Customer Reviews

On Bethel Ridge: A Christmas Fable

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm usually not sentimental about Christmas books, but I'm not afraid to say that this one gave me a warm, creamy feeling inside. Pil Astin's delicate prose pokes and tickles the reader in the intellectually sensitive zones before suggesting a glass of red wine. Afterward, Astin sits the reader down on the fire side sofa and regales the reader with tales of angels, mystical old Russian men in hospitals and beefy Indian chiefs in tight fitting tank tops and leather pants scrubbing hospital floors. Then when the reader is feeling, hot, flustered and ready for anything, Astin's tense, suspenceful plot suddenly jerks the reader off to a whole unexpected conclusion that is both satisfying and unsentimental. The hospital scenes between Giorgi and Chief are some of the most daring and erotic passages in modern literature. On behalf of all angels, Russians, and beefy Native Americans in tight sweat covered tank tops and glossy leather pants, I applaude Pil Astin for his courage and origniality. You go, boy friend!

I love this book!!! It is a very sweet holiday book that makes you still believe in miracles. I would highly recommend it to anyone but more so for those of an Eastern European background with warm loving memories of times past. It was a treat - I ended up giving it out as stocking stuffers to many in my family.

It took me a long time to understand the significance of the animals, but once I did the book really made a lot of sense. Not since Orwell have pigs and elephants been so beautifully--and sensuously--re-appropriated to the world of allegory. This book is a cunning, linguistic achievement.

I had mixed feelings about the book in question. I am a Native American from the South Western part of this country. While I was glad that an "anglo" such as Austin had the cultural awareness, sensitivity and diverstity to take an active interest in Native American issues I was also insulted by it. I felt that his portrayal of Native American's was as stereotypical and two dimensional as in a John Wayne movie. I drew a small measure of comfort from the fact that no matter how he portrayed my people it was less cliched than his portryal of the Russians in his masterwork. I also couldn't escape the feeling that this author was just another Anglo from the Suburbs who chose us poor "Indians" as his cause of the moment. I hope I am wrong about that because it would be nice to see more Anglos taking in interest in Native American issues but could we find one who did without portraying us in generalizations, two dimensions?

Finally, we have a book that combines romance with the very real possibility that the Earth has received--and continues to receive--visitors from outer space.

Austen writes in gripping, pulling prose about the relationship between Andolnok a genetically engineered hymaphrodite from the planet Morg with "Chief" a noble savage whose ancestors once constructed primitive runways for alien vehicles.

When the two entities encounter each other, the strain of invisible recognition kicks in and the reader is hooked.

I could not put it down. Well done!

Well, it's like I bought this book called On Bethel someplace or other, right. And its got like this like family and their all kind of screwed up and lonely and dysfunctional and stuff over Christmas. But that's cool, I mean who isn't man? So I starts reading this book and I sees that there's this Indian Chief in it, so I go "Cool, an Indian Chief!" And like he goes into the hospital where there's like this old Russian dude whose like sick or something. And they like start having social intercourse. And I really thought like they would assault each other, or over-run each others' borders or interfere with each other, but instead they have like this beautiful cultural understanding of each other. And there's like these implications of all this mystical stuff and then the family like lives happily ever at least for that moment. And I really like it, because reality is so hard that like the mystical stuff is way cool. I went out and bought a cat and I named it "hello angel" which is totally cool.

Now here at last is a book with universal appeal. Kids and adults can both enjoy Phil Austin's compact and beatifully written Christmas tale. "On Bethel Ridge" is a unique work of magical realism, incorporating the day to day problems and emotions of an ordinary family with the power of myth.

I glanced through Austin's book while searching for Christmas materials for my son, Jody, da? Unfortunately, the book's dialogue stereotypes Russians and Native Americans, da. How many Russians do you know who say "Da" after each sentence, da? And I guess every Indian's name is "Chief", da? To make matters worse, Austin's prose is amateurish at best, da? Still, I slogged through the book hoping that somehow it would redeem itself, da? And there was light at the end of the tunnel, da?

Nyet.

Christmas books are usually sappy. "On Bethel Ridge" manages to tell a compelling, convincing story about a real family --including the complex dynamics real people have with one another-- and still convey the angelic magic of Christmas. Phil Austin's prose is exquisite, without being self-conscious.

Best Christmasy book I've read in a while. No pictures, no floating angels.Astin is a good writer. At times it's heavy handed which may be 'cause it's either a new inexperienced writer or a plot tone that I missed. Very different. The characters are good. Lose the Chief guy. Reminded me of Chief from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Now there's a book. But I enjoyed it.