Customer Reviews

The Rapture Of Canaan

5 star:		(152)
4 star:		(71)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

Rapture of Canaan is an honestly good book. A highly engrossing tale about an extremely religious commune and the severity of their faith. A novel of sharply-crafted twists and turns and one that will play with your emotions. This is a story of one girl's faith in her church and in God and her struggle to balance freedom within the iron walls of the world in which she lives.

Grandpa Herman, founder of The Church of Fire and Brimstone and God's Almighty Baptizing Wind, has a flock to tend to -- his congregation, where some mimic Herman's steadfast and unnerving faith, and some who occassionally stray from the righteous path. And perhaps the most surprising stray of all is his granddaughter, Ninah. Twelve-year-old Ninah, who finds difficulty in controlling her first adolescent stirrings, manages somehow to twist them and convince herself the things she does with her prayer partner, James, is nothing more than learning about Jesus's love through each other. And once the community finds out, the whole system of the Church is shocked to a halt. "The wages of sin is death," says Grandpa Herman. The story plays out wickedly as the truth of Ninah's transgressions plummets to an end....The rapture has come.

The Rapture of Canaan is a powerful and stunning novel. Shari Reynold's prose is a tapestry of faith, religion, fear, sadness, life and death, all woven to create a picture of a cult-like existence and how it effects those in which it governs. A truly page-turning saga that expresses the all-encompassing love for Jesus and the trials of a girl finding her way. An uplifting and frightening mix. A great read.

This novel is a touching story, of Ninah who i fell in love with, at times i wanted to jump through the page to tell her to stay strong and that i would be her friend. Not only did this book give me chills every night when i sat down to read it, but it made me mad that this kind of brainwashing occurs in our own society. The message in this story is profound and inspiring. The characters are so wonderfully developed, you can really feel the pain this young girl who is torn between a warped religion and morals is feeling. A wonderful novel that you will NOT be disappointed in. All my friends at Dowling College feel the same! BUY IT!

Sheri Reynold's Rapture of Canaan title gave me the initial imporession it would be a 'hardship' survival, tell all book about an excape from a cult. It was totally unexpected when I started to read a story about a young girl and her life within this 'self-developed' sect, her comfort in growing up with her immediate family, under the strict guidance of her preacher grandfather and her story-telling grandmother. Her entire family showed that they loved her and other members of the family within the sect and even though their life-style might have been considered 'harsh' by outsiders, they felt they lived a 'good' life.
The young protagonist's 'surprise' pregnancy came about from the Church and her parents failure to communicate properly to her about the birds and bees and her misinterpretation of the "Rapture" the members of the church were constantly seeking.
There is death and sadness, happiness and love, events that occur for the better and worse, but the entire story is beautifully written. I couldn't put the book down, the story line was so interesting and didn't want to wait to see 'what happened next.'
This book would be a very good read for anyone looking for a good story that emphasizes family love and devotion in the face of life's hardships.

Last summer, I purchased this book to fill my hours while traveling and I still think it was one terrific read! Although this story depicts fanatical religious zealousness with abuses, torture, and mind control, I oddly did not find this book to be depressing as the reader in Memphis did. The reader peeks into the mind of a young girl in this cult and sees what makes her tick... how she can emotionally survive under such control. This haunting story is related by the young girl, Ninah. Her courage and the kindness and perspective of her grandmother show the strength of the human spirit. I found myself drawn in and identifying with the heroine, and at its satisfying conclusion, filled with buoyant hope. Rich with symbolism, this story reads quickly and yet has depth and humor. The characters stayed with me long after the book ended. Like all good novels, I wished the book would go on and on. I will gladly try another of Reynolds books ... and would certainly continue to recommend this one!

This book is written from the perspective of Ninah, a young girl on the verge of emotional, sexual and spiritual growth living within an extreme religious group. Her life is filled with prayer, penance and the storytelling of the one truly strong person in the community, her grandmother. Ninah falls off of the path of rightousness and onto a road of trouble when she falls for her prayer partner James and ends up pregnant. The aftermath is touching, sad and uplifting all at the same time. Ninah is a vulnerable yet strong character who questions her spirituality at every turn. Grandpa Herman wants the members of the community to live up to his rules and doctrines instead of God's. Ninah refuses to give into this blind faith of follow the leader. She knows her heart and she lets it lead her to her own salvation and helps to bring peace and honesty to the community. Sheri Reynolds writes a gripping story, one that is symbolically rich and strong in characterization. This is a must read, regardless of your faith and beliefs.

Once I opened the book for the very first time, I read just about half the book--because it was easy to read & the story was so interesting! The main characters are so well developed I had them in my thoughts the entire time I read the book & for days afterwards. I admit, my interest in religion probably made me more involved in the book then I should've been. Although I am not a very religious person myself, I found myself analyzing the book constantly. I've recommended this book to everyone. One flaw: THE ENDING CAME MUCH TOO SOON!

This is one of the most shallow and unconvincing books IÃ*ve ever read. It focuses on an extremely conservative religious cult which emphasizes medieval punishments for every small "sin." That could have been interesting. Barbara Kingsolver dealt with the psychological and political effects of such narrow and mean-spirited religious ideas in The Poisonwood Bible and produced a fascinating and challenging novel. But in The Rapture of Canaan, Sheri Reynolds never probes below the surface. She just piles up bizarre details about the cult, trying to show us that itÃ*s bad to envision God as nothing more than a mean old man who punishes people. Well, okay. I agree. But more and more details about how really, really bad this view of religion is doesnÃ*t make for compelling reading. And because Reynolds offers no insight into what draws people to this kind of religion, the characters who are caught up in this church come across as either idiots or sheep. Reynolds had one potentially interesting character Ã� the grandmother of the narrator, who is married to the churchÃ*s cold and angry patriarch, and yet has some doubts about the religion. The only thing that kept me reading to the end was the hope that at some point Reynolds would develop this character and offer some insight into the contradiction, and that I might understand a little more about what holds people in a church that seems to offer them so little. It never happened. This book was simply a waste of my time.

Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds
320 Pages
Published by Putnam Publishing Group, reprint 1997
Paperback and Hardcover

This book is a tale of awakening for the 15 year old narrator Ninah Huff. She lives in a strictly religious community, The Church of Fire and Brimstone and God's Almighty Baptizing Wind, founded by her very strict grandfather, Grandpa Herman. In Ninah's community, any type of pleasure or self indulgence is harshly punished by varying means, such as sleeping in a bed full of nettles, a dunking in the freezing cold pond, to sleeping in an open grave or being locked in a cellar for forty days with no contact to the outside world.

Ninah, as well as everyone else in the community, has led pretty sheltered lives, having very little contact with others not part of their community. Grandpa Herman insists that everyone in the outside world not part of their community was destined for eternal damnation when the tribulation comes. Ninah catches mere glimpses of how life can be outside of the community, and inevitably begins to make friends with these people, and is forced to question Grandpa Herman's teachings when she refuses to believe that her newfound friends are headed to Hell.

Ninah's confusion does not end with those of the outside world; soon she begins to question many other beliefs within her community.

Ninah tries to repent, and takes on a prayer partner, James, but soon enough, Ninah and James, at the peak of adolescence, fall in love, and find it hard to resist their feelings for one another. Soon, Ninah, more confused than ever, finds herself pregnant, and is weighing the wages of her sins. Her attempt to tell James ends disastrously, and she finds herself facing this predicament alone. She begins to recall Grandpa Herman's favorite words "The wages of sin is death" and cannot believe that the miracle growing inside of her is a sin, and will not be convinced that her and her baby will spend eternity in Hell, despite all she has been taught to believe.

The newborn Canaan is taken away from Ninah immediately after birth and given to her infertile sister, who has "volunteered" to take the child, though claiming that because of the circumstances of his birth, Canaan will never amount to much. Ninah is torn apart, and more confused than ever, but soon learns that God's magic works in the most unseemingly ways

If I were to rate The Rapture of Canaan I would give it a 4 out of 5, it's flaw being that at the beginning of the book, I had a little trouble getting into the book, but once I did, I could not put this book down. The Rapture of Canaan will shock and anguish the reader; some parts of the book just gave me a sick, empty feeling in the pit of my stomach.

The characters of this book are in some ways very fictitious, but sometimes they seemed so real that Ninah could have been me, or the girl next to my, my own sister or best friend. Some of the content of the book may seem like it could never happen, but it could, and does everyday in many cults and religious groups gone awry.

The theme of Rapture comes to light with Ninah's realizations, true love means nothing unless you are strong enough to bear it's burdens, which Ninah does, and becomes a stronger, better person because of it.

I would suggest this book if you are looking for something to horrify you, shock you, and joy you all in one. The Rapture of Canaan has it all, the only thing I regret about the book is the lack of closure in the ending.

THE RAPTURE OF CANAAN revolves around a young teenage girl, Ninah Huff and her life in the "compounds" of the Church of Fire and Brimstone and God's Almighty Baptizing Wind. The church itself was founded by her grandfather, Grandpa Herman (her mother's father), and Grandpa lays down the law for all those who live within this rather extreme religious group.

She and all the others live a very segregated life, away from the modern world. They are not allowed to associate with others outside their faith, including other Christians who are not deemed as good and pure as they are. They live strictly by the bible as Grandpa Herman reads it, and are punished for the slightest "sin", no matter how little or trivial the sin is. They are not allowed to take medication or see doctors, they work in the fields and raise their own food,and they are not allowed to touch persons of the opposite sex, including their fiances, until they are married.

As Ninah grows older, she starts to question the practises of her group. She keeps these thoughts to herself, but confides a little with her prayer partner, James, who she has had a crush on for some time. He reciprocates her feelings, and soon they start to "sin" during their prayer time together, believing they are making love to Jesus through each other.

Ninah eventualy finds herself pregnant, and her world turns upside down. She is punished for her behavior (dunk under water in the river, irregardless of her being pregnant) and it is amazing that she and her baby arent' harmed by this treatment.

Soon the church is divided, with one side backing Ninah and appalled with the harsh treatment her grandfather instructs to be directed at her. She is not allowed to see anyone during the rest of her pregnancy, and without her permission her baby is taken away from her. The rest of the church believe that Grandpa Herman is doing the right thing by using Ninah as an example and showing the others how they should live without sin, else face the consequences.

I highly recommend this book. The content of the story may be a bit extreme for some, but I found that I could not put this book down.

I picked this book up unaware that I wouldn't be able to sleep or eat until I'd read the last word. No bed was made, no meal cooked... I just read. I found myself at three in the morning dapping my eyes as I struggled to read through lenses smeared with tears. I came to the conclusion that like love, religion should uplift us. It made me think of all the fire and brimstone churches I was raised in and I found every word and deed believable. The ending was one of the finest I can remember reading in years. The way Reynolds interwove the groups belief in the Rapture and her doubt of the hysterical beliefs of the congregation (family) shows her inner growth from tragedy. When the conclusion came in one swift slash, it was like commonsense winning the day. Need I say I loved it and recommend it to everyone.