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Neil Griffiths

As A God Might Be Paperback

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When Proctor McCullough decides to desert his comfortable London life to build a church on a clifftop, nobody knows what to make of it: McCullough is not religious. Is it a midlife crisis Has he gone mad Is he suffering a spiritual breakdown in a secular age, where identity is shaped by wealth and status Or has he really been chosen by God for a new revelationMcCullough finds himself torn between love for his family and a group of local drifters who are helping him to build his church. When one of these drifters commits a shocking act to test his beliefs, McCullough finds himself pushed to the very limits of understanding and forgiveness.As a God Might Be is an epic novel, and Proctor McCullough is a complex and deeply human character struggling to cope with the grand issues of modern life. "Imagine, if you can, a contemporary novel with the theological engagement of Dostoyevsky and the ethical seriousness of George Eliot... As a God Might Be addresses some of the most serious and pressing questions about our twenty-first century sense of identity without either cynicism or soppiness and it will confront all open-hearted (or minded) readers with themselves and the universe they stand in. This is a strange, disturbing and extremely beautiful novel. It is the sort of novel I thought could not be written nowadays. How lovely and exciting to be wrong" -- Sara Maitland, A Book of Silence"A bold, provocative and disorienting novel. Its metaphysical questing, moral conundrums and sexual entanglements are worthy of Iris Murdoch." -- Michael Arditti, Easter"There is no middle flight about this mighty novel. And at its heart there is that divine madness which is the mark of the true work of art." -- Mike McCormack, Solar Bones"As a God Might Be is written with energy and vividness and deals uncompromisingly honestly with the human complexities of encountering and speaking about God

Language

English
Publisher

Dodo Ink
Dimensions

5.59 x 1.97 x 8.39 inches
ISBN-10

0993575846
ISBN-13

978-0993575846
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Product details

Language ‏ : ‎ English
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0993575846
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0993575846
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.75 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.59 x 1.97 x 8.39 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,645,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #152,475 in Literary Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
16 ratings

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5 star		43%
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Top reviews from the United States

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Daniel Conway

Loving the unlovable

Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2019

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I purchased As A God Might Be in February 2018. Neil Griffiths is an author I greatly admire. (I discovered Betrayal in Naples at a bookstore in Naples, Italy, and immediately fell in love with it.) I was also curious: Why write a lengthy contemporary novel whose subject is plainly theological?

When As A God Might Be arrived, I put it on my bookshelf with other "to read" books. For more than 18 months, each time I was ready for a new book to read, I passed over Griffiths' work. The size was intimidating, but more importantly I wondered whether I really wanted to invest time and energy dealing with a (favorite) British author's conception of God which, I assumed, was very different from my own.

When I finally picked it up and began to read As A God Might be, I was still hesitant. "Do I really want to deal with this?" I asked myself. Several times in the beginning chapters, I considered abandoning the effort. Only my loyalty to Neil Griffiths and my curiosity about where the book was headed prevented me from giving up.

The 16th Century Spanish mystic St. John of the Cross counsels all who seek God: "Never give up on prayer, and should you find dryness or difficulty, persevere in it for this very reason. God often desires to see what love your soul has, and love is not tried by ease and satisfaction." Persevering in the face of doubt and darkness is a major theme of this great novel, and those who commit to As A God Might Be regardless of dryness or difficulty are richly rewarded.

I'm tempted to say that Griffiths poses but doesn't answer the questions that all genuine spiritual seekers ask, but that would be inaccurate. As A God Might Be asks, and answers, the question about God. You can quarrel with the way the question is asked, and you can disagree (as I do) with the way the answer is framed, but I believe that the novel's answer is true. God is Love, and we encounter God most intensely (and authentically) when we love the unlovable.

As A God Might Be is not for the fainthearted. But to those who persevere it offers a rare glimpse into the Face of Mercy, the mind and heart of God. Quite an achievement for a 21st century British author!

Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2018

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This very long novel I chose based on a review in the Tablet. It’s a story of a man who builds a church and the people in his life. They include his partner and twin children, and a group of teenagers helping on the building. He gets into monologues about faith, love and Christianity which don’t always work in context and could have better been left for the reader to work out for themselves. That said, it was worth the effort.

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2018

A bit disapointed!

I knew nothing about Neil Griffiths before hearing about his ...

