Customer Reviews

The Book of Jude

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This book caught me off guard. It began so casually, a toasty life in an intellectual Mormon household, I barely noticed the shadow of the impending tidal wave. To say anything more would spoil the story, so I'll focus on other things.

First, the author's language is effortless. She portrays complex ideas about psychology and history throughout Jude's journey, but I never found myself glazing over. Her descriptions were simple and vivid enough that dates and facts, normally lost on me, stayed put. In fact, I found myself asking my friends things like, "Did you know that Shirley Temple was the ambassador to Czechoslovakia in her later years? Because I sure as hell didn't."

Heuston outs herself as a (an?) historian from the beginning, and this is a good thing. Her extensive knowledge of life behind the Iron Curtain sets the perfect gray back drop for Jude's tale. As political and social events unfold at her doorstep, Jude learns to mirror her own life in the struggle. It reminded me how valuable paying attention can be.

The real triumph of the book is in the little things that let you live in Jude's shoes: smells and scrapes, elations and disappointments, and of course, her unnerving internal struggle. You get that same horrifying sense of falling that Jude feels throughout the book. It's dangerous and disconcerting, but not without redemption. Fortunately, nothing is over dramatized.

All in all, The Book of Jude left me changed, which is exactly what I look for in a book. I'm going to go back and read Heuston's other work now.

THE BOOK OF JUDE is the beautifully crafted and evocative story of one young woman's unfolding illness and hope for recovery set against the transforming events of the Velvet Revolution in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1989. Heuston takes her readers on Jude's incredible journey along the dangerous knife edge between the marvelous elan of youth and the dark abyss of psychosis with unflinching honesty, care, and attention to detail. Mirroring Jude's journey is a nation broken by fear and distrust as it, too, takes its fledgling steps toward unfettered self determination. Thoughtful and unerringly engaging, THE BOOK OF JUDE puts a human face on the struggles of mind and spirit over oppression and builds the argument for the power of non-violent action as a pathway to healing and peace.

I am not the target demographic for this book, but enjoyed it tremendously and would read other books by this author. Heuston's characters are fantastically developed. Her writing is easy and clear while being potent and evocative. The book is heartfelt and informative without being heavy-handed. Overall, a tremendous success in children's literature.