Leigh reviewed on 12/2/2011 + 378 more book reviews

After meeting with the author, I understand better the intentions and the ideas in this book. If only for the concept of forgiveness/surrender/abandonment, read this book. It's the ideas that make it worth it. I will definitely read his next one.

*****
I'll start by saying that I did like this book but not for the sake of the book, itself; I liked it because it piqued my curiosity in a big way and inspired a much larger search. I've been interested in religions since I can remember (by-product of being born into a cult?) and some of the things mentioned in the book made me want to re-examine some, Zen Buddhism in particular. It also moved my meditation status from "rare" to "occasional," which is a big step for me.

I appreciate and admire the author's ecumenical approach to the subject and the main character's transformation from a duality of thinking to a more eclectic one. I think there is much to be learned from this book for those falling in the category of "extreme" religious views. Unfortunately, they're the ones who will summarily reject it.

As a novel, I found most of the characters flat, notably the preacher. It seemed there was a glimmer of humanity near the end but it seemed too little, too late. I felt as if Grant and Kristin were merely representatives or stand-ins for a large analogy. Tim was just plain evil and I found it hard to believe someone was simply that malicious without any kindness; I wanted him to have some sort of animal friend so that I wouldn't think he was completely horrible. Also, I never got a feeling for what Tim, Jennings, or Bryan felt about the Issa textsdid they truly think they were fabricated or did they believe them but wanted to destroy them anyway? I wish that had been addressed. I understood *why* they wanted them destroyed but not what they thought about them.

I appreciate the detail the author included, such as the Muslim student's shaking Grant's hand and merely nodding to Kristin because she was a woman and therefore not to be touched. When the author had mentioned something about children taught in Islamic schools, I wish he'd included information about the female children not being able to attend after a certain point (lest they learn or something equally as threatening). It seemed as if Islam was a little glossed over and buffed up to look good. A diseased person in a tuxedo is still a diseased person.

In all, a decent book that may or may not cause you to think and re-examine some of your beliefs. It also provides the most probable answer to what the heck Jesus was doing when he was younger.

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