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Summary: Life under a benevolent dictator
Review: I really like the way Sheri Reynolds imagines life in what amounts to a cult. Ninah and her extended family live and work and worship on vast fields owned by the Church of Fire and Brimstone in an un-named southern state. The Church of Fire and Brimstone is more than a religous right splinter group--it is an all out cult.The family weaves religion into every part of life, be it meal time, work time or even play time (what little there is of that.) Reynolds portrays endless praying and the endless seeking of signs in every event. If a couple experiences a stillbirth--it is the judgment of God upon their sins. If the larder is empty--God has chosen to punish the flock etc. The patriarch of Ninah's extended family is Grandpa Herman. What an interesting character. There are times when the reader feels the utmost contempt for the sanctimonious and hurtful ways of this man. Grandpa Herman apparently has the ear of God and gets direct messages. Therefore, it is for Grandpa Herman to determine the way the commune lives its collected and individual lives. Grandpa Herman metes out Biblical law and likewise metes out the daily sustanance (or lack thereof). Grandpa Herman can make a family member sleep in a recently dug freezing grave or he can have the whole community sit down to a dinner of empty plates. But Grandpa Herman loves his flock. He is a man who is dealing with inner turmoil himself. He does not wish for bad or hurtful things to torment his family. In fact, he erects all sorts of barriers to protect his flock from the outside world. Of course, folks will be folks and Grandpa Herman cannot just ban the temptations of mankind and make it stick. Like any other people, the congregation of the Church of Fire and Brimstone seek solace in sex, drink, laughter, music etc. As Grandpa Herman's health fails he loses control of his community. People stop showing up for the services. Women cut their hair. Ninah has a baby out of wedlock. In short all hell breaks loose--or so it seems to this community. The climax is pretty intense as the community believes that Grandpa Herman has been raptured and they have all been left behind due to their sinful nature. The reactions of the various members of the community show that religous convictions run deep and can manifest themselves in disturbing ways.
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Summary: Colorado Book Lover
Review: I recently read this book again and picked up so much more that I did the first time. It is an easy, beautiful read, that leaves you with a lot to think about. The many reviews already written do the book justice. I just wanted to state my opinion which is - READ THIS BOOK, and then find a friend to talk about it with.
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Summary: Wonderful Read
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It gave a glimpse of religious enthusiasm that I have never experienced before. I highly recommend it for those of you who are curious about this. It also offers a great coming-of-age story.
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Summary: nasty, just nasty
Review: if it was the author's intent to disgust me, then she was successful. i put off reading this book, and now i know why. i think the author's intent was to come up with a story to make us rethink our value systems/religious beliefs...but she did it so immaturely...concentrating on the bizarre punishments to feel jesus's pain. let's take the basic same events, and set the story in a normal child's life...one who isn't in a cult-like religion...still have her struggle with her morality...and i think you have a much better story.
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Summary: Amazing Grace
Review: In The Rapture of Canaan, Sheri Reynolds creates an incredibly touching tale in an incredibly surrealistic world. The main character, Ninah, lives in a restrictive cult society created by her Grandpa Herman, the patriarch of the family and self-proclaimed leader of the The Church of Fire and Brimstone and God's Almighty Baptizing Wind. The rules laid down for living in this group go unchallenged by the family, despite the severity of the punishments. As Ninah passes through adolesence, she is tortured by the conflict created between her growing feelings of sexuality and her fear of God. When she is caught administering her own "punishment", in which she has put broken nut shells in her shoes to remind her of the suffering of Jesus, she is assigned to pair with a young man as her "Prayer Parnter." The consequences lead to chaos, and ultimately to the end of the cult.
Reynolds' incredibly complex characters are what make this story fascinating. Their actions and the motivations behind them are so well written that the reader can develope an sympathy for each of the characters, even the dictatorial and almost irrational Grandpa Herman.
I thought this was an amazing book. I read it in two days, and now, a week later, I am still thinking about. It's rare for me to rate a book 5 stars, but if I could give this book 6 stars, I would!
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Summary: Unexpectedly Entertaining
Review: It was a gift--I had no idea what to expect. Worth the read.
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Summary: Holy cow!
Review: Life in the Bible belt... Always seems to be some kind of curiosity emerging from it--- but none could possibly match the curiosity of The Church of Fire and Brimstone and God's Almighty Baptizing Wind. The Church was founded because the members of its community were seeking a wholesome, conservative group. More conservative than the Southern Baptists, or the Pentecostal church, The Church of Fire and Brimstone is a breed of ultra-conservative Protestantism. In a select and sequestered community, that is bound to cause some issue. Enter Ninah, a young woman in the community, born with the need to question and a strong will. Complicate things by making her the founder of the church's granddaughter, and you've got cause for some trouble. Enter into the warped world of the church. Reynolds creates a setting so real you truly feel as though you are inside the compound. Reynolds captures her characters in a striking manner. Each character is different, but you will form a bond of your own with them. Enjoy this very well-written novel. It is unconventional, saddening, uplifting, and so many things all at once.
