Customer Reviews

Mr. Wroe's Virgins

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of the best books I have read this year. It is intelligent and thoughtful yet full of dark humor. The character development remains interesting until the very end of the novel. I wish that my book group would have read this book -- I can imagine that it would have been an interesting and controversial discussion.

Wow. This author has an amazing ability to get inside of her characters heads- maybe closer than you really want to get. She writes from seven points of view- representing the seven so-called virgins who are taken into the prophet's household. There is lusty sex, mystery, and drama throughout this excellent book. I read it in two nights- couldn't put it down. My bookgroup is going to discuss it next month- one of the BEST book choices we've made.

Jane Roger's ISLAND impressed me so much that I began to look for some of her other works -- MR WROE'S VIRGINS is the first one I came across. It didn't disappoint. Rogers has done an amazing job retelling/reinventing the story of the 'real' John Wroe -- her prose and characterizations are excellent, and the technique of using multiple narrators is extremely effective and enlightening.

Told from the point of view of four women -- four of the 'virgins' taken into the home of Prophet John Wroe, 'for comfort and succor' -- but never from that of Wroe himself, Rogers' novel goes beyond simply telling a story. The voices of these four women are individual and distinct. The sections of the story they each relate overlap in time a bit, and their various points of view illuminate descrepancies in the way they view the events depicted here.

Leah is a beautiful, haughty, self-centered young woman -- she is sure in her own mind that she is the most beautiful and desirable of the seven chosen, and she is determined to play this to her own advantage. She sees her 'sisters' as competition, and she views their motives -- innocent though most of them may be -- with great suspicion, seeing and imagining things not quite as they actually are at times.

Hannah is an unbeliever, thrown in with this group of Christian Israelites, feeling much like a fish out of water. Rather than accepting Mr. Wroe's dire predictions of the imminent end of the world -- Judgement Day -- she instead sees the answer to humanity's woes through education, through working together for the common good. These beliefs lead her to working with the poor of the town, teaching them to read, attempting to raise their social and political consciousness, and getting involved in the birth of the trade union movement in England.

Joanna -- Saint Joanna, as she is called by most of the other women -- is completely devoted, in heart, body and soul, to God and to Mr. Wroe's movement. She views every single event in her life through scriptural interpretaion, bending to God's will every chance she gets. From the opposite end of the scale, her view is thus just as skewed as that of Leah.

Martha -- the fourth narrator -- comes to the house as a mute, obviously horribly beaten and abused by her father at home, who has seen Mr. Wroe's call for seven virgins to serve him as an easy way to rid himself of a daughter he doesn't want, a burden. Martha's narrative is, for me, the most striking in the novel. At first, it comes in fragments, little bursts of words, the most rudimentary images and feelings. As the novel progresses, Martha's thoughts and expression become more organized -- she is being taught speech and hymns by 'Saint Joanna', who evidently possesses the patience of Job -- and the horrors of her earlier life, which she sees as so completely separate that she thinks of it as happening to the 'other Martha', become clearer and clearer. The abuse and suffering she has endured is unbelievable and heartbreaking -- and it explains her temperament, which could at times be seen as epileptic or schizophrenic. This is an incredibly damaged young woman.

As the Prophet of his church, Mr. Wroe weilds immense power and influence. He hears instructions and illuminations directly from God, almost on a nightly basis -- even with a council of Elders to aid in governing the affairs of the church, Wroe's word is practically law. Living in a house with seven young women, it is inevitable that suspicions and accusations begin to mount -- the novel is set, after all, in 1830s England, a much more puritanical society that we enjoy today. Wroe himself is tempted by the presence of the women as well -- and this temptations, combined with his human frailty, lead to much trouble for him and his church.

Rogers skills in both narrating this tale -- and, again, the use of the four narrators is done to stunning effect -- share the spotlight here with her ability to convey the contradictions inherit in organized religion in general. When one person -- or even a group of persons -- holds such power and influence over their 'followers', there is bound to be trouble. The weight of the organization's purpose is too much for a leader to bear. When the people rely on a human leader to tell them how to follow the will of God -- rather than listening to their own hearts and finding their own path -- that leader's humanity will almost inevitably lead to disaster.

