jess_zf's review
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
gothytim's review against another edition
3.0
A well-written book that contained some interesting ideas, but laid them on too thickly in places for my tastes - especially Gabrielle's relationship woes, though the "methane is dangerous!!!" theme also grated at times.
aliceandthegiantbookshelf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
desirosie's review against another edition
2.0
This book is not about what the title immediately suggests. It was a decent enough, suspenseful read about eco-catastrophe.
fastfinge's review
3.0
This wasn't the book I expected to get when I started it. Fortunately, I did enjoy what it turned out to be.
unisonlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
I was slightly apprehensive about reading this book as the cover and title suggest a pseudo-biblical, evangelical romp through a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah. Happily, I can report that this is not the case and it’s a fast paced thriller that satisfies though remains somewhat predictable throughout. The first person narrator and central character is a paralysed therapist who is assigned to the case of a teenage matricidal girl who she discovers can also predict, with unnerving accuracy, upcoming natural disasters. Some of the other characters could have done with a little more developing including the love interest for Gabrielle Fox (central character) of whom we never quite find out his background and how he came across the story of Bethany Krall (patient). Minor niggles aside this not-quite dystopian thriller ticks the relevant boxes of any Michael Crichton or Clive Cussler and is probably better written as well. The emotional scenes are quite touching and the action hurtles along to the inevitable climax and closing monologue surrounding global warming and impending ecological doom.
secre's review against another edition
3.0
To begin with I must say that this is not my usual style of book by any stretch of the imagination. I was wandering through Waterstones and had already found two books for a 3 for 2 deal and this ended up being the third as it intrigued me. This is the story of the apocalypse, or the story of global warming, or the story of corrupt businesses not taking enough care to check for catastrophes that are just waiting to happen. But most of all it is the story of evangelical Christianity gone badly wrong, an insane teenager correctly predicting the dates of natural disasters and a psychologist torn between belief and disbelief, whilst trying to come to terms with her own serious personal issues. It is the story of a doctor's honour and a patient's struggle to be heard. It sounded quite interesting and as the freebie in my book buying spree, it seemed worth a shot.
===Plot===
Gabrielle Fox is a professional psychologist, or at least she was until a car accident with her boyfriend left her permanently paralysed from the waist down. She is now attempting to rebuild her career as a psychologist during a merciless summer of biblical heat and destructive winds. The first new case she is assigned to however is Bethany Krull, a teenager who is violent, delusional and insistent that she can foresee natural disasters after being given ECT treatment. The issue becomes far more complicated though when Bethany's predictions start coming true, even down to the exact date that they were going to happen on. But who's going to believe a teenager who's locked up in a mental institution for murdering her mother? The answer to that by the way is: Not many. And Gabrielle Fox also has the issue of Bethany's previous psychologist, Joy McCony, who truly does believe in Bethany's ability to predict these disastrous events but went one step further. She had come to the conclusion that Bethany was evil and she wasn't just predicting events, but was actively and deliberately causing these disasters. Needless to say she found herself immediately dismissed for health reasons. But this leaves Gabrielle in an even bigger fix, because throughout the novel she slowly begins to believe that Bethany is able to predict disasters after event after event falls into place, and she doesn't want to look just as insane as her predecessor. Equally, she is beginning to feel like a murderer by default as she has had knowledge of events that have killed thousands of people, and she could have warned them.
This is where the third main character, Frazer Melville comes into the picture; a physicist who listens and believes but is equally as powerless as she is. A rather random and slightly weak love story emerges between Gabrielle Fox and Frazer Melville which I suppose is both meant to be some light hearted relief, as well as to give us some empathy for Gabrielle. Once those two meet, talk and start a relationship the true story really begins, as they desperately try to get people to believe them. But at the same time they have to try to keep the teenager happy and healthy which is more than a little bit tricky considering that she's not the sanest of characters, whilst also trying to maintain their professional integrity.
===Characters===
I've already introduced the three main characters, and there's not a lot more I can say about them without ruining the plot of the novel. What does need to be said though is that it is very difficult to empathise with most of the characters, they seem to be very thinly written, without properly formatted background, emotions or motives. Although I found the plot interesting and wanted to keep reading to the end, the characters as a whole were one of the weakest parts of the book. And without good characters you are going to struggle to keep even the best of plots going well.
