Customer Reviews

Believe Me: A Novel

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We live in an age and time when we're often more likely to emphasize and get stuck on being right than on understanding the point of view of another person. During the election season, most conservatives read conservative blogs, while liberals read liberal blogs, and neither group gets very good at really listening to the other. The same thing is often true in religious circles; several times in the past week I've had progressive friends lament the upcoming discussions they'd have with their conservative family members. It seems to be a rare individual who really "gets" people on the other side of the proverbial fence.

After reading Nina's book, I suspect that she might be one of these rare folks. Her novel is told from the perspective and in the voice of Nic, a thirteen year-old boy who is an only child. Nic lives with his mother, Lucy, an astrophysicist and a devout atheist who has very little tolerance for matters of faith. She's very content to study the stars, live a good life, and do the best that she can as a mom.

Nic, on the other hand, is at that age in life where he's forming an identity of his own. He befriends the local pastor of a small independent church, a Nigerian man named Dele, and begins secretly attending a Bible study at his best friend's house. Of course, it's not long before Lucy finds out about everything, and things begin to spiral out of control in her world. Life for the two of them gets ever more interesting when Dele ends up living with them in a spare bedroom, and everyone is forced to rethink a few of their long-held attitudes, beliefs, and habits about many topics.

Late in the book, tragedy strikes the family, and Nic and Lucy struggle to maintain their belief systems in the midst of the pain. Ultimately, the story becomes a meditation on faith, love, gratitude, and compassion--values that transcend any one particular worldview or religious expression.

It would be easy for a book like this to become filled with stereotypes, playing on our emotional trigger points or strongly emphasizing one worldview as "correct." (After all, Nic is named for Nicolas Copernicus, and Lucy is the name of a famous fossil hominid.) Fortunately, Believe Me presents each of these contrasting belief systems as positive, well-considered, and fully meaningful to those who hold them. Progressive Christians who have "converted" from a more traditional view will likely find much they understand or even resonate with in both Lucy and those from the church. Anyone who works with youth will thoroughly enjoy the rather precocious Nic, whose unique perspectives on life are a fresh way to approach some common themes (though at times you will see him as just a bit too wise for his age.) The book would be great for a church or community book club, a church library, a gift for a teacher, or just for your own late-night reading. Believe Me, you'll enjoy it, and I encourage you to order a copy today.

Realistically, BELIEVE ME is a coming-of-age tale about thirteen-year-old Nic Delano. You see Nic's mother is an atheist and influence from Nic's friend has him questioning if God exists. Nic's friend, Kevin's, mother bakes cookies rather than purchases them, and their family unit is what Nic's always dreamed of. Nic's parents are married, but his mother refused to leave her job and move when his father was transferred, so the family is clearly divided.

When Nic begins attending regular Bible studies, his mother is furious but realizes stopping him will only drive him farther away. When Nic asks to let one of the church members, an African named Dele, move in, she begrudgingly allows it. Dele's presence begins to work wonders on both mother and son. However, Nic's mother soon has her own secret that will make or break Nic's newfound belief.

The pacing of BELIEVE ME is slow, yet steady. It's not a Christian story, yet I was certain it would appeal to Christians because Nic's journey into Christianity was a key point of the story. Characters never truly became mesmerizing, I liked them, but never loved them. I did snicker with the opening line in which Nic asks why there are so many types of peanut butter, that one line pulled me in.

Overall, I question who will get the most out of this book. Though it is an adult fiction novel, I almost think that it will appeal to teenagers and pre-teens who enjoy tales of dysfunctional families. BELIEVE ME is a unique storyline and certain to make for interesting reading group discussions.

I really enjoyed Nina Killham's first two books. Her first book, HOW TO COOK A TART is a delightful send-up of our impressions of food, relationships and love with a cast of quirky characters and a hilarious plot with a bizarre ending. Her second book, MOUNTING DESIRE, is a hysterical send-up of romance novels and also contains a quirky cast. When I saw that her third was coming out, I pre-ordered it. Well, it finally arrived and I read it in a day and a half.

BELIEVE ME is a slight departure from her normal writing. Sure, some of the characters are quirky and sure, there is a lot of humor, but the story is more, oh, I hate to use these words, as they are so overworked, poignant and heartwarming. This is the story of a young boy and his mother, each searching for something to cling to and believe in.

The story is told from the perspective of Nic Delany, whose mother is a devout atheist and whose father is a professor of comparative religions. Nic has fallen in with group of Christians, not just any Christians, but evangelical Christians and he begins to think about religion. He also thinks about all of the things a typical thirteen-year old boy thinks about. Things like video games and sex. The author does an admirable job writing in the first person and even though it's been forty years since I was a thirteen-year old, I found it very credible.

Nina Killham made me laugh, she made me smile, she made me think, and she brought a few tears to my eyes. I recommend this book to anyone and have already passed it on to a friend.

