This is a crazy novel about born again Christians living in a poor New York neighbourhood and the way they are; the novel mainly concerns itself with how the story’s main characters get to this point, all ardent believers in an extreme and all encompassing form of Christianity which dictates every aspect of their lives and fills up every minute of it. It is interesting to read how each of the characters gets to the point of needing this faith and clinging to it: the hypocrisy of the father’s of the church is hard to stomach but it can be seen how the faith they all have also has positive aspects; however, the faith is treated cynically overall, as all of the characters are damaged or vulnerable people and their faith is often the cause of the damage or vulnerability. But this is a really powerful read and well written.
Mr A