Bethany actually does seem insane for the majority of the book, which I suppose is a good thing as it gives a realistic character who is what it says on the tin. Unfortunately because she is so violently insane you have very little empathy for her and, it sounds awful but, you just don't care about her. A sympathy ploy is attempted later in the book but it's too little, too late. Gabrielle is not developed enough for a main character; she's weakly written and seems to have very little motive for her actions and to make matters worse, Frazer is just annoying. You feel more for him than the other two, but it's never a particularly pleasant emotion. To really enter into the world of a novel you have to have the ability to be able to emphasise with the characters, or at least one of them, and this is impossible with this particular novel. Liz Jensen has put a lot of effort into the plot and seems to expect this to carry the novel, and although it is interesting it just doesn't quite work as you aren't involved enough with the characters to actually care.
===Themes===
However interesting the plot of the novel is, this is a book based on themes and issues which it is trying to bring to our attention. Because it is so based on these themes I think they deserve to be discussed in more detail.
Evangelical religion: This is a very well done critique about the dangers of Evangelical religion, of belief without reason and the belief in evil being able to possess people. Religion in itself is good and it brings a large amount of comfort to a lot people, but there is something scary and potentially dangerous about fundamental, evangelical religion. There is a major difference between belief in God, allowing yourself to take comfort from it but being able to rationally discuss your faith, and a fundamentalist view which allows for no rationality or discussion. It is that fundamentalist belief that is being discussed in this book. Bethany's father is a preacher who truly believes that his daughter is evil, and who believed this long before Bethany killed her mother and he believes this solely for religious reasons. Liz Jensen is trying to show how dangerous religion can be when people take their 'literal' interpretation of the Bible and refuse to accept anything else. But that is not the only danger that is being critiqued in this novel; the title of the novel is 'The Rapture', and the reason for this is the evangelical's immediate response to the news of natural disaster being predicted by a teenager was that the rapture was coming. Because of the way they saw these events they wouldn't try to save themselves or their children, because this was God's will. It was God's will that the world was ending, and so therefore it was God's will that they should die.
There was also an interesting theory approached in the books which I have only ever heard once before, (unfortunately by a religious fundamentalist who really winds me up, so I'd just dismissed it as a nutcase argument by a thoroughly annoying fanatic). Back to the case in hand though, the argument is that life is full of hardship and pain and therefore we should not bring children into a world where we know that they are going to be hurt. This view suggests that we are playing God by having children, and we cannot blame God for suffering when it is our fault for bringing vulnerable young children into our world. I still think that it's a ridiculous argument used by irritating religious fanatics, but it was actually expressed with a certain amount of reasoned debate in this book. I'll leave you to chew over that one.
Science: This novel also explores the use of science and how it can be used to prove what at first glance does not appear to be provable. But again this book is also showing the dangers of believing entirely in science and not allowing yourself to entertain the possibility that there might just be something else out there that cannot be proven. This is the pit that many of Frazer Melville's contemporaries fall into as they believe that he is disturbed due to his mothers death. This is also how Gabrielle Fox's superiors think, as they believe that she must have been more disturbed by her accident than they had previously thought. As an author, Liz Jensen has walked this line very carefully indeed, and has shown that at their extremes both science and religion can be very dangerous indeed.
Global Warming: At least in part this book is being used to show what the possible consequences of us using the earth in the way we have. However it does not seek to patronise, lecture or educate; Liz Jensen is just putting forward a possibility which is more than a little unlikely, but makes quite freaky reading. It does make you think about the consequences of our actions and how we may end up reaping what we sow.
===My reaction===
Wow, for a book I just picked off the shelf as a spur of the moment decision, I was glad I did. It was interesting, and at times gripping reading. It covered several issues that I am deeply interested in, and had a plot which made me desperately want to find out what happens in the main story, but also to the main characters. So far it seems perfect.
BUT (and yes, you knew there had to be a 'but'!), it didn't touch me. That may seem like a trivial point, but to me I find it essential. Something was missing all the way through the novel. I didn't empathise with any of the characters as they all seemed too extreme or just lacking any real character. There wasn't anything that I could sink my teeth into and allow me to get into the head of the characters. Another issue which I found was that it was so full of science that I didn't fully grasp it (science has always been my weak spot!) and it just seemed to lack proper emotion. Liz Jensen does attempt to fill in this hole with the love story between Gabrielle and Frazer, but this appears to weak, forced and put in for the sake of a love story and some light heartedness. I don't know, in theory this book should tick all the boxes for an interesting and enthralling read, but I left it finding that I had never truly entered the world of the novel and feeling somewhat cheated. But that may just be me.
