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ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
5.0
Mark Haines is a security guard, working at a light industry park in the down-at-its-heels city of Oceanside, California. He surfs a bit, enjoys a breakfast burrito and works hard to keep himself together and to himself. He had been the youth pastor at a mega-church until he lost his faith and went of the rails, which left him with a daughter who won't speak to him, an ex-wife who still prays for him and little else. Then, one morning, he pays for a hitchhiker's meal and is pulled right back into life again, but also a lot of trouble. The hitchhiker is a young woman running from her past, but she's been associating with some shady characters, which may all lead Mark into more trouble than even a cynical loner can handle.
This novel combines two things that I like a lot. The first is a well-told and solidly plotted noir, and the other is a complex and nuanced main character. Coleman does a superb job telling Mark's story and in creating a character whose every action stems from who he is and what happened to him in the past. Mark is a thinker and an analyser, not at all compassionate with himself, but who does understand people. Coleman is also a talented writer. His descriptions of Oceanside and of the communities further inland are atmospheric and razor-sharp. I wasn't sure I'd want to spend an entire novel with a judgmental white dude like Mark Haines, but by the second chapter I was utterly hooked. Literary noir doesn't get much better than this.
This novel combines two things that I like a lot. The first is a well-told and solidly plotted noir, and the other is a complex and nuanced main character. Coleman does a superb job telling Mark's story and in creating a character whose every action stems from who he is and what happened to him in the past. Mark is a thinker and an analyser, not at all compassionate with himself, but who does understand people. Coleman is also a talented writer. His descriptions of Oceanside and of the communities further inland are atmospheric and razor-sharp. I wasn't sure I'd want to spend an entire novel with a judgmental white dude like Mark Haines, but by the second chapter I was utterly hooked. Literary noir doesn't get much better than this.
citizen_noir's review against another edition
5.0
Usually I can tell whether I like a book or not by the length of time it takes me to read it. If I like it, it’ll go fast. If I love it, it’ll go even faster; an intense feeding that happens at all hours of the day and night. But with THE CHURCHGOER, the spectacular debut novel by Patrick Coleman, I purposefully slowed down, savoring not just the elegantly paced plot, but every morsel of Coleman’s sentence structure and word choice.
Coleman is an interesting writer. His work has appeared in literary journals and a book of poetry even won a prize in 2015. As a lover of crime noir, I love that his debut novel is set as a surf noir.
Believe it or not, surf noir is a scintillating sub genre of mystery fiction. Amidst the stacks of crime sub genres, besotted with everything from cat detectives
to run of the mill hard boiled dicks, rides a glorious wave of surf noir. Have you read (or even heard of) TAPPING THE SOURCE or THE DOGS OF WINTER by Kem Nunn? How about CUTTER AND BONE, TO DIE IN LA or DREAMLAND by Newton Thornburg? More recently how about Don Winslow’s THE DAWN PATROL, THE GENTLEMAN’S HOUR, SAVAGES, and THE WINTER OF FRANKIE MACHINE? Or, if you’re into nonfiction, the Pulitzer Prize winning BARBARIAN DAYS by William Finnegan?
You can’t miss with any of these books, and that includes Coleman’s debut about Mark Haines, a former evangelical youth pastor who abandons his wife, his daughter, and his beliefs. If you’re looking for a great novel - not just a mystery, but a spectacular, well-written novel - look no further than this book. Oh yeah, those other books are really great, too.
Coleman is an interesting writer. His work has appeared in literary journals and a book of poetry even won a prize in 2015. As a lover of crime noir, I love that his debut novel is set as a surf noir.
Believe it or not, surf noir is a scintillating sub genre of mystery fiction. Amidst the stacks of crime sub genres, besotted with everything from cat detectives
to run of the mill hard boiled dicks, rides a glorious wave of surf noir. Have you read (or even heard of) TAPPING THE SOURCE or THE DOGS OF WINTER by Kem Nunn? How about CUTTER AND BONE, TO DIE IN LA or DREAMLAND by Newton Thornburg? More recently how about Don Winslow’s THE DAWN PATROL, THE GENTLEMAN’S HOUR, SAVAGES, and THE WINTER OF FRANKIE MACHINE? Or, if you’re into nonfiction, the Pulitzer Prize winning BARBARIAN DAYS by William Finnegan?
