Customer Reviews

The Divine Economy of Salvation

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The jacket of this book compares it to William Golding's "Lord of the Flies", and that was reason enough for me to check it out. For the days following I was completely engrossed in The Divine Economy of Salvation, whining when I had to put it down to go to work and eagerly picking it up when I returned home. Sadly, while the book is indeed engrossing and memorable, it is also one of those novels which is ultimately ruined by an unsatisfying conclusion.

I absolutely agree with Louis's review below that says that the book ends too abruptly. Uppal does an admirable job of setting things up and drawing the reader into Sister Angela's world, but I think she needed to include maybe one more "minor" incident establishing character before the big (and incredibly violent) climactic scene.

In the last fifty pages or so of the novel, I felt like characters I knew well were behaving in ways that I couldn't *quite* believe them capable of. So just when I should have been most engrossed in the novel I was instead pulling back and saying, "Wait a second...there's no way they would do that." There's nothing worse than getting such a strong reminder that characters you've invested hundreds of pages in getting to know are not real people.

Even having said that, this is a really strong first novel, and Uppal does show a real gift at establishing mood and suspense. I'll definitely pick up her next book--I just feel like this one could really have used a little more polish.

Sigh. This book falls into the same category as "The Lake of Dead Languages" in a couple ways--A. An interesting, somewhat obscure title, B. dark doings at an all-girls' school. Unfortunately, they also share in my ultimate disdain. Uppal's tale of pain and betrayal shows a lot of promise at the start that it fails miserably to deliver. The first third is actually pretty good (hence, even a single star), but starting with Angela's sister's admittance of hatred for her (huh? what happened here? We're presented with a character with an interesting set of issues who then disappears from the book without any indication as to why she reacts to Angela the way she does!) the story starts to unravel into a somewhat well-written mess. After what turns out to be a book-long red herring, the whole mystery of the candlestick never actually resolves; the ending, as others here have noted, is enough to give a person whiplash. Finally, on another subject altogether, I was amazed at how a story that takes place in a religious setting could be so Godless. Angela it seems became a nun to punish herself (which could have been interesting if it had been authentically explored) and even her mother's faith, which one assumes was genuine, seemed hollow to me. I couldn't help but feeling that this author was writing about something that she doesn't know much about. Save yourself from this book and if you want to read about children turning on each other, read "The Lord of the Flies." Or just find a book with a less interesting title and better crafted plot.

Sister Angela's comfortable life in the convent begins to unravel when she receives an anonymous package, a gift that links her to her early life as an adolescent in a Catholic boarding school, and the part she played in a terrible, tragic incident.

Now she must confront her past, her loss of innocence, her unfinished grief for her mother's death, and her fears of being exposed. And at the same time, she is dealing with a young pregnant girl who has arrived at the convent and somehow become Angela's ward.

Uppal is a polished writer who skillfully draws the reader in to Angela's inner struggles, moving easily between past and present to create a dreamlike, brooding reality. Yet, somehow it does not quite ring true. There are too many loose ends, unexplored characters, leads that go nowhere. And the ending, the redemption, at the very end of the book--well--it doesn't make sense. I was left with a feeling that the author simply wrapped up the story because she didn't know how to end it.

A powerful book, and worth exploring, but it could have been better. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber

I found Sister Angela's story fascinating. The story begins with a brief description of Sister Angela's duties within the convent. When she receives the silver candle holder, she begins going back in time and telling us the story of her life when she was 14 - her mother was ill, she and her sister, Christine, are separated and sent to Catholic schools away from home. The story of how Angela copes (with her mother's illness and feelings of homesickness, worry, and loneliness) - her feelings about the friends she makes in "the Sisterhood" and the things these friends do together, is engrossing to read - compelling without being overly dramatic or exaggerated. The tragedies of Angela's life are withheld from the reader at first, making it feel like a sort of mystery needs to be solved. Gradually, what she seems to be hiding from, unwilling (or unable) to face - all unravels in a bit of a hurry, and while I understood most of what was going on, I was left a little uncertain and still curious about how some of these problems were resolved (esp. with the less traumatic issues such as Angela's relationship with her sister and father, but also with characters surrounding the mystery of the candle holder) - then again, maybe that's how the author intended to leave the reader - with a realistic sense of some things just not being able to be resolved, but with Angela's sense of hope and focus on life.

I too felt that there were many loose ends, unexplained people and events and an unsatisfactory ending to "the Divine Economy of Salvation". A compelling read, but one that left me wondering if I had only approached it with more thought, it would have felt more complete. Could Uppal possibly have intended this to be something the reader personalized ~ leaving the option of filling in the blanks with their own stories of coming to terms with the same issues of choice, identity, transition and growth? Angela the woman, not fully committed to the NOW because of her THEN. Making adult sense of the the family and school relationships and secrets experienced as a child. As a religious, moving between the habit and secular clothing,her community wondering how to keep their foundational values revelant to the needs of today. How to integrate the facts of what happened with the truths that the events held, the impact that they had at the time and in the present. Our past is always with us, coming into our life in different ways, with different results; never destroyed, but put to use and reinterred in a (hopefully) better place, leaving us healthier and more integrated. It is a somewhat surreal book that makes the reader ponder and for that reason, is of value.