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Summary: Compelling and imaginative
Review: Ninah Huff is fifteen years old, and living in a cult like religious community. The leader of the Church of Fire and Brimstone and God's Almighty Baptizing Wind is Ninah's Grandpa Herman. Grandpa Herman rules with an iron hand, and no one appears to question his authority. When Ninah falls in love with her prayer partner, James, she does all she can to stop herself from sinning with him, but still finds herself unmarried and pregnant. The wrath of her grandfather and her church has devestating consequences for both Ninah and James. With the love of her Nanna, Ninah eventually makes a place for herself in the community, and in the process discovers there are miracles in everyday living. The prose is beautiful and the ending uplifting. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Reynolds work.
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Summary: Rapture of Canaan
Review: Ninah is a 15 year old girl who lives in an isolated southern church community. Her Grandpa Herman is the reverand at the Church at Fire and Brimestone. Growing up in this strict family is not so simple. For a simple mistake can call for a big punishment. For example, when Ben tired drinking a bit of liquor. Grandpa Herman tells him to clear him of his sins he has to undure a night in a grave. As you can tell living life in this family is not so easy. But during all the commotion Ninah finds comfortation two people, Nana and James. You could call Nanna Ninah's confidant. She can tell Nanna anything, and she knows that Nanna won'y say a thing. Then there's James. James is Ninah's pray partner and newphew by marriage. James and Ninah start to fall in love which raises a few eyebrows. But they keep on with their relationship, until the day Ninah finds out she's pregnant. She imediately called it Jesus's baby, because Ninah and James are accused of fornifaction. Now Ninah is forced to be isolated form everyone else until the baby is born. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes to read books that contain religious events and ideas. Or if you want a book that has twists and turns all thoughout the plot line.
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Summary: This book is everything all in one
Review: Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds
320 Pages
Published by Putnam Publishing Group, reprint 1997
Paperback and Hardcover This book is a tale of awakening for the 15 year old narrator Ninah Huff. She lives in a strictly religious community, The Church of Fire and Brimstone and God's Almighty Baptizing Wind, founded by her very strict grandfather, Grandpa Herman. In Ninah's community, any type of pleasure or self indulgence is harshly punished by varying means, such as sleeping in a bed full of nettles, a dunking in the freezing cold pond, to sleeping in an open grave or being locked in a cellar for forty days with no contact to the outside world. Ninah, as well as everyone else in the community, has led pretty sheltered lives, having very little contact with others not part of their community. Grandpa Herman insists that everyone in the outside world not part of their community was destined for eternal damnation when the tribulation comes. Ninah catches mere glimpses of how life can be outside of the community, and inevitably begins to make friends with these people, and is forced to question Grandpa Herman's teachings when she refuses to believe that her newfound friends are headed to Hell. Ninah's confusion does not end with those of the outside world; soon she begins to question many other beliefs within her community. Ninah tries to repent, and takes on a prayer partner, James, but soon enough, Ninah and James, at the peak of adolescence, fall in love, and find it hard to resist their feelings for one another. Soon, Ninah, more confused than ever, finds herself pregnant, and is weighing the wages of her sins. Her attempt to tell James ends disastrously, and she finds herself facing this predicament alone. She begins to recall Grandpa Herman's favorite words "The wages of sin is death" and cannot believe that the miracle growing inside of her is a sin, and will not be convinced that her and her baby will spend eternity in Hell, despite all she has been taught to believe. The newborn Canaan is taken away from Ninah immediately after birth and given to her infertile sister, who has "volunteered" to take the child, though claiming that because of the circumstances of his birth, Canaan will never amount to much. Ninah is torn apart, and more confused than ever, but soon learns that God's magic works in the most unseemingly ways If I were to rate The Rapture of Canaan I would give it a 4 out of 5, it's flaw being that at the beginning of the book, I had a little trouble getting into the book, but once I did, I could not put this book down. The Rapture of Canaan will shock and anguish the reader; some parts of the book just gave me a sick, empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. The characters of this book are in some ways very fictitious, but sometimes they seemed so real that Ninah could have been me, or the girl next to my, my own sister or best friend. Some of the content of the book may seem like it could never happen, but it could, and does everyday in many cults and religious groups gone awry. The theme of Rapture comes to light with Ninah's realizations, true love means nothing unless you are strong enough to bear it's burdens, which Ninah does, and becomes a stronger, better person because of it. I would suggest this book if you are looking for something to horrify you, shock you, and joy you all in one. The Rapture of Canaan has it all, the only thing I regret about the book is the lack of closure in the ending.
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