A subtly rendered and powerfully empathetic portrait of a contemporary fundamentalist Christian family

I liked these linked stories very much although I wish there had been more background on the religion itself. A glossary also would have been helpful.

I especially liked the last two stories - where Pylvainin ventured outside the family. ( )

Large family belonging to obscure religious sect. Very sensitive writing; multiple perspectives and no easy answers. ( )

It's a simple-beauty, this book - there's nothing all that earth shattering about it, nor is there anything radically exciting. Instead, it's a unique twist on a family story - adding the strict religious background adds a level of inherent tension to an already fraught life experience. You can't pick your family but you can pick your religion - and when the two get too wound into one another, it gets complex. That alone makes it worth the price of admission. But I felt denied at the end and as a result, I can't help but feel hollow; the contract I entered into with the book being invalidated because of a technicality or something.

More at RB: http://wp.me/pGVzJ-LM ( )

This is a series of interlinked short stories, which is just not my personal thing. So, don't let the low rating fool you if you're a fan of such things. The writing is nice and the characters are okay, but just as I was getting interested, it would switch. I was hoping for a more Poisonwood Bible type book, but this isn't it. ( )