Customer Reviews

Child of God: A Novel

5 star:		(121)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Lolita Files is back with an edgy and daring new novel titled Child of Goda saga of a Southern family tormented by a legacy of shameful secrets. Files latest heroine is Ophelia Boten, a young woman who must confront her familys past before she can extinguish the curse that threatens her future.

Set mostly against the backdrop of a small, country town named Downtown, TN, Child of God shows the sordid secrets binding one family over four decades. The story opens with the death of Ophelias son, baby Hamlet, who is the lone casualty of a mysterious fire. However, the reader quickly discovers that this is the first of many tragedies throughout the book. Similar tragedies that keep repeating over and over throughout the generations. As Files carefully weaves us forward and backward in time with this family, we discover a multitude of secrets and sinsincest, voodoo, rape, homosexuality, drug addiction, murder and suicides. Before Ophelia can find true love and share it, she must unravel the intricate relationships, mystical ties and forbidden passions that have tormented her family over the years.

Child of God is a fast-paced and suspense-packed read and shows Files ability to tackle different storylines and tell a good story. However, readers looking for more of the sistafriend relationship of Reesy and Misty will be disappointed with Child of God because this is truly a different read and probably more in line with Blind Ambitionalbeit a darker story than any of her stories to-date. Child of God is a storyline filled with lots of violence, brutality, tragedy and anguish. The storyline has a Jerry Springish feel and mentality with far-fetch and over-the-top situations that might make some folks want to throw the book against the wall and leave it there. Those who enjoy lots of drama with a soap-operaish type style will love this book. Aside from some of the loose ends such as Lays behavior and Lay and Sukies relationship which I never quite understood, I enjoyed the colorful characters, vivid situations, poignant dialogue and riveting storyline. I look forward to future books from Ms. Files.

The first line of the novel introduces the audacity of this spirited story of a rural family plagued with menacing deep family secrets and arduous dilemmas that leave an ominous cloud hanging over them. The Boltens teeter between aerious innocence and ignorant wickedness. Files unfolds their history of murder, incest, and deceit, expertly moving from past to present. Evil and sin run rampant through the pages interspersed through each character and successfully shaping the story.

Child of God is Files' best work yet. The blatant parallels of the novel to Shakespeare's Hamlet are ingenious. Files assembled a fleet of characters that are colorful, spirited, and unique. The characters are developed and delivered in their own entity where they project themselves into the unfolding of this lurid story.

This tragic story is full of capricious plots that will leave your mouth agape in disbelief, but will continuously grab your interest. This novel is very different from Files' previous novels; however, it shows acute intelligence and versatility in her writing. You will enjoy this story.

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Lolita Files takes us down a twisted road of confusion when the characters in her book Child of God journey down dead end streets and decide to set up shop.

Amalie, Grace, Walter, Ophelia, Suki, Polo, Lay, Big Daddy, and the others involved with them are wrapped in a quilt of... perversions, insanity, and supernatural nightmares. I found it amazing that Ms. Files managed to sew it all together, yet she did. Each square of the quilt, separate in its on right, yet connected to the whole. I felt inundated with constant symbols of burning in hell, and I knew that I had just been introduced to the residents of the fiery pit. One must asked themselves was their anyone in the novel that was left untouched by an eminent evil? Even the innocent were doomed to embrace a spiritually dysfunctional life and each character seemed to be in his/her own level of purgatory. Going through the pangs of living with these characters left this reader frustrated and exhausted.

I found this story to be depressing yet compelling. And though I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning to finish, I found myself never truly being involved with the characters only a mere spectator in their lives. I wanted to know what happened but I didn't particularly care how it was all resolved. I felt that Ms Files expected some leaps to made about some characters and yet in contrast there were other relationships that moved me.

Despite what may seem like contradictions in this story I would give it 3 stars and would recommend to those who asked. It was engaging and entertaining. (It had to be because I was up until 1 am). Most of the enjoyment for me in this novel came from the fact that it was just an interesting story with an interesting theme, and interesting characters.

Having read all of the Lolita Files novels I can say that Child of God was a complete departure from her previous work. Although I am more of a fan of her first works... I do applaud her for venturing out and doing something different.

