Customer Reviews

Apology for Autumn

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This is my favorite book and I ordered it for my best friend, because I do not loan out books as great as this. David Turrill is an amazing writer and knows how to reach his audience and connect with them. The story by all means is far-fetched but Turrill makes it work and is easy to relate to on many levels.

I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Turrill's story as well as his style of writing. If you are looking for a fresh, exhilirating, empowering story, this is your ticket.

I hope to see more from David Turrill in the future!

If you want engaging and deep, tackle the classics first instead of fattening the wallets of local AP Lit teachers.

An Apology for Autumn suffers from being rather preachy and overly sermonized. While the initial premise is quite intriguing and original, the story suffers from a lack of focus, and a rambling, washy narrative drowns out any efforts to make the novel that engaging. While Turrell has a good ear for natural dialogue, he lets discourse overwhelm the story leaving little room for anything else. There's also a tendency for each character to jump from personal catastrophe-to-catastrophe resulting in a type of unbelievable melodrama that most readers will probably find exhausting, or at worst, laugh at.

The story centers on the Gudsen family of Saginaw and is narrated in the first person by Jim Gudsen. Jim has a strong relationship with his brother Herkimer Gudsen, a Lutheran minister who is upright and honorable, and is out to bring a bunch of disaffected people into his flock. Herkimer has a predisposition to being stabbed and after being shot through the skull with a hunter's arrow, he begins to hear God speaking to him and sets out to fulfill God's mission. The church elders of the pastor of St Luke's aren't entirely thrilled by his messages so they expel Herkimer from his church when he refuses to oust two openly gay parishioners who are living together. He founds a church of his own with the pair of gay refugees as his first followers. On the way he picks up more followers who feel disillusioned with the old and stodgy ways of their church: an exotic dancer, a simple minded hermit, and a bouncer from a strip club. When Herkimer's wife Megan, becomes hopelessly ill with cancer and Herkimer is cured of his impotence, Herkimer declares that God has promised a cure for Megan in exchange for saving 12 lost souls.

The events take place in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Vietnam is still on the minds of most people, and gay rights are just beginning. Turrell does effectively convey a sense of time and place, showing the church's rigidity and slowness to meet the needs of a modern society. There are also some interesting themes presented on the meaning of religion and the literal truths of the Bible. Some readers will find the philosophical religious posturing interesting, but unfortunately this reader was left uninspired by the whole exercise. Mike Leonard August 04.