Customer Reviews

The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher: A Novel

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Rob gets so many things right about contemporary American consumer Christianity that I kept checking to make sure he was a novelist and not a journalist. It's satire, sure enough, but like the best satire, the story of Ryan Fisher's startup church has the ring of truth.

I'm tempted to say that American Christians _need_ books like this, and that you have a moral duty to buy it and tell your friends about it. But that might be overdoing it a tad. So I'll just say it's a page-turning good time. And pee-yer-pants-funny. And totally depressing. But in the best way.

A short description of the plot of this book is enough to grab any reader: an average real estate agent trys to boost his business by catering only to Christians, and when he is successful in the endeavor, decides to start his own church. That would be enough to make someone pick the book up, but Rob Stennett's writing is what keeps the reader engaged.

The book is an easy read, but don't let that fool you. The characters are complex and realistic. Stennett uses all kinds of literary devices, such as flashing forward or back, but does so masterfully, resulting in a satisfying reading experience. Stennett has a firm grasp on American Christianity and how it is perceived by those on the outside. Even Oprah makes an appearance in this book. (That's right. Not just mentioned, but actually has dialogue. What kind of writer has the guts to do that?)

The only knock I have on this book is the constant pop culture references. Most of them are funny, but sometimes it feels as if Stennett is trying too hard to be hip. But overall, I give this book a stellar review. The character of Ryan Fisher is unbelievable. I couldn't figure him out. Sometimes I hated him, and others I wanted to cheer for him. He was real, and that's what a writer should do.

I'm trying hard to be objectional, but I'm on the verge of calling Rob Stennett a genius.

Rob Stennett doesn't simply have his finger on the pulse of the modern church in America...he's using both hands...and their clenched like a blood pressure cuff. Using large doses of humor, insight, and pathos, Stennett manages to spin delightful (yet unrelenting) satire without resorting to cheap shots or stereotypes. This is a big-hearted story, sometimes sad, almost true, and luring readers to keep turning pages toward a superb and satisfying end.

In case you can't tell already, I really like this book. You will too. Oh yeah, and the cover is very cool too.

The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher is a fictional account of non-Christian realtor, who through a most curious set of events, decides to plant a church in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. This caught my attention immediately, seeing that I am church planter that is from just outside of Bartlesville, OK. That alone would have been enough for me to have at least checked out the book; but it is content of the book itself that has warranted writing this review.

The book is extremely clever and Stennett's satire is brilliant and dangerously accurate. The book pokes fun at many elements of American "Churchianity" as only an insider can; however, it is not biting or malicious in its criticisms, as has become the trend among so many angry children of Evangelicalism, who have realized that irreverently beating up on the Bride of Christ can be pretty lucrative business. Stennett is an incredible developer of characters, and though parts of the book are verging on "over the top," the plot felt natural and eerily believable. Which, I think, leads into one of the main take aways from the book...it is possible to plant, and even grow, a church with absolutely no depth of relationship with Jesus; which incidentally, is something almost all of us suspect after five minutes of watching Christian TV, and wondering why the Pastor on his golden throne telling little old ladies to trade their life savings for prosperity prayer cloths seems somehow so different from the Jesus we find so beautifully portrayed in the Gospels. Somehow in the midst of this novel filled with belly laughing humor, a very somber message rings out reminding those of us, whose task it is to plant and pastor God's church, to take a long hard look in the mirror and deal with the Ryan Fisherism in our hearts.

I think every potential church planter and pastor would benefit greatly from this book, and I am even offering extra credit for students in my undergraduate church planting class to read and review it. I had an opportunity to interview the author last week. He is a great guy and a brilliant writer. He told me that he has another book coming out pretty soon, and from what he told me, it is going to be great as well. This book is one of my new favorites and I highly recommend it.

I can't quite decide if Rob Stennett created this story or discovered it and reworked it for the rest of us. U2's Bono has said that he tries to find pure melodies that are already out there, and simply record them. It seems that Rob Stennett has found such a pure melody in this tale: given a real estate agent who is determined to plant a church based on a "a brave new kind of Christianity" where "you're a Christian who doesn't believe in Jesus," the story takes follows a delightfully natural path. Stennett's characterization leads one to nod and smile during the book because Ryan Fisher is getting into situations that, well, you just knew Ryan Fisher would get into. This is not to say that the story is predictable; one hardly expects the sequence of events that takes Ryan from a cabin in the woods to the Oprah Winfrey show. However, the story is natural and familiar because it turns out that Fisher's Christianity that-doesn't-believe-in-Jesus is remarkably and ironically similar to the well-packaged evangelical Christianity that one finds at the church down the street.

Despite the easy target, The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher is neither a tiresome moralistic tale nor a cynical one. Stennett doesn't take either of those easy routes, but instead records a delightfully engaging and well-written story that stays with you while you're away from the book, and becomes more and more subtle upon reflection. When I'm done reflecting, I can't wait to play my AC/DC record backwards to see about the lyrics to Cowboy Jack's driving worship cry "God Shook me All Night Long."

Highly recommended.

