Sigh…
This is a book I debated about putting on this site because it is one of the worst books I’ve read lately, but reviews are about honesty and public service, so here is one to avoid.
(My Goodreads Review)
This book is advertised as a modern-day parable, but it is absolutely not a parable. Parables are gentle and subtle, allowing the reader to extrapolate the message on their own. This book was the complete opposite of subtle. It was a sledgehammer grinding a message into the reader.
The premise sounded interesting: a self-absorbed shopaholic meets Jesus on the subway who admonishes her materialistic ways and forces her into a new setting–India, of all places–to care for the forgotten. But it is all downhill from there…
As a Christian book I found it ridiculous, tedious, and very heavy handed. The characterization of Jesus Christ was appalling. None of us ask to be born in a certain time or place. I felt like I was being made to feel guilty for being born into a middle-class American family while others are suffering. One person’s blessings are not the cause of someone else’s suffering, and that is the way this story is told. And no, I did not miss the message. How could I? It had all the subtlety of a buffalo playing the tuba.
After having just read Unaccustomed Earth, with its exquisite high quality writing and subtle, yet powerful, messages about interpersonal relationships within families, this book was insulting. I felt talked down to by the writer.
Both Goodreads and Amazon give praise to this book through their many reviews, although there are a few who share my opinion. It is terrible.
3/10 Stars
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