Customer Reviews

God Says No

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It is a rare thing indeed that I want to have a good experience reading a book and then do. God Says No began with a premise I wasn't sure about and a character whose credulity I wasn't certain I could relate to, and a tone I couldn't quite parse at first, but after a few chapters I was hooked. What Hannaham has done here is to turn his protagonist - a pitiable character not normally found in the protagonist role - and turn him into the Everyman. Though I am neither gay nor black nor Christian nor overweight nor from deepest Florida, I cannot help identifying with Gary Gray. He is a man fundamentally at odds with who he is and on a quest to make amends; who of us hasn't experienced that?

It is always interesting to find a protagonist who is clearly less intelligent or less in the know than the author. Gray is one of these, and his innocence makes him a foil for the endless string of absurdities that is American Sexuality. Nobody really gets off scott-free here, and nobody is fully skewered. The most potent part of the book is when Gray is at Restoration Ministries (where they turn homosexuals straight). The idea is hard to think of but with mockery, but this is where Gray has his first taste of introspection, of acceptance, and of cameraderie. As a reader you feel the painful irony of it; you are pulled in two directions: wishing for Gray to escape their clutches and hoping he'll stick around with them long enough to give himself an honest look.

GOD SAYS NO is a novel that does what literature should do: make a completely unique and fully realized character seem utterly human and relate-able. I challenge any reader who skims the book jacket copy and pauses to wonder what they might have in common with the narrator, Gary Gray--a young Christian fundamentalist black man from the South who is gay--to walk away without feeling affected by this story and this character.

The writing is poetic, surprising, and extremely funny. James Hannaham has a truly original voice with an important (and entertaining) story to tell. A majorly good new novel by a major new American writer.

I finished GOD SAYS NO in just a couple of sittings, which I haven't done with a book in a while. It's funny, touching, and really kind, too. All the characters felt real and respected, and a lesser writer would have taken the easy route and devised some cartoons just to create propaganda for their own politics. Highly recommended

I bought this book because I liked the idea of it, and I was also convinced by the fact that it was presumably a thought-provoking, insightful book about a character torn between two commonly opposing forces--a christian lifestyle and homosexuality. I was not really let down by the idea of the book as I read, but I did feel let down about virtually everything else.

The narration is bland and banal, and the relationships between characters, particularly the protagonist and his wife, are shallow and predictable. The ostensible humor in the book is also cheeky and seemingly juvenile at times, beyond the point of enjoyment or laughter. I forced myself to finish this book, principally because I paid for it, but I can't see myself ever buying a book by James Hannaham again. The writing style of this one was so indecisive that I could never fully feel humor, sincerity, cynicism, struggle, sadness, or anything else besides indifference.

Does anyone have any suggestions for novels with similar themes and ideas as this one but with tolerable craft for writing? I'd like to read about a set of dynamic characters whose sincere struggle/identity-crisis or even whose parodic/comedic portrayal of an identity crisis related to homosexuality and religion is actually worth reading about. It seems that James Hannaham tried to have the best of both worlds with this book, but instead he ended up with the least of each.

I am a member of the "McSweeney's Book Club" and am enjoying reading the books I receive (approximately) once a month.

A book that takes the reader to a new and different world can be quite a diversion - the narrator of *God Says No,* is black, gay, fundamentalist Protestant, Southern, and obese. It would be hard to find more differences. (Okay, okay - I could stand to lose a few pounds!)

When I began I completely expected this book to be a smug and judgmental satire denigrating (Southern) religious views on being gay. While the narrator clearly seemed to be a little less intelligent than the writer, this book is a genuine and sincere presentation of his problems from his point of view, and has a surprising and satisfying conclusion. The book was kind and frank regarding all points of view presented.

Most highly recommended.

I simply couldn't put this book down. The story is interesting and compelling to read, yet not predictable (a good quality). The characters are realistic, interesting, and multidimentional. Truly a great read-look forward to more writings from this author.

Hannaham delivers a first novel that is finely wrought, deeply intelligent, and moving. For a book that deals with some of the most relevant issues to the American culture of 2010, there is a surprisingly crafty dodge of outright commentary -- instead, it favors a well-structured story, a witty and economical prose, and characters that break your heart. The figures of this world are easily recognized in our own, but so rarely are they explored, especially with the acuity and honesty that Hannaham provides.

I took my time reading this book because I didn't want to miss a word. Every chapter left me wanting more; I felt like I was on this journey with Gary. I loved how vivid the author was. Through out the story telling I never once got lost. Gary took me along for the inside scoop of a confused and emotionally dis-functional man who desperately tried to be "normal." The harder he tried the more "abnormal" he became.This story teaches us the lesson of being true to yourself; some of us spend a lifetime trying to figure this out. If you are tired of reading the same story line then this is the book for you. If you are homophobic or closed minded you won't find this the least bit entertaining.

I stayed up very late last night to finish this novel I'd begun the day before. I can't remember the last time I read a "couldn't put it down" book. What a beautiful, funny, brutally honest book. As a student at a Christian college in the 1970's, everything he writes rings true and the story brought back many memories, including the pain that the main character lives through. The fact that he does live through it all makes it a book I plan to give many people. I don't know if the author would even consider writing a sequel but I would like to find out the next chapter in the life of this Candide for the 21st century. Am so glad I read this novel. Laughed, reflected, was choked up a few times. Truly did not want it to end. Definitely a book for discussion.

I thought this book would be really interesting.... it was not. This is not a page turner. I had to fight to finish this book, I really could not connect with the main character Gary. He seemed more like a wack job than devote in his belief's. He prays to a Jesus doll, not to God himself most of the book. The book didn't make me laugh or feel sad or feel anything at all. The ending was very bad. I'm mad I spend two days reading this. It has a few good points in it at the very end about how homosexual relationships have to be twice as strong because the world doesn't want them to happen. And that God wants us to just live, not live "holy" or "perfect". Overall though I will never read his work again.