You can’t miss with any of these books, and that includes Coleman’s debut about Mark Haines, a former evangelical youth pastor who abandons his wife, his daughter, and his beliefs. If you’re looking for a great novel - not just a mystery, but a spectacular, well-written novel - look no further than this book. Oh yeah, those other books are really great, too.
waxingquixotic's review against another edition
3.0
The Churchgoer is basically an old-fashioned, seedy, noir, San Diegan mystery cobbled together with what appears to be excerpts from Patrick Coleman’s existential, meandering, nonfictional blog titled Why I Hate Church and You Should, Too! I don’t think he really has a blog, but he does hate church, man.
And in some weird way, as a guy who has wrestled extensively with his old childhood faith lately, this book struck a chord with me. I’m not anywhere near the level the protagonist (was it Mike or Mark?) is. He’s in a really bad spot, and his life is at a very low point, and, as far as he is concerned, it’s all God’s fault. I’m not Mark (or Mike). I’m not drifting along in San Diego, surfing, recovering from alcoholism, and getting in over my head and trying to solve a mystery. But, some of what he has to say when he rambled on about church and stuff spoke to me, and then it just annoyed me and then it angered me and then I just felt apathetic about the whole thing.
This isn’t your typical dark mystery novel about a disappearing woman though. That does happen, and a lot of the book is dedicated to that plot, but this is more of a character study. This is more about a guy losing his faith in one thing and searching for somewhere new to stick it. At times, Mark reminded me of Howard from Uncut Gems (and the book kind of has that same vibe, actually). You don’t really ever root for him at all, but you’re interested in what he’s doing and where he ends up. You never really feel sorry for him, but you want to see him come out on the other side.
The book starts strong, but it loses its focus on the middle and it really loses its footing. Coleman presses pause on a lot of what drove the first third of the book and spends too many chapters with Mark venting about church, going back to church, bashing church, etc. You spend way too much time in his head, and his character just kind of falls apart and you don’t care anymore after a while.
In the end, when you learn more, it’s almost too little too late. And then the story and the mystery wrap up really quickly and remind you it was never about that anyway. His is about Mark, who you meet in the present and eventually learn more about his past, but who you ultimately lose interest in because he’s lost interest in everything anyway. Coleman may have found a better groove by writing some kind of atheist book like Dawkins or Hitchens first and then coming back to writing a noir tale from the beaches of San Diego. The two things mixed together don’t always jive well, and the book really feels disjointed and unorganized at times because of it.
Anyway, it’s gonna be a TV show or something I guess, and it may work better on screen if they can find a better balance of compelling mystery and character study.
And in some weird way, as a guy who has wrestled extensively with his old childhood faith lately, this book struck a chord with me. I’m not anywhere near the level the protagonist (was it Mike or Mark?) is. He’s in a really bad spot, and his life is at a very low point, and, as far as he is concerned, it’s all God’s fault. I’m not Mark (or Mike). I’m not drifting along in San Diego, surfing, recovering from alcoholism, and getting in over my head and trying to solve a mystery. But, some of what he has to say when he rambled on about church and stuff spoke to me, and then it just annoyed me and then it angered me and then I just felt apathetic about the whole thing.
This isn’t your typical dark mystery novel about a disappearing woman though. That does happen, and a lot of the book is dedicated to that plot, but this is more of a character study. This is more about a guy losing his faith in one thing and searching for somewhere new to stick it. At times, Mark reminded me of Howard from Uncut Gems (and the book kind of has that same vibe, actually). You don’t really ever root for him at all, but you’re interested in what he’s doing and where he ends up. You never really feel sorry for him, but you want to see him come out on the other side.
The book starts strong, but it loses its focus on the middle and it really loses its footing. Coleman presses pause on a lot of what drove the first third of the book and spends too many chapters with Mark venting about church, going back to church, bashing church, etc. You spend way too much time in his head, and his character just kind of falls apart and you don’t care anymore after a while.
In the end, when you learn more, it’s almost too little too late. And then the story and the mystery wrap up really quickly and remind you it was never about that anyway. His is about Mark, who you meet in the present and eventually learn more about his past, but who you ultimately lose interest in because he’s lost interest in everything anyway. Coleman may have found a better groove by writing some kind of atheist book like Dawkins or Hitchens first and then coming back to writing a noir tale from the beaches of San Diego. The two things mixed together don’t always jive well, and the book really feels disjointed and unorganized at times because of it.
Anyway, it’s gonna be a TV show or something I guess, and it may work better on screen if they can find a better balance of compelling mystery and character study.
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
It’s clear that Patrick Coleman has an axe to grind against evangelical culture. He uses The Churchgoer as an outlet to do so.