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2018

I knew nothing about Neil Griffiths before hearing about his role in instigating the Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses. When I saw this book, my eye was caught by some of the names on the cover quotes, from Rowan Williams to Mike McCormack and Joanna Kavenna.

This book is nothing if not ambitious - it is a brave attempt to transplant the theological seriousness of the likes of Dostoyevsky into a 21st century context. However as a convinced atheist I cannot be the ideal reader for this and in order to review it fairly I will have to restrain my "inner Dawkins".

The plot revolves around Proctor McCullough, who works as a consultant for the government modelling responses to terrorist atrocities. He has a spiritual vision of a church by a cliff top and resolves to build it, finding a site in the West Country, risking estrangement from his partner and young twins and attracting a motley band of young followers who help him to realise the project and provide various tests to his faith and his resolve. The two main parts are referred to as New Testament and Old Testament (in that order!), perhaps reflecting the nature of the challenges.

For all these reservations I was very impressed and found most of the book very readable, and if it fails to match Dostoyevsky or to convince me that my lack of faith is wrong, that is understandable.

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Gumble's Yard

Neil Griffiths is a fierce advocate of the brilliant work being done by the small presses in the ...

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2018

Neil Griffiths is a fierce advocate of the brilliant work being done by the small presses in the UK and Ireland, which in these days are at the forefront of risk taking in literary fiction. He recently founded the Republic of Consciousness Prize to focus on these presses and their risk-taking in publishing "hardcore literary fiction" with "gorgeous prose" - and has been the greatest influence on my own reading in the last 12 months by introducing me to this world.

This is his third novel fulfils all of the criteria of the prize he founded - published by the excellent Dodo Ink, risk-taking in its subject matter (in the UK’s liberal, secular dominated publishing industry. a serious engagement with Christianity is now as close to a taboo subject as any in literature), hard-core in its literary antecedents (the influences of each of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Wallace Stevens, N. T. Wright, Marilynne Robinson, Blaise Pascal and Rowan Williams are clear and speak of the decades of wide ranging and engaged thought that has gone into this book) and gorgeous in it prose (particularly when the book’s main protagonist tries to capture the transcendence of his interactions with God).

Overall a quite magnificent undertaking, almost the last book I read in 2017 and of the 170+ I read, certainly the most ambitious and most thought provoking.

One to be recommended to Christians of sufficiently mature faith and to atheists of sufficiently mature imagination

Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2018

This is a masterpiece of faith - in god, our fellow man and ourselves - that is told with exquisite prose and exactly the kind of generous, open-hearted sense of inquiry the world needs right now. An incredible achievement.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Big enough to build a church in.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 2, 2018

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This is an infuriating book. Infuriating because it could have been a truly great book but ends up just being very, very good.

If you think, as I do, that the world still needs weighty 'theological' novels then you have found what you are looking for. If the word in scare quotes, err, scares you then take comfort from the fact that ultimately this is a novel about forgiveness.

Other reviewers have pointed out many of the merits of this book but seem happy to ignore the holes in the plot which are, well, big enough to build a church in. You even suspect the author knows that they are there when in the afterword he seems almost desperate to justify the 'artistic licence' employed.

So much of this book is brilliant but taking the easy route to get to the best parts of the plot (for reader and writer I suspect) just breaks the spell of what would otherwise be an amazing book. It is still a very good book, a five star book, but the kind you will lend to a friend, not the kind you will save until your child becomes an adult.

One person found this helpful

Gazza

An Enjoyable Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2019

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I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it. It is rather a large book and took me considerable time to read. But once you become familiar with the characters you just want to read on, and when I reached the end I did feel the journey had been worth it.

I hope you find my review helpful.

One person found this helpful

Justine Solomons

A Masterpiece

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2018

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I thought this was an extraordinary book, I first read it a few months ago when it came out and think about it often. It might be about death and bashing down our false constructs, or it could be about living more authentically I don't know, whatever the intention and whatever you get from the book, it's utterly worth your time. A masterpiece!

One person found this helpful

Patrick Howley

It isnsaid that to Understand existentialism is to have it ...

Reviewed in Australia on November 30, 2017

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It isnsaid that to Understand existentialism is to have it exemplified in a novel (Eg the Plague) Neil griffin is most certainly the most lucid exam[le of existewntial writing that I have expereinced.

ANXI HINTON

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 15, 2017

Verified Purchase

good buy

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