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joolsbee's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kennedyfio_'s review
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
samstillreading's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful Revolutionary has to be one of my most fascinating and mesmerising reads for 2018. It’s the kind of book that you don’t want to end and that gives you a serious book hangover. This story is meticulously researched and gets into your heart and mind and remains there for quite some time.
The story is about the Peoples Temple, a cult that started in California in the late 1960s. That is real, but the people who surround the leader Jim Jones are fictional. I purposefully hadn’t read too much about the group before I started reading the book because I really wanted to explore what happened through the book. (All I knew was that it was likely to end badly). Laura Elizabeth Woollett takes the reader on a journey from the early days to the fateful, wild last days of the group. It starts off with following Evelyn and Lenny Lynden, a young couple moving to Evergreen Valley as Lenny works in a psychiatric hospital as a conscientious objector to the war in Vietnam. From the start, they are an odd pair. Lenny is dreamy, less motivated and overly fond of cannabis. Evelyn is driven, bored and looking to fill the void that marriage has failed to do. But it’s Evelyn that falls under the spell of Jim Jones and his church. Lenny is taken along for the ride, malleable and apathetic to whatever Jim and the people want him to do. Evelyn rises in the group after she catches Jim’s eye but she’s not popular amongst the other members – cold, devoid of emotion and somewhat calculating. Plus, she’s kind of displaced Jim’s wife Rosaline, who knows the secrets of the chicken gizzards (disguised as cancer, cured by Jim) plus much, much more.
The focus drifts away from Lenny and Evelyn, although they remain pivotal parts of the plot. One of the sections of the book is dedicated to a group of young members, who flee the Temple’s teachings, punishments and general oddness by escaping cross-country. This is the first sign of dissent amongst the group but not the first that things are not well within the leadership. As the Temple grows in numbers and wealth, there are more people beginning to speak out against them. The majority of the members move to Guyana in the hope of living a socialist, self-sufficient life. Will Russia come to their aid when the US government steps in after concerns from a number of relatives?
Beautiful Revolutionary is brilliantly written. It approaches a number of topics such as race and sexuality with sensitivity, yet is reflective of the period and of the teachings of the Temple. Some parts are uncomfortable to read but I couldn’t tear my eyes from the page. In the lead up to the end, I was hoping desperately that something would happen to save my favourite characters (such as Evelyn’s sister Sally-Ann) and that someone would stand up, see things clearly…it felt like a race against time. I kind of hope that Sally-Ann was smart enough to see through the finale for what it was but I don’t like my chances. Woollett’s exploration of how Temple members (and targets) were groomed to believe in the Temple and the power of Jones was another car crash moment – you can’t help but appreciate the skill taken to deceive but you want people to be smart enough to see through it. It was all so powerful, so masterful. It’s like Woollett has woven a spell over her readers – I certainly won’t be missing what she writes next. She’s a master of character and atmosphere.
Thank you to Scribe for the copy of this book. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
The story is about the Peoples Temple, a cult that started in California in the late 1960s. That is real, but the people who surround the leader Jim Jones are fictional. I purposefully hadn’t read too much about the group before I started reading the book because I really wanted to explore what happened through the book. (All I knew was that it was likely to end badly). Laura Elizabeth Woollett takes the reader on a journey from the early days to the fateful, wild last days of the group. It starts off with following Evelyn and Lenny Lynden, a young couple moving to Evergreen Valley as Lenny works in a psychiatric hospital as a conscientious objector to the war in Vietnam. From the start, they are an odd pair. Lenny is dreamy, less motivated and overly fond of cannabis. Evelyn is driven, bored and looking to fill the void that marriage has failed to do. But it’s Evelyn that falls under the spell of Jim Jones and his church. Lenny is taken along for the ride, malleable and apathetic to whatever Jim and the people want him to do. Evelyn rises in the group after she catches Jim’s eye but she’s not popular amongst the other members – cold, devoid of emotion and somewhat calculating. Plus, she’s kind of displaced Jim’s wife Rosaline, who knows the secrets of the chicken gizzards (disguised as cancer, cured by Jim) plus much, much more.
The focus drifts away from Lenny and Evelyn, although they remain pivotal parts of the plot. One of the sections of the book is dedicated to a group of young members, who flee the Temple’s teachings, punishments and general oddness by escaping cross-country. This is the first sign of dissent amongst the group but not the first that things are not well within the leadership. As the Temple grows in numbers and wealth, there are more people beginning to speak out against them. The majority of the members move to Guyana in the hope of living a socialist, self-sufficient life. Will Russia come to their aid when the US government steps in after concerns from a number of relatives?
Beautiful Revolutionary is brilliantly written. It approaches a number of topics such as race and sexuality with sensitivity, yet is reflective of the period and of the teachings of the Temple. Some parts are uncomfortable to read but I couldn’t tear my eyes from the page. In the lead up to the end, I was hoping desperately that something would happen to save my favourite characters (such as Evelyn’s sister Sally-Ann) and that someone would stand up, see things clearly…it felt like a race against time. I kind of hope that Sally-Ann was smart enough to see through the finale for what it was but I don’t like my chances. Woollett’s exploration of how Temple members (and targets) were groomed to believe in the Temple and the power of Jones was another car crash moment – you can’t help but appreciate the skill taken to deceive but you want people to be smart enough to see through it. It was all so powerful, so masterful. It’s like Woollett has woven a spell over her readers – I certainly won’t be missing what she writes next. She’s a master of character and atmosphere.
Thank you to Scribe for the copy of this book. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
shanipatel's review against another edition
3.0
this was a mixed bag for me … parts of it were so gripping (as is the nature of the topic), but other chapters felt like a slog to get through. i wish we had committed to evelyn and lenny as characters more ~ 6/10
graceless's review against another edition
4.0
I think one of the reasons I am so drawn to stories about cults (or just religion in general) is because I cannot understand people of faith. That's not to judge them, I just don't know the feeling myself.
This book was great. A heavily researched almost docu-drama about Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple cult, told from the point of view of different members. Written by an Aussie (which I find wild for some reason) this book neither glorifies or condemns the group, just tells their story as genuinely as possible. Was a good read and totally taught me a thing or two about the cult that resulted the horrific death of an excessively large number of people in the late 1970s. From all reports including this he was a massive piece of shit but had a charisma which ultimately resulted in people drinking the Kool-Aid as the pop culture phrase goes. Hideous human, tragic story and a well written book!
This book was great. A heavily researched almost docu-drama about Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple cult, told from the point of view of different members. Written by an Aussie (which I find wild for some reason) this book neither glorifies or condemns the group, just tells their story as genuinely as possible. Was a good read and totally taught me a thing or two about the cult that resulted the horrific death of an excessively large number of people in the late 1970s. From all reports including this he was a massive piece of shit but had a charisma which ultimately resulted in people drinking the Kool-Aid as the pop culture phrase goes. Hideous human, tragic story and a well written book!
leah_shearer's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
aislina's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is a fictionalised retelling of the Jonestown event and the 10 or so years that preceded it so - watch out for that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Death
Minor: Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Drug use
darcyynic's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
acresofclams's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Gets an E for effort, and a nod for the chutzpah it took to attempt to tell this story.