I’m a Christian and while I’ve always been a mainline Protestant one (translation: a tad more open-minded than many), I’m quite familiar with the evangelical culture Coleman is skewering here. Many of his references and stories brought back flashbacks to my own life. Attendance numbers have steadily declined in these churches for the last decade (reflective of a decline in church attendance amongst all denominations) but in the 90s and aughts, they were cultural powerhouses. The music, the preachers, the musicians. It was everywhere.
The faith aspect of it is one thing. I’m never going to disrespect anyone’s faith, or lack thereof. But the structure of many of the churches leaves something to be desired. Coleman goes after both. In the latter, he does a much better job. He knows the lingo, the methods, the people. He knows how it works. The former…well it didn’t bother me. I read plenty of atheist or non-theist writers. But the main character’s lack of faith sometimes leads into long internal monologues about life and love. Some work, others don’t.
Those monologues comprise about 60% of the book itself. The rest is the mystery, which is standard issue crime fare and good enough for a first time novel writer. You basically have to decide if you’re willing to set the mystery aside for large parts of the novel in favor of a misanthrope’s musings. It worked for me. It may not work for you.
I’m a Christian and while I’ve always been a mainline Protestant one (translation: a tad more open-minded than many), I’m quite familiar with the evangelical culture Coleman is skewering here. Many of his references and stories brought back flashbacks to my own life. Attendance numbers have steadily declined in these churches for the last decade (reflective of a decline in church attendance amongst all denominations) but in the 90s and aughts, they were cultural powerhouses. The music, the preachers, the musicians. It was everywhere.
The faith aspect of it is one thing. I’m never going to disrespect anyone’s faith, or lack thereof. But the structure of many of the churches leaves something to be desired. Coleman goes after both. In the latter, he does a much better job. He knows the lingo, the methods, the people. He knows how it works. The former…well it didn’t bother me. I read plenty of atheist or non-theist writers. But the main character’s lack of faith sometimes leads into long internal monologues about life and love. Some work, others don’t.
Those monologues comprise about 60% of the book itself. The rest is the mystery, which is standard issue crime fare and good enough for a first time novel writer. You basically have to decide if you’re willing to set the mystery aside for large parts of the novel in favor of a misanthrope’s musings. It worked for me. It may not work for you.
anniejune67's review against another edition
2.0
DNF after about 33% in. I was craving a noir and the synopsis of this one was really appealing to me. My issue was that while I usually expect an edge to the main character of a noir, there is usually some trait or characteristic that makes a reader empathize with them to keep them interested. This MC was just a loathsome thing... I'm willing to bet he develops more later on but it was honestly taking too long. There just wasn't really a hook that kept me interested. Maybe I will try again later.
rebecca_isreading's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks to the publisher, via Netgalley, for an advance e-galley for honest review.
The style of The Churchgoer wasn't quite what I expected- I had it in my head that this would be more plot-driven mystery, but this is more literary fiction style noir. It's a dark story, and it seems unlikely at many points that the main character will make it out alive or not behind bars, making this a bit of a nail-biter. I struggled to understand why the character of Cindy meant so much to main character Mark (misdirected feelings regarding his estranged daughter? Maybe?) that he went to the lengths that he did, but in general I feel like I maybe just missed the mark on this book in general.
The style of The Churchgoer wasn't quite what I expected- I had it in my head that this would be more plot-driven mystery, but this is more literary fiction style noir. It's a dark story, and it seems unlikely at many points that the main character will make it out alive or not behind bars, making this a bit of a nail-biter. I struggled to understand why the character of Cindy meant so much to main character Mark (misdirected feelings regarding his estranged daughter? Maybe?) that he went to the lengths that he did, but in general I feel like I maybe just missed the mark on this book in general.
maxwelldunn's review against another edition
2.0
Unfortunately this was a bit disappointing. I was initially drawn to this book because it is set in San Diego, and as a native of the city I thought it would be fun to read a book set here (as I've only ever read one other book ever that's set in the area). And that aspect was fun—to read about very specific places, neighborhoods, restaurants, streets that I grew up going to. But it wasn't enough to win me over.
The story is very slow and the core motivation is lacking. It tries to tackle too many subjects, and ironically, while being anti-religious it ends up becoming a bit preachy and one-note. By the end I found myself skimming the longer passages and eager to get to the end. The characters weren't well realized enough to have my full attention, and unfortunately neither was the plot.
The story is very slow and the core motivation is lacking. It tries to tackle too many subjects, and ironically, while being anti-religious it ends up becoming a bit preachy and one-note. By the end I found myself skimming the longer passages and eager to get to the end. The characters weren't well realized enough to have my full attention, and unfortunately neither was the plot.
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