Jesus Saves
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Book Overview
From one of the most daring young writers in America, Jesus Saves, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, is a suburban gothic that explores the sources of evil, confronts the dynamic shifts within theology, and traces the consequences of suburban alienation. Set in the modern launch pads of adolescent ritual, the strip malls and duplexes on the back side of suburbia, it's the story of two girls: Ginger, a troubled minister's daughter; and Sandy Patrick, who has been abducted from summer camp and now smiles from missing-child posters all over town. Layering the dreamscapes of Alice in Wonderland with the subculture of River's Edge, Darcey Steinke's Jesus Saves is an unforgettable passage through the depths of the literary imagination.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0802135986
ISBN13:9780802135988
Release Date:January 1999
Publisher:Grove Press
Length:224 Pages
Weight:0.62 lbs.
Dimensions:0.6" x 5.5" x 8.2"
Customer Reviews
5 ratings
Consider Me Saved
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
I just went to buy this book for a friend and I was stunned by the low ratings and mixed reviews. This book does some emotional damage on its reader, but in the best possible way. The author picked up on our culture's fascination with child abductions years before the current media outbreak. There's something very prescient about the storyline. A word about the language--it's surreal and strange and ultimately closer to poetry than prose. To me this is one of the book's great strengths. It's not an easy book, but it's a wild ride. Check it out.
Spiritual Confusion and Suburban Angst
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
I don't know what those who have posted negative reviews of this excellent novel are talking about. This is one of the best books I have ever read. In clear, shaking prose, Steinke lays out an entire landscape of malls, churches and subdivisions, a world achingly familiar but strikingly different from our own. The thoughts of her two conflicted and endangered adolescent female characters ring true and brutal. As the novel progresses, Steinke's world becomes more and more unreal. Her characters descend into a world like that of Henry Darger's paintings - visceral, violent, and beautiful. This is an important book. I recommend it to everyone of every age - especially young women. I read this book first at age 14 and it changed my life. Now that I'm 20, I still read it every few months. Don't let bad press keep you away from this amazing novel.
As Good As Suicide Blonde....If Not Better
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
This book is as good as Suicide Blonde.....if not better. She touches base with a reality not many people even know exists....if you haven't already read Suicide Blonde also by Steinke, Please do it too is an in incredible book.
Sickening, though spiritual
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
I was entranced by the gore and unable to put the book down even when scenes became grossly disturbing. Ginger, the protagonist, wanders between the structured moral life of a minister's daughter and the morbidly depressing society outside her home. Sandy, the kidnapped girl, is trapped in a gruesome situation from which she escapes only through her memories and imagination. The girls' lives are juxtaposed as both experience comfort and order versus dizzying decay in making sense of their lives. Did I mention I liked Sandy's Lewis Carroll-like imagination?
Absolutely terrific
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
Terrifying, sad, beautifully written, and full of amazing images. I kept asking myself how she did it--it's that good. If you like watching Unsolved Mysteries late at night, here's a book for you.
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