided in remedying the points I raised previously. But since the job at the CIA never takes on a large role in the narrative other than helping identify the type of man Ian's father is, I feel it's a wasted clarification. It could have been a huge aid in helping understand the situation, but was squandered.
I also have a problem with the copious amounts of pop culture references in the memoir, most used as analogies. It dates the book and will make it more difficult to understand in the not-too-distant future. While I understand the references now, someone in ten to fifteen years may not. I do not think many of them are as timeless as the author believes.
One exceptional standout of the memoir, however, is the chapter on the family trip to the quarry. It is a well told story, and the message being impressed is told subtly but very effectively. It fits well within it's context, and it's meaning is very much understood without much grandstanding or monologuing. It fits well, and was the most enjoyable part of the book for me.
Overall the memoir is well-written, but failed to get me to empathize with the main character in an effective way. It reads more as an over-long witness at a church rally or retreat, but that message suffers because of that. Amputated from the emotion of that context, it's a book that fails to capitalize on the depth and emotion of it's main conflict, and the overall story and message being told suffers because of this.
His religious epiphanies also seem to fall flat because of this. Because he never illuminates the day to day struggle with his father, only the impact that this struggle had on him, his conversion (or reversion) to faith doesn't seem as dramatic to the reader as it must have felt for Ian.
And while this is more of a personal preference, I feel that expounding on his father's connection to the CIA would have helped to illustrate his father's double life and aided in remedying the points I raised previously. But since the job at the CIA never takes on a large role in the narrative other than helping identify the type of man Ian's father is, I feel it's a wasted clarification. It could have been a huge aid in helping understand the situation, but was squandered.
I also have a problem with the copious amounts of pop culture references in the memoir, most used as analogies. It dates the book and will make it more difficult to understand in the not-too-distant future. While I understand the references now, someone in ten to fifteen years may not. I do not think many of them are as timeless as the author believes.
One exceptional standout of the memoir, however, is the chapter on the family trip to the quarry. It is a well told story, and the message being impressed is told subtly but very effectively. It fits well within it's context, and it's meaning is very much understood without much grandstanding or monologuing. It fits well, and was the most enjoyable part of the book for me.
Overall the memoir is well-written, but failed to get me to empathize with the main character in an effective way. It reads more as an over-long witness at a church rally or retreat, but that message suffers because of that. Amputated from the emotion of that context, it's a book that fails to capitalize on the depth and emotion of it's main conflict, and the overall story and message being told suffers because of this.
sarahhyatt's review against another edition
1.0
I've read the reviews for this book - they were what made me want to read it in the first place. I seriously don't see how I am reading the same book as all of these people, because the very things that everyone praises are the things that I think are worst about this book.
Nothing about this book is unique. It's an overgrown blog entry, another hipster Christian book trying to be edgy with pop culture references that will quickly become obsolete and disjointed childhood memories without an overarching theme. The writing doesn't flow well or draw the reader into the story - there have been a few moments that felt they could have really shone with some more editing and polishing, but they were scattered between hodge podge and disconnected anecdotes, written in such a jaded and "trying to be funny" tone that it was hard to appreciate them. Instead of describing events or feelings the author refers to movie titles in italics, and sets them out in very clear simile ("It was LIKE Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was LIKE Pineapple Express. It was LIKE Lord of the Flies.") After a while, it becomes jarring and repetitive. The stories are also interspersed with stream-of-consciousness rambling that adds nothing to the book. It isn't cute or quirky or ~random~, it's extremely distracting.
I would complain about this book being like a rip off of Donald Miller's endless literary catalog of daddy issues, except I really haven't felt so far that this book was even about the author's father. So far I've barely seen him - or, for that matter, seen Jesus or the CIA. I hear some things about the father, but he is one-dimensional and removed, not painfully removed as an absent father but just irrelevant and peripheral. The book centers more on a random assortment of the author's experiences, which may or may not be true, and uses other people as the backdrop for the author's mundane and cliche thoughts and experiences. The treatment of other characters is disheartening as well as the author seems to take on a really unflattering jaded tone at times.