I think at least part of my reaction is that this is one of the first books I have read in the past 4 years in which I have not been able to find a single quote to put into my Common Place Books. These are basically notebooks with quotes, paragraphs or even pages of books, TV shows or films that have struck a chord with me. But they are mostly full of parts from books, and it is exceptionally rare that there is nothing in a book which I feel is worth writing down. But nothing seemed to jump out at me from the novel.
===Conclusion===
This is a book that you may love, if you are interested in this. I'm glad I read it as I did enjoy it but I don't think I'd read it again. The story was strong but the characters were so weak that it ruined it completely, but maybe you'll get on with it better than me.
===Plot===
Gabrielle Fox is a professional psychologist, or at least she was until a car accident with her boyfriend left her permanently paralysed from the waist down. She is now attempting to rebuild her career as a psychologist during a merciless summer of biblical heat and destructive winds. The first new case she is assigned to however is Bethany Krull, a teenager who is violent, delusional and insistent that she can foresee natural disasters after being given ECT treatment. The issue becomes far more complicated though when Bethany's predictions start coming true, even down to the exact date that they were going to happen on. But who's going to believe a teenager who's locked up in a mental institution for murdering her mother? The answer to that by the way is: Not many. And Gabrielle Fox also has the issue of Bethany's previous psychologist, Joy McCony, who truly does believe in Bethany's ability to predict these disastrous events but went one step further. She had come to the conclusion that Bethany was evil and she wasn't just predicting events, but was actively and deliberately causing these disasters. Needless to say she found herself immediately dismissed for health reasons. But this leaves Gabrielle in an even bigger fix, because throughout the novel she slowly begins to believe that Bethany is able to predict disasters after event after event falls into place, and she doesn't want to look just as insane as her predecessor. Equally, she is beginning to feel like a murderer by default as she has had knowledge of events that have killed thousands of people, and she could have warned them.
This is where the third main character, Frazer Melville comes into the picture; a physicist who listens and believes but is equally as powerless as she is. A rather random and slightly weak love story emerges between Gabrielle Fox and Frazer Melville which I suppose is both meant to be some light hearted relief, as well as to give us some empathy for Gabrielle. Once those two meet, talk and start a relationship the true story really begins, as they desperately try to get people to believe them. But at the same time they have to try to keep the teenager happy and healthy which is more than a little bit tricky considering that she's not the sanest of characters, whilst also trying to maintain their professional integrity.
===Characters===
I've already introduced the three main characters, and there's not a lot more I can say about them without ruining the plot of the novel. What does need to be said though is that it is very difficult to empathise with most of the characters, they seem to be very thinly written, without properly formatted background, emotions or motives. Although I found the plot interesting and wanted to keep reading to the end, the characters as a whole were one of the weakest parts of the book. And without good characters you are going to struggle to keep even the best of plots going well.
Bethany actually does seem insane for the majority of the book, which I suppose is a good thing as it gives a realistic character who is what it says on the tin. Unfortunately because she is so violently insane you have very little empathy for her and, it sounds awful but, you just don't care about her. A sympathy ploy is attempted later in the book but it's too little, too late. Gabrielle is not developed enough for a main character; she's weakly written and seems to have very little motive for her actions and to make matters worse, Frazer is just annoying. You feel more for him than the other two, but it's never a particularly pleasant emotion. To really enter into the world of a novel you have to have the ability to be able to emphasise with the characters, or at least one of them, and this is impossible with this particular novel. Liz Jensen has put a lot of effort into the plot and seems to expect this to carry the novel, and although it is interesting it just doesn't quite work as you aren't involved enough with the characters to actually care.
===Themes===
However interesting the plot of the novel is, this is a book based on themes and issues which it is trying to bring to our attention. Because it is so based on these themes I think they deserve to be discussed in more detail.