Reviewed by Kotanya
-APOO Bookclub-

Lolita Files has written a story that really caught me off guard. I wasn't even sure what I expected but this wasn't it! In any case, this book captivated me from the beginning until the end and I found myself flipping back pages, from time to time, just to make sure I was keeping all of these characters/generations straight! Lolita Files has written a bold and daring book that covers all sorts of family secrets. Ms. Files has earned my praises not just for writing an amazing story, but for hopefully setting a new trend. I personally would like to see other writers like herself get away from the usual and typical writing about 2-4 friends who have drama, drama, DRAMA in their lives. The market is saturated with too much of this type of book and I found Child Of God refreshing to read as well as original. I hadn't read a book by Lolita Files since Scenes From A Sistah but Child Of God is definitely great stuff. Get this one and enjoy!

I'm a big fan of Lolita Files, but looking at the description of this book I thought about not reading it for a while. Fortunately, it was my book club selection for the month because I absolutely love this book.

It's well written, beautifully paced, grabs your attention and never lets you go. It's a very difficult story to tell and in the hands of a less talented author it could be too very dark and disturbing to enjoy. Some of the characters are so sinister it is amazing that Ms. Files is able to breath life into them and force you to actually care what becomes of them. We know the characters so well we are forced to understand how very bad things can happen to good people. She's tackling though subjects here Incest, Voodoo, Obsession, Betrayal, Sexuality but somehow we always know there is light at the end of the tunnel and hope for future generations.

This was my very first time reading a novel by Lolita Files. I am hooked for life. The story of Ophelia and her family was very well developed. This was a story of love, lies, incest, betrayal but most of all PASSION. A mothers passionate love for her son. A fathers unwavering love for his daughter. A mother and fathers love for each other. Every character was life-size. Every scene was vivid. Lolita Files did the unimaginable...she was able to bring together Shakespearean themes and the Voodoo religion subtly but with substance. I recommend this book to everyone, especially my Circle of Friends Book Club sisters.

"Child of God" is by far Lolita Files best work of fiction to date. Spanning generations of the Boten family's trials and tribulations, their stories will snatch you up by the collar, pull you into the story , and plop you down on the sidelines as the action unfolds. "Child of God" focuses on family love both pure (in the case of Ophelia and Polo) and unpure (Ophelia and Lay are just one incestuous combination), as well as drugs, voodoo, murder and suicide.

This is no "and they all lived happily ever after" story. Characters die in a multitude of graphic, violent ways - this book is not for the squemish - but the death toll never feels overdone and the plot twists feel authentic, not just done for the sake of theatrics.

After reading this book, it's safe to say that Lolita Files was just playing with us with her three previous novels. "Child of God" shows her true talent for spinning a tale, and quite a spinner she is.

Lolita Files' latest novel about a Tennesse family plagued with the legacy of incest, murder and secrecy is by far her best. From the very first line I was hooked and could not put the book down until I turned the last page. The manner in which Files weaves in the backstories was masterful. In "Child of God" Files creates drama and suspense that will leave you craving for more.

I REALLY THOUGHT I HAD ALREADY WRITTEN MY REVIEW OF LOLITA'S NOVEL "CHILD OF GOD" BUT HAPPENED TO BE BROWSING TODAY AND DON'T SEE IT ON HERE SO I AM RE-WRITING IT. LOLITA JOINED CIRCLE OF FRIENDS BOOK CLUBS IN ATLANTA, GA IN JANUARY 2002 TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DISCUSSION OF "CHILD OF GOD". OVERALL, EVERYONE IN ATTENDANCE REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK AND FELT THE ISSUES MENTIONED THEREIN ARE THOSE THAT MOST AUTHORS TEND TO STAY AWAY FROM. I AM OF THE OPINION AND BELIEF THAT IF WE DON'T DEAL WITH ISSUES, THEY HAVE A WAY OF DEALING WITH US". THUSLY, THE STORY INCLUDED SOME VERY DIFFICULT, "HARD TO TALK ABOUT" ISSUES...BUT LOLITA DID AN EXCELLENT JOB OF PUTTING THIS STORY IN A FORM BY WHICH WE COULD ENJOY IT AND IT REALLY MADE PEOPLE THINK! LOLITA, FOR ALL THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS I READ ON HERE.. PLEASE KNOW THAT YOU ARE A TRULY GIFTED WRITER AND EVERYONE HAS THEIR CRITICS...EVEN JESUS DID. KEEP WRITING AND ALLOWING GOD TO USE YOU TO PUT PEN TO PAPER....

YOU SHOWED OUT SISTAH!

This is a good book consisting of some very profane family members. The author outlined how family curses do exist from generation to generation.