In this gritty portrait of a young girl who battles repression in a rural Southern religious community, Reynolds (Bitterroot Landing) once again showcases a compelling narrative voice that's simultaneously harsh and lyrical. The narrator is Ninah Huff, granddaughter of Herman Langston, the founder of a Pentecostal sect in rural South Carolina. Herman is a strict disciplinarian, to say the least: he forces one congregant found guilty of drinking to sleep in an open grave. Because of the Pentecostal group's rigid attitudes, Ninah and her peers are frequently scorned and mocked at school. But her real problems start when she becomes pregnant by her prayer partner. Ninah's subsequent rebellion and the tragic aftermath of her tryst threaten to tear the community apart, particularly when the despotic Herman interprets an ordinary, curable birth defect in her infant son, Canaan, as a sign that she has given birth to the new messiah. While many of the issues Reynolds deals with are coming-of-age staples-teen rebellion; the standoff between adolescent expression and religious repression; the morality of the individual vs. the morality of the group-her gift for characterization ultimately transcends the material as Ninah's strength and resilience enable her to move beyond benighted religiosity toward a true and lasting faith. Literary Guild featured alternate selection.
Novelist Sheri Reynolds weaves lyrical prose and folksy dialogue into her spellbinding tales. The Rapture of Canaan, a New York Times best-seller, is the moving story of a teenaged girl clashing with her harshly controlled world. Growing up in a closed religious community deep in the rural South, 15-year-old Ninah Huff painstakingly and obediently follows her church's many rules-she knows that public humiliation follows the smallest transgression. But lately she can't stop thinking about how handsome James is, even when she should be praying. Ashamed and confused, she hides her feelings. However, when the elders assign James as her prayer partner, she takes her first steps down a path away from the security and blind belief of her upbringing. With warmth and compassion, Sheri Reynolds embeds rich wisdom throughout this compelling novel. Narrator Alyssa Bresnahan skillfully brings out Ninah's joy, uncertainty, and despair as she searches for a truth that brings freedom.
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The Rapture of Canaan
Novelist Sheri Reynolds weaves lyrical prose and folksy dialogue into her spellbinding tales. The Rapture of Canaan, a New York Times best-seller, is the moving story of a teenaged girl clashing with her harshly controlled world. Growing up in a closed religious community deep in the rural South, 15-year-old Ninah Huff painstakingly and obediently follows her church's many rules-she knows that public humiliation follows the smallest transgression. But lately she can't stop thinking about how handsome James is, even when she should be praying. Ashamed and confused, she hides her feelings. However, when the elders assign James as her prayer partner, she takes her first steps down a path away from the security and blind belief of her upbringing. With warmth and compassion, Sheri Reynolds embeds rich wisdom throughout this compelling novel. Narrator Alyssa Bresnahan skillfully brings out Ninah's joy, uncertainty, and despair as she searches for a truth that brings freedom.
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Product Details
BN ID: | 2940171079192 |
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Publisher: | Recorded Books, LLC |
Publication date: | 03/04/2011 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
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