The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher follows the path of a real estate agent who is struggling until he realizes the power of marketing himself as a Christian. One thing leads to another and he begins attending church, because that's what Christians do. But it doesn't stop there. The real money isn't in selling real estate as a Christian, but in pastoring a church. It isn't long before Ryan Fisher goes off and starts his own church, a church that doesn't offer salvation for free, a church modeled after his own heart, because you see, Ryan Fisher isn't saved.

I was somewhat disappointed when I began reading this book. The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher has been billed as satire, so I cracked the spine expecting a good satire. The purpose of satire is to point out what is wrong with what people do. It typically shows these actions at an extreme, so that while the story may seem unbelievable, there is no mistaking the real life reference. Rob Stennett does not give us this. In fact, the story is quite believable. Historically, we have seen many lost men go off, start churches without the theological training and attract thousands. In pulpits today, there are preachers who do not believe that God exists. Some even admit this.

Once I wrote the book off as being something less than a good satire, I asked myself, what I thought of it as just a book. This is where the book surprised me. If we look at just the story, The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher is one of the best written Christian novels that I have read in quite a while. No don't take that to mean that I'm going to go off and start the Rob Stennett fan club, but the simple fact is that he has managed to put together a strong story. The theme for the story is that it is best to be honest. Rob Stennett argues this theme by showing the apparent success of Ryan Fisher through dishonesty, but then contrasting this with his wife's dishonesty, the reaction of a fanatic and the eventual outcome of his dishonesty.

Some writers will have a problem with Rob Stennett's writing. He doesn't follow the rules and hops from one head to the next then back again. The thing I had real trouble with in his writing was that he split sentences across paragraph boundaries and inserted lengthy though sections within those sentences. It makes those sentences very hard to read, which is why most authors don't do that. Zondervan makes many editing and typesetting mistakes with this book, such as leaving the chapter title off of chapter twenty-six. Mistakes happen, though we hope that experienced editors will weed out those mistakes. The problems not withstanding, The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher is an entertaining book.

Ryan Fisher is looking to get a leg up in the real estate market. After an epiphany of sorts he decides the best move is to advertise his services in a Christian business directory. It doesn't matter that he's not a Christian and has no interest in becoming one. In his mind, that's where the money is.

As Ryan takes on more and more Christian clients he soon becomes enamored with the Christian culture at large. Soon a successful real estate business is no longer enough to satisfy Ryan's thirst for power and success. Starting your own church, building a thriving congregation from scratch. That's where the true power is and Ryan Fisher has just convinced himself he's just the man for the job. Filled with delusions of grandeur, Ryan convinces his wife to follow his dream and they head off to Bartlesville, Oklahoma to start their own mega church. Ryan has no seminary training, no experience, and he's not even sure he really believes in God. However, none of these minor obstacles can stop Ryan from chasing his newfound passion.

The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher might just be the funniest and most thought proving novel I've read in years. Rob Stennett's satirical voice is crisp and intoxicating, as he effectively takes playful jabs at the Christian culture in America. Ryan Fisher is a ridiculous, over the top character that is just as charming as he is unconventional. Ryan's wife, Amy, is just as amusing and the couple's attempts to blend in to the Christian environment are hilarious, shocking, and humbling all at the same time.

Rob Stennett paints a hysterical, yet sobering picture of the Christian landscape in our culture and his writing begs us to question. What is the Church really about? Do we gather to worship or to be entertained? Like Ryan Fisher, are we often guilty of faking our spirituality?

I loved every moment of Stennett's impressive debut. Countless times I found myself laughing out loud and I was constantly reading passages to my wife. This is the kind of book you just want to put in everyone's hands because of the clever writing and the resounding message within. This will no doubt be one of the funniest novels you read this year, and it will challenge your perspective of Christianity and the Church. Do not miss this one! Besides, it's almost true.

This is a good book. Rob's prose is addicting, the story was unique and interesting, the footnotes are effective, the questions raised and addressed are highly relevant, and the lessons and challenges that hit me were as strong as they were subtle.

I enjoyed the characters, despite their readily apparent flaws. Well, perhaps because of those flaws. Any time I started to think that they were acting just a bit absurd, I realized that they were starting to parallel me just a little too closely.

I enjoyed the storyline because I'd never considered such a ridiculous series of events...though it quickly became all too almost-true given today's cultural climate.

So, for these and other reasons, I could hardly put the thing down. Like I said, it's a good book.

What a hillarious/satrical look at a snowball turned avalanche. I couldn't put this book down. Not so much because I wanted to know where Ryan and Katherine found themselves next (though this is literary crack), but because I wanted to see how much more Rob personally knew his readers; specifically me. Of course he's not calling us liars and hoping we've found Jesus by the end of Act 2. But I think he's hoping we acknowledge that we may be slightly "faking" it in some part of our lives and forgetting what's most important to us. This novel made me love my life, my wife, and my God so much more because for the two days I was Ryan Fisher, I had none of these. Thank you Rob Stennett! Read this book!

The book was entertaining, a thoughtful and surprising journey into what it means to be a Christian. It also serves as a fictional exploration of what it means to be a church. Stennett entertains (the story smacked of Fletch at points, with some nice humor) but also shows insight into today's evangelical culture. I look forward to reading more of his work.