I think my strong aversion to this book is born out of the fact that I really wanted to like it. I wanted it to be a memoir that charmed me, that drew me in and made my own life and experiences seem bigger as a result. [b:Girl Meets God: A Memoir|49188|Girl Meets God A Memoir|Lauren F. Winner|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320399979s/49188.jpg|48118] did this beautifully, and I was entranced by [b:A Girl Named Zippy|15171|A Girl Named Zippy|Haven Kimmel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166671570s/15171.jpg|17077] and [b:She Got Up Off the Couch: And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana|15167|She Got Up Off the Couch And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana|Haven Kimmel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255882129s/15167.jpg|137846]. This book has none of their charm or light, but neither does it have any of the dark interest of truly horrific childhood memoirs ([b:A Stolen Life|11330361|A Stolen Life|Jaycee Dugard|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41--ziwwP4L._SL75_.jpg|16258764], anyone?) Very disappointing.
Nothing about this book is unique. It's an overgrown blog entry, another hipster Christian book trying to be edgy with pop culture references that will quickly become obsolete and disjointed childhood memories without an overarching theme. The writing doesn't flow well or draw the reader into the story - there have been a few moments that felt they could have really shone with some more editing and polishing, but they were scattered between hodge podge and disconnected anecdotes, written in such a jaded and "trying to be funny" tone that it was hard to appreciate them. Instead of describing events or feelings the author refers to movie titles in italics, and sets them out in very clear simile ("It was LIKE Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was LIKE Pineapple Express. It was LIKE Lord of the Flies.") After a while, it becomes jarring and repetitive. The stories are also interspersed with stream-of-consciousness rambling that adds nothing to the book. It isn't cute or quirky or ~random~, it's extremely distracting.
I would complain about this book being like a rip off of Donald Miller's endless literary catalog of daddy issues, except I really haven't felt so far that this book was even about the author's father. So far I've barely seen him - or, for that matter, seen Jesus or the CIA. I hear some things about the father, but he is one-dimensional and removed, not painfully removed as an absent father but just irrelevant and peripheral. The book centers more on a random assortment of the author's experiences, which may or may not be true, and uses other people as the backdrop for the author's mundane and cliche thoughts and experiences. The treatment of other characters is disheartening as well as the author seems to take on a really unflattering jaded tone at times.
I think my strong aversion to this book is born out of the fact that I really wanted to like it. I wanted it to be a memoir that charmed me, that drew me in and made my own life and experiences seem bigger as a result. [b:Girl Meets God: A Memoir|49188|Girl Meets God A Memoir|Lauren F. Winner|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320399979s/49188.jpg|48118] did this beautifully, and I was entranced by [b:A Girl Named Zippy|15171|A Girl Named Zippy|Haven Kimmel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166671570s/15171.jpg|17077] and [b:She Got Up Off the Couch: And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana|15167|She Got Up Off the Couch And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana|Haven Kimmel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255882129s/15167.jpg|137846]. This book has none of their charm or light, but neither does it have any of the dark interest of truly horrific childhood memoirs ([b:A Stolen Life|11330361|A Stolen Life|Jaycee Dugard|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41--ziwwP4L._SL75_.jpg|16258764], anyone?) Very disappointing.
jenebers's review against another edition
3.0
Ian is a great story teller with a good story to tell. Really enjoyed this book. Laughed and cried. :)
adamrshields's review against another edition
5.0
Short review: This really is as good as people have been saying. A story of a boy in an alcoholic family seeking after God in a round about way. Told wonderfully and with great love. (Yes his Dad did work for the CIA)
Full review on my blog at http://bookwi.se/jesus-father-cia-cron/
Full review on my blog at http://bookwi.se/jesus-father-cia-cron/
randib's review against another edition
4.0
Ian is a great story-teller. He has a very interesting childhood and journey through faith.
katieproctorbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I really appreciated this honest, sometimes funny, but most of the time humble and touching memoir. It took me a little while to get into, but Cron’s writing pulls you in. There’s a lot of hard in here: addiction and father-son relationship struggles, but also, so much redemption and hope.
scdominick's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0