The novel is very 'heady' -- but at the same time very readable, being compelling and entertaining. It's a wonderful achievement. Knowing that Rogers wrote the script for the BBC's adaptation of the novel, I'd be very interested to see that as well.

Jane Rogers successfully captured my imagination in the first two pages and until I finished this novel of women I couldn't put it down. Though the women are all speaking from an 19th c perspective, I was amamzed how skillfully Rogers threaded the timeless issues of faith, self-esteem, the desire for self-expression, the need for love and compassion in such a fashion as to speak to the women and men of today. Throughout the book I saw sometimes tiny, sometimes huge aspects of each women in myself. This is one of the best books I've read in years, don't miss it.

A sure narrative pull does nothing to hide the obviousness or clumsiness of this tale. Told through the voices of four of the seven virgins a British evangelical has taken into his home, this is an old story of faith lost. The period trappings and subplots into workers' agitation surrounding the community fail to morph into any compelling metaphor for the efforts of the evangelical and his followers to create a better world. The sections "spoken" by the brutalized Martha are nauseatingly condescending, and the other three fail to go through anything resembling the journey Rogers so clearly wishes for them. Feels like a wasted opportunity.

A provocative and well written fictional account of the British 19th c. religious doomsday cult headed by the physically challenged but charismatic Mr. Wroe. Wroe requests from his community seven virgins "for succor and comfort." The novel is told in the voice of four of these women, during the nine months the community held together before (unsurprising) allegations tore it apart. The voices of the women are wonderfully written, at times ironic, at times poignant, at times arch. Rogers manages the different voices beautifully, as she does the details of everyday life in the community. She also manages to dive headlong into the most ambitious and dangerous landscapes of faith, love and existential meaning. Recommended. (Another reviewer described this as Atwood light. I rather like that, with no disrespect to either Atwood or Rogers.)

Mr. Wroe has annointed himself "The Prophet" of a small group of Christian Israelites" at the end of the 1800's. Claiming to hear the voice of God whispering in his ear, Mr. Wroe preaches the approach of doomsday, the end of the world. As the Prophet of God, he quotes, "The Lord has instructed me to take of your number, seven virgins for comfort and succor."

Of the numerous young women gathered before him, he chooses Joanna, sisters Rachel and Rebecca, Hannah, an unbeliever, Dinah, a cripple, Martha, a mute, and Leah, an unwed mother. As part of the bargain, Leah brings her infant into the home under the guise of a foundling.

The young women soon fall into their natural order, performing household tasks, laundering, planting a vegetable garden, their days filled with neverending chores. Occasionally, Mr. Wroe takes some of the girls along when he preaches to the townspeople, who are mostly illiterate mill workers. Mr. Wroe also requires that one of the virgins read from the Bible to him each evening.

The story is related through the eyes of four of the girls: Joanna, Hannah, Leah and Martha. Joanna is pious, constantly praying for guidance, while Hannah is skeptical but helpful, and Leah opportunistic, with a child to care for. Martha, the mute, eventually finds a means of expression through Joanna's patient teaching; she relives her past while preparing for the future. The story takes an interesting turn when one of the girls makes shocking allegations. Consequently, the household of virgins is disbanded, each left to find her own way.

As a religious period piece, the story creates a particular atmosphere of candle light, rustling petticoats and starched linens, as well as the crackling pages of a well worn Bible.

The best way to describe this book is "Atwood lite". The premise and early telling of the tale are interesting, with promising characters. About halfway through, the book unfortunately shifts into a predictable tale of jealousy and longing. Rather than allowing the characters to develop (which one would expect through the multiple first person perspectives), the plot is pushed forward with clumsy devices. Still, some characters remain intriguing, and the pages turn quickly. This book is ideal for people who are used to reading best-sellers, and want slightly more literary value.