Nina Killham has been one of my favorite writers ever since I picked up a copy of "How to Cook a Tart". Her incredible ability to write intelligent humor combined with her knack at eliciting a tear or two is truly illustrated in Believe Me. I just loved Nic. The novel is through his eyes. I have a 13 year old at home and his voice was so spot-on and his astute observations unclouded by adult baggage. Whether you are a religious conservative, an athiest or like most of us - somewhere in the middle; you will absolutely love "Believe Me". This book would make a wonderful movie!

While her husband the professor lives and works in Williamsburg as he has for the last two years, University of Maryland astrophysicist Lucy Delano raises their thirteen year old son Nicolaus Copernicus "Nic" Delano though dad sees him frequently. Lucy the atheist encourages Nic to ask questions on any topic as she insists none are stupid. However she has reconsidered her curiosity concept as lately Nic's interests veer towards two taboo topics: girls and religion; not that he asks mom much on either.

Nic finds suburban Christianity comforting when he ponders the free will of selecting a brand of crunchy peanut butter from eight choices while at the same time a kid his age in Pakistan has his house fall on his head. The Christians may not be able to answer his five whys except in some mystical mumbo jumbo (which is not that different than mom's naturist big bang theory), but Mrs. Porter bakes good cookies that provide comfort while mom buys cookies. Lucy is concerned about Nic not so much that he admires the long legs of his babysitter, but because his teen rebellion is heretical as he studies God forbid the bible. Mom knows she cannot excommunicate her son, but the bible in her mind was written by the first fantasists. However both reconsider their beliefs when illness strikes.

The key to this debate over whether there is a god is the low-keyed family approach to the question rather than the extremes pounding theories as scientific proof or gospel. Nic makes the tale from the onset starting with his simple peanut butter question and his continual search for the truth. Although the support cast is to religiously "correct", readers will appreciate Nic's quest especially why would God turn his back on an ailing child of his as his mom and dad would never do that to him.

Harriet Klausner

While I agree with portions of the reviews here, I heartily disagree with how this book is being presented.

One of the reviews says that it would be appropriate for a church book club, or to be included in a church library, and that is absolutely NOT true: for one thing, the book is sprinkled throughout with foul language including multiple uses of the F-bomb. Nic's mouth and mind are filthy, quite frankly. In addition to the vulgar language, he thinks sexually advanced thoughts of some of the girls in the book... not appropriate for a church library, I assure you.

One of the reviews states that the author "gets" the perspectives of people from multiple backgrounds. I'm sorry to say, she does not. Nic's journey into Christianity has very little to do with his heart, and very much to do with the activities and connections he has with other people... there's no genuine connection or relationship developed with Jesus or God. This is a story written from the perspective of someone who has SEEN Christians behave and can tell what they do, but there is ZERO understanding of WHY they do what they do... the essences of Christian Faith are not there... period.

I agree that the people of other religions (Jewish and Muslim) are one-dimensional, but the Christians portrayed in this book are pretty one-dimensional as well... just because they show up more often in the book, does not mean they show up with any more depth.

Dele speaks of the love of Jesus and the peace Jesus can provide, but he never addresses man's core and inherent universal NEED for Jesus, how costly his sacrifice was, what the meaning of "grace" is... and Nic just seems to kind of schlep along, "going with the flow" of what Dele talks about, without ever internalizing any real beliefs or convictions.

And, I'm sorry, but the new pastor's agenda and several of his behaviors are pretty appalling to me as a Christian reader. That mindset does NOT represent my faith, though it may represent some individuals. In fact, there are multiple things I disagree with in what the Christian characters do, but I don't want to nitpick and spoil the plot for other readers. Suffice it to say, there are thoughts and actions of Christians in this book that are not consistent with the Christian faith... but perhaps that was part of Ms. Killham's intent? To show how imperfect people are compared to their purported beliefs? I don't know.

Look, I checked this book out from the library for a couple of reasons: 1) I am a Christian, single mom with a young son, and the idea of a story of an atheist mom who has a son exploring Christianity intrigued me. 2) The book has an "Inspirational" sticker that the library placed on the spine because, I think, the library screeners thought it was a Christian novel (I will advise them it is not when I return it). I was looking forward to a "light" read, quite frankly, to break up some of the more intense books I've been reading lately.

The bottom line is, it's a decent read, but it's not inspirational. I'm really glad I borrowed it from the library rather than having paid money for it. I finished the book because I wanted to know what happened to Nic, Lucy and the rest. But this is NOT a Christian novel... it is a secular novel and should be read for entertainment only, not to get a better understanding of what Christianity is like for believers.

No offense to the other reviewers, but "warm" and "poignant" are NOT words I would associate with this novel.

I found myself totally charmed by young teenager Nic Delano, who is trying to figure out the role of God and religion in his own life. Adolescence is a crazy enough time without taking on these huge questions of spirituality, and Nic deals with typical teen angst as well. It is a light read about heavy topics--done in a heartfelt, sensitive and humorous way. I would recommend it for high schoolers as well as adults.