A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash

Title: A Land More Kind Than Home
Author: Wiley Cash
Hardcover: 320 pages
Pub Date: April 17, 2012
Publisher: William Morrow
Rating: ++

Summary from goodreads:

For a curious boy like Jess Hall, growing up in Marshall means trouble when your mother catches you spying on grown-ups. Adventurous and precocious, Jess is enormously protective of his older brother, Christopher, a mute whom everyone calls Stump. Though their mother has warned them not to snoop, Stump can’t help sneaking a look at something he’s not supposed to—an act that will have catastrophic repercussions, shattering both his world and Jess’s. It’s a wrenching event that thrusts Jess into an adulthood for which he’s not prepared. While there is much about the world that still confuses him, he now knows that a new understanding can bring not only a growing danger and evil—but also the possibility of freedom and deliverance as well.

Review:

When this book came out I was really excited to read it. The story sounded interesting and it was getting some good buzz. I am always looking for great debut authors, so I wanted to read it.

There were some aspects in the novel that made it very hard for me to like it. The church in it is one of those churches with the snakes, smothering to heal and speaking in tongues. Their methods are dangerous (two people died during a service) and while i am respectful of people practicing their religions, I think when people are in danger it is irresponsible and I cannot sympathize with any adults who have chosen to expose themselves and their families to it.

I also don’t think the book went in depth enough with why. Why did all of these people put themselves in danger since this wasn’t what their church used to do? Why would anyone, especially these relatively normal people, follow such a horrible person as their preacher? Why didn’t the the most rational character report the preacher when he threatened her? This all made the mystery a little weaker.

I also usually like flashbacks in books, but i feel like they weren’t done as well as it could have been. They felt random and it was sometimes hard to tell when it came back to the present.

If you really like southern fiction, this still might be for you, it just wasn’t a book for me. Though I have to say, I think the cover is gorgeous! I love the colors and it really stands out.

Have you been disappointed in any books you thought you would really like lately?