Evangelical religion: This is a very well done critique about the dangers of Evangelical religion, of belief without reason and the belief in evil being able to possess people. Religion in itself is good and it brings a large amount of comfort to a lot people, but there is something scary and potentially dangerous about fundamental, evangelical religion. There is a major difference between belief in God, allowing yourself to take comfort from it but being able to rationally discuss your faith, and a fundamentalist view which allows for no rationality or discussion. It is that fundamentalist belief that is being discussed in this book. Bethany's father is a preacher who truly believes that his daughter is evil, and who believed this long before Bethany killed her mother and he believes this solely for religious reasons. Liz Jensen is trying to show how dangerous religion can be when people take their 'literal' interpretation of the Bible and refuse to accept anything else. But that is not the only danger that is being critiqued in this novel; the title of the novel is 'The Rapture', and the reason for this is the evangelical's immediate response to the news of natural disaster being predicted by a teenager was that the rapture was coming. Because of the way they saw these events they wouldn't try to save themselves or their children, because this was God's will. It was God's will that the world was ending, and so therefore it was God's will that they should die.
There was also an interesting theory approached in the books which I have only ever heard once before, (unfortunately by a religious fundamentalist who really winds me up, so I'd just dismissed it as a nutcase argument by a thoroughly annoying fanatic). Back to the case in hand though, the argument is that life is full of hardship and pain and therefore we should not bring children into a world where we know that they are going to be hurt. This view suggests that we are playing God by having children, and we cannot blame God for suffering when it is our fault for bringing vulnerable young children into our world. I still think that it's a ridiculous argument used by irritating religious fanatics, but it was actually expressed with a certain amount of reasoned debate in this book. I'll leave you to chew over that one.
Science: This novel also explores the use of science and how it can be used to prove what at first glance does not appear to be provable. But again this book is also showing the dangers of believing entirely in science and not allowing yourself to entertain the possibility that there might just be something else out there that cannot be proven. This is the pit that many of Frazer Melville's contemporaries fall into as they believe that he is disturbed due to his mothers death. This is also how Gabrielle Fox's superiors think, as they believe that she must have been more disturbed by her accident than they had previously thought. As an author, Liz Jensen has walked this line very carefully indeed, and has shown that at their extremes both science and religion can be very dangerous indeed.
Global Warming: At least in part this book is being used to show what the possible consequences of us using the earth in the way we have. However it does not seek to patronise, lecture or educate; Liz Jensen is just putting forward a possibility which is more than a little unlikely, but makes quite freaky reading. It does make you think about the consequences of our actions and how we may end up reaping what we sow.
===My reaction===
Wow, for a book I just picked off the shelf as a spur of the moment decision, I was glad I did. It was interesting, and at times gripping reading. It covered several issues that I am deeply interested in, and had a plot which made me desperately want to find out what happens in the main story, but also to the main characters. So far it seems perfect.
BUT (and yes, you knew there had to be a 'but'!), it didn't touch me. That may seem like a trivial point, but to me I find it essential. Something was missing all the way through the novel. I didn't empathise with any of the characters as they all seemed too extreme or just lacking any real character. There wasn't anything that I could sink my teeth into and allow me to get into the head of the characters. Another issue which I found was that it was so full of science that I didn't fully grasp it (science has always been my weak spot!) and it just seemed to lack proper emotion. Liz Jensen does attempt to fill in this hole with the love story between Gabrielle and Frazer, but this appears to weak, forced and put in for the sake of a love story and some light heartedness. I don't know, in theory this book should tick all the boxes for an interesting and enthralling read, but I left it finding that I had never truly entered the world of the novel and feeling somewhat cheated. But that may just be me.
I think at least part of my reaction is that this is one of the first books I have read in the past 4 years in which I have not been able to find a single quote to put into my Common Place Books. These are basically notebooks with quotes, paragraphs or even pages of books, TV shows or films that have struck a chord with me. But they are mostly full of parts from books, and it is exceptionally rare that there is nothing in a book which I feel is worth writing down. But nothing seemed to jump out at me from the novel.
