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The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove: A NovelThe Improper Life of Bezellia Grove: A Novel by Susan Gregg Gilmore

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A very good southern read. While it revisits some common themes found in southern fiction set in the 60's and at first I found myself thinking of The Divine Secret Of The Ya Ya Sisterhood, The Secret Life of Bees and Fannie Flagg, it surprised me by finding a voice and story all its' own.

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The ShackThe Shack by William P. Young

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I can appreciate the loss and re-discovery of faith after suffering a life altering tragedy. I can appreciate what the shack represents. I appreciate the idea of the book as a whole.

What I don't appreciate is the writing, which I didn't like and found the tone be at times patronizing/condescending and even insulting. Overall, the story didn't work for me.

The fact that “interest in making it into a move” is mentioned at least twice in the last pages at the back of the book as well as on the book’s site screams farce (to me) and makes me think that this poorly written and put together novel was only done so in an attempt to get a movie script read and produced.

Despite all of this, I can see why others did like it.

Personally I feel that religion, spirituality and a relationship with God is very different for each and every individual in this world, regardless of what specific religion you are, and as with anything else in life, (like the books we read) what works for one may not work for all and that's perfectly okay to me!

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Comments

Bloomin'Chick Jo said…
If you loved The Shack, I am truly glad for you! I didn't post my review to offend anyone or give them impression I'm attacking religion (which I'm not) nor did I post it to start a debate on beliefs, etc.. I didn't care for this novel and the way it was executed, plain & simple.
Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 2:57:00 PM EDT
Sarah said…
That first one sounds interesting!
Friday, April 1, 2011 at 3:53:00 PM EDT
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