Customer Reviews

Jesus Saves

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

 

 

I skimmed over some of the other reviews, and pretty much everything I might want to say has been said, so I'll just tell you what's helpful.

Yes, the book is symbolic and slow-paced. It is, however, well-written, flowery prose that I enjoyed reading...to a point. The people who gave this book negative reviews were appalled by the graphic nature and the "misleading" title. Yes, the book is graphic, and not for children. In a couple of scenes, I would definitely even consider it pornographic. It describes certain things in a way that is both crude and poetic, if such a thing is possible (apparently it is).

I don't think the title is so much trying to mislead as it is trying to be ironic. If some people missed that, then it's saying something about the IQ of the reader, not the author.

Overall, I wouldn't say that this book has a wide appeal, but the author does have talent, so if you don't mind dark fiction, and a lack of a sound ending, give it a read.

I just went to buy this book for a friend and I was stunned by the low ratings and mixed reviews. This book does some emotional damage on its reader, but in the best possible way. The author picked up on our culture's fascination with child abductions years before the current media outbreak. There's something very prescient about the storyline.

A word about the language--it's surreal and strange and ultimately closer to poetry than prose. To me this is one of the book's great strengths. It's not an easy book, but it's a wild ride. Check it out.

The title is not literal. The message of the book is not Christian. Jesus does not save anyone in the book. Don't read this if you're a conservative Christian nut who finds everything secular to be "evil". You will be quite disappointed and probably pretty irritated and offended.

Although this book was both confusing and difficult, it holds a lot of meaning, but the meaning is hard to understand, the symbolism hard to figure out. I think the author meant this book to be difficult in the way that the meaning is not just given to you. It's not "here you go kids, some milk and cookies, eat and drink and be merry", it's hidden, it's hard, you have to figure it out yourself, and the imagery and symbolism can mean different things to different people.

I agree with another person who has written a review who said that the plot was basically non-existent. It's not a book rich in plot, but rich in symbolism, and thought about life. Life is not always happy and merry and chirping birds and blue skies. People aren't perfect, they aren't happy, they keep secrets and do "bad" things. This book deals with reality and I beleive that's partially why some people don't like it. It's cold, but it's truth.

The language of this book is image laden and visceral. Not for the squeamish. The plot is pretty non-existent, but I don't think it was worse for that. The book reads so quickly and smoothly and transports you to the places and thoughts of the characters so vividly. A good rainy sunday book.

Darcey Steinke certainly deserves an A for effort. She's nailed the plot elements necessary to be hailed as a great dark artist in this end of the age - child abuse, dead moms and absent dads, detached sexy teenage girls, philosophical/religious critique of the cult of the suburbs... I have nothing against these elements in and of themselves, although some of them are starting to be overdone.

Unfortunately, her style combines Anne Rice's obsessive-compulsive love of irrelevant detail, the insistant grimyness of a latter-day rock star, and a Joyce-esque refusal to clearly distinguish thought from actuality, while lacking the redeeming gifts of any of the above-mentioned artists.

Darcey Steinke will probably write something good someday, probably a short story. Keep your eye out for that. Don't bother with this.

First of all, if you prefer a plot-driven book that doesn't require a lot of thought about symbolism, then Jesus Saves isn't for you. The plot in this book, even admitted by critics who liked the book, is pretty much non-existent. It isn't an action packed novel, but instead relies on a dry prose to present subtle symbolism to get it's point across.

I enjoy books that don't spoonfeed me the moral, but I also like challenging books to have a good plot on the surface. Figuring out the symbolism and meaning of this book was fun, but reading it was boring at times. The bulk of the novel is spent describing Ginger's aimless wanderings in a suburban town that's gone downhill and the horrors faced by Sandy (a girl kidnapped by a child molester).

If you want books with symbolism that are actually entertaining, read Douglas Coupland or Chuck Palahniuk.

I was entranced by the gore and unable to put the book down even when scenes became grossly disturbing. Ginger, the protagonist, wanders between the structured moral life of a minister's daughter and the morbidly depressing society outside her home. Sandy, the kidnapped girl, is trapped in a gruesome situation from which she escapes only through her memories and imagination. The girls' lives are juxtaposed as both experience comfort and order versus dizzying decay in making sense of their lives. Did I mention I liked Sandy's Lewis Carroll-like imagination?

This book definitely was NOT what I expected. The story was well written -- the descriptions were quite vivid -- but I felt a huge disconnect. Every time I picked up the book, I felt like I was being thrown in the midst, not like it was a story where I was actively following along. I also had a problem with the decidedly limited character sketches of all of the males in the book. When I finally finished, I was relieved at having made it thorugh, but at the same time, felt like I missed something.

I don't know what those who have posted negative reviews of this excellent novel are talking about. This is one of the best books I have ever read. In clear, shaking prose, Steinke lays out an entire landscape of malls, churches and subdivisions, a world achingly familiar but strikingly different from our own. The thoughts of her two conflicted and endangered adolescent female characters ring true and brutal. As the novel progresses, Steinke's world becomes more and more unreal. Her characters descend into a world like that of Henry Darger's paintings - visceral, violent, and beautiful.

This is an important book. I recommend it to everyone of every age - especially young women. I read this book first at age 14 and it changed my life. Now that I'm 20, I still read it every few months. Don't let bad press keep you away from this amazing novel.

Don't come to this book looking for comfort. It imagines in vivid detail and sharply beautiful prose the horrific experiences of those who fall through the cracks in suburban America. The writing is absolutely superb, and each image imaginative, original, and dreamlike. Reading this book is like climbing inside someone else's nightmare, but there is something so painfully true about it, you might not be able to wake up all the way. Kudos to Steinke for creating such a great work of art.