===Conclusion===
This is a book that you may love, if you are interested in this. I'm glad I read it as I did enjoy it but I don't think I'd read it again. The story was strong but the characters were so weak that it ruined it completely, but maybe you'll get on with it better than me.
victoria80's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed this book and it kept me hooked however I found the ending a tad dissapointing.
caitlinxmartin's review against another edition
4.0
When I was in middle school, we lived in Dallas, Texas. One of the things I remember vividly from living there was a huge billboard of what Dallas will be like at The Rapture. A huge Jesus towers over the skyline & souls are wafted to heaven from the cars moving along through the rush hour freeway traffic. To be honest I went back & forth about requesting this book for review because the title led me to believe it might be like that billboard & that's just not my thing. Turns out, it's not Liz Jensen's thing, either.
[b:The Rapture|6386076|The Rapture|Liz Jensen|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51PeTpTkU3L._SL75_.jpg|6574300] is a literary eco-thriller. The plotting is good, the characters feel real, the situation feels absolutely plausible, & as a reader you care what happens.
The strength of this novel lies in the two main characters who are both real & heartbreaking. Bethany Krall is a disturbed teenager institutionalized after she kills her mother with a screwdriver. Gabrielle Fox is an art therapist assigned to Bethany's case. Bethany is eerily correct in her predictions of natural disasters. Gabrielle is newly paraplegic, dealing with the consequences of an accident that has shattered her world.
I appreciated just how crazy Ms. Jensen allowed Bethany to be. So often when dealing with mental illness in adolescents writers give us watered down versions of depressed adolescents or abused drug addicts that we can all relate to & feel sorry for or good about. If you want to understand how far outside the norm children & teens who are institutionalized with psychiatric disorders are, just think about how broad the behavioral permissions are for kids & teens & then imagine what someone who falls far outside of that norm might be like. Ms. Jensen has done that with Bethany & she is frightening & real & pitiable &, in the end, admirable.
The heartbeat of this book is the narration of Gabrielle Fox who is trying to do her job, to live her life, & to sort out what being paraplegic is going to mean for her life. She is intelligent & ironic & self-pitying & often very funny. Thrust into a wheelchair, her dealings with Bethany & her predictions combine with her daily struggles to create a narrative that is both moving & entertaining.
There are images here that are unforgettable - the Christ statue in Rio de Janeiro toppling over after a hurricane, miles of dead jellyfish, graffiti only readable by satellite written in luminescent dye from the crushed shells of crustaceans, the faithful gathered in a stadium (reminiscent of the Superdome in New Orleans) waiting for the Rapture that never arrives. The world may end with a great big bang, but some of us may survive it - not a comforting thought in these days of increasing global warming & economic meltdown.
[b:The Rapture|6386076|The Rapture|Liz Jensen|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51PeTpTkU3L._SL75_.jpg|6574300] is a literary eco-thriller. The plotting is good, the characters feel real, the situation feels absolutely plausible, & as a reader you care what happens.
The strength of this novel lies in the two main characters who are both real & heartbreaking. Bethany Krall is a disturbed teenager institutionalized after she kills her mother with a screwdriver. Gabrielle Fox is an art therapist assigned to Bethany's case. Bethany is eerily correct in her predictions of natural disasters. Gabrielle is newly paraplegic, dealing with the consequences of an accident that has shattered her world.
I appreciated just how crazy Ms. Jensen allowed Bethany to be. So often when dealing with mental illness in adolescents writers give us watered down versions of depressed adolescents or abused drug addicts that we can all relate to & feel sorry for or good about. If you want to understand how far outside the norm children & teens who are institutionalized with psychiatric disorders are, just think about how broad the behavioral permissions are for kids & teens & then imagine what someone who falls far outside of that norm might be like. Ms. Jensen has done that with Bethany & she is frightening & real & pitiable &, in the end, admirable.
The heartbeat of this book is the narration of Gabrielle Fox who is trying to do her job, to live her life, & to sort out what being paraplegic is going to mean for her life. She is intelligent & ironic & self-pitying & often very funny. Thrust into a wheelchair, her dealings with Bethany & her predictions combine with her daily struggles to create a narrative that is both moving & entertaining.
There are images here that are unforgettable - the Christ statue in Rio de Janeiro toppling over after a hurricane, miles of dead jellyfish, graffiti only readable by satellite written in luminescent dye from the crushed shells of crustaceans, the faithful gathered in a stadium (reminiscent of the Superdome in New Orleans) waiting for the Rapture that never arrives. The world may end with a great big bang, but some of us may survive it - not a comforting thought in these days of increasing global warming & economic meltdown.