The Snakeman Cometh

Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing!
Review: From the first pages of The Snakeman Cometh, I thought I had been dropped onto a wooden pew in a backwoods Kentucky church. I felt the stifling heat and humidity, the frightening presence of The Snakeman as he commanded everyone's unwavering attention, and the terror of 10-year-old Jolene Mosley, the innocent child whose only sin was loving to read and whom the self-proclaimed prophet victimizes for his sideshow.

Jolene is held captive by her family's devout belief in The True Believers Holiness Church, its sadistic rules and punishments, its maniacal leader, the Reverend Browning, and by her own desire to be good and worthy of the love she longs for and never gets. Then Russell Nash, The Snakeman's orphaned nephew, comes to live with The True Believers and teaches Jolene that it's herself she must believe in.

Allison Pollack Alexander writes with an unpretentious clarity that reads like an eyewitness account of this heartrending story. The horror of the unrelenting cult society, the agony and betrayal Jolene feels because of her family's abandonment, and the hope that finally blooms in her colorless life thanks to Russell are all projected from the pages straight to the reader's heart. This book will mesmerize you like The Snakeman does his followers, and you will be unable to resist its lure.

Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing!
Review: From the first pages of The Snakeman Cometh, I thought I had been dropped onto a wooden pew in a backwoods Kentucky church. I felt the stifling heat and humidity, the frightening presence of The Snakeman as he commanded everyone's unwavering attention, and the terror of 10-year-old Jolene Mosley, the innocent child whose only sin was loving to read and whom the self-proclaimed prophet victimizes for his sideshow.

Jolene is held captive by her family's devout belief in The True Believers Holiness Church, its sadistic rules and punishments, its maniacal leader, the Reverend Browning, and by her own desire to be good and worthy of the love she longs for and never gets. Then Russell Nash, The Snakeman's orphaned nephew, comes to live with The True Believers and teaches Jolene that it's herself she must believe in.

Allison Pollack Alexander writes with an unpretentious clarity that reads like an eyewitness account of this heartrending story. The horror of the unrelenting cult society, the agony and betrayal Jolene feels because of her family's abandonment, and the hope that finally blooms in her colorless life thanks to Russell are all projected from the pages straight to the reader's heart. This book will mesmerize you like The Snakeman does his followers, and you will be unable to resist its lure.

Rating:
Summary: Midwest Book Review - eloquent, poignant
Review: Once in awhile I read a book of such eloquence, so beautiful in its simplicity, that emotion overwhelms me. The Snakeman Cometh is such a book. Set in the rugged Cumberland Mountains, with the Daniel Boone National Forest as its backdrop, the author's tale is both poignant and disturbing.

Jolene Mosley is a "coltish ten year-old" when the snake handling Reverend Browning makes his first appearaance in her Appalachian mining town. It's the 1940's. Mining is mostly all the menfolk know, while their women stay home to cook, clean, and raise a passle of kids. Life is simple but hard. It doesn't take the charismatic Reverend long to bring his flock around to his way of thinking. Religious dogma, harsh rules, and even harsher judgments become the accepted way of life with Browning and his version of God presiding. All enthusiasm, every individual behavior is drummed out of Browning's followers, including Jolene. She lives the life of all True Believers. No books, except the Bible, and no fun allowed in their colorless existence. Her curious mind and outspoken personality have been blunted as she reaches a joyless adolescence.

And then the good Reverend's nephew Russell Nash comes to town. Recently released from prison, Russell is a past victim of Browning's voracious quest for power. The young stranger has a good heart, a quiet way about him, but rejects his uncle's harsh ways. When Nash's budding friendship with Jolene blossoms into tender concern, and then desire, life among the True Believers is turned upside down.

Throughout, I worried for Jolene, wondering who would cause her downfall first - the snake handling Reverend or her sex crazed brother. The plans Browning has for her are chilling, moreso because her parents go along with it. With Russell Nash as the one kindly presence in her drab life, she devises a desperate way to escape cruel fate.

Despite the simple telling of this story, The Snakeman Cometh was a devastating read. The author's character development and the purity of her prose took my breath. Ms. Alexander has two previously published books: Return to Suicide and Dance of the Misbegotten. I look forward to reading them both with the greatest anticipation.

This book has harsh themes, but is appropriate for adults and mature adolescents. I recommend it with enthusiasm

Rating:
Summary: Midwest Book Review - eloquent, poignant
Review: Once in awhile I read a book of such eloquence, so beautiful in its simplicity, that emotion overwhelms me. The Snakeman Cometh is such a book. Set in the rugged Cumberland Mountains, with the Daniel Boone National Forest as its backdrop, the author's tale is both poignant and disturbing.

Jolene Mosley is a "coltish ten year-old" when the snake handling Reverend Browning makes his first appearaance in her Appalachian mining town. It's the 1940's. Mining is mostly all the menfolk know, while their women stay home to cook, clean, and raise a passle of kids. Life is simple but hard. It doesn't take the charismatic Reverend long to bring his flock around to his way of thinking. Religious dogma, harsh rules, and even harsher judgments become the accepted way of life with Browning and his version of God presiding. All enthusiasm, every individual behavior is drummed out of Browning's followers, including Jolene. She lives the life of all True Believers. No books, except the Bible, and no fun allowed in their colorless existence. Her curious mind and outspoken personality have been blunted as she reaches a joyless adolescence.

And then the good Reverend's nephew Russell Nash comes to town. Recently released from prison, Russell is a past victim of Browning's voracious quest for power. The young stranger has a good heart, a quiet way about him, but rejects his uncle's harsh ways. When Nash's budding friendship with Jolene blossoms into tender concern, and then desire, life among the True Believers is turned upside down.

Throughout, I worried for Jolene, wondering who would cause her downfall first - the snake handling Reverend or her sex crazed brother. The plans Browning has for her are chilling, moreso because her parents go along with it. With Russell Nash as the one kindly presence in her drab life, she devises a desperate way to escape cruel fate.

Despite the simple telling of this story, The Snakeman Cometh was a devastating read. The author's character development and the purity of her prose took my breath. Ms. Alexander has two previously published books: Return to Suicide and Dance of the Misbegotten. I look forward to reading them both with the greatest anticipation.

This book has harsh themes, but is appropriate for adults and mature adolescents. I recommend it with enthusiasm