Quick Review | ‘The Rapture’ by Liz Jensen

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50 books a year, audiobook, book review, Carrie, gabrielle fox, Hannibal Lecter, liz jensen, silence of the lambs, stephen king, the rapture, Thomas Harris

The Rapture by Liz Jensen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Challenges: 50 Books A Year (no. 35)

“But I do have the mark of the beast, look…”
She plants a forefinger on each temple.
“Invisible in my case. That’s where the electrode’s go.” 

Welcome to planet Earth in its final death-throes. They say ‘hell hath no fury’, and Mother nature has never been so furious. In ‘The Rapture’ Jensen envisions a world of hell-fire in the not too-distant future; a world where supertornadoes rip through several countries overnight, and earthquakes and volcanoes trigger each other off like firecrackers.

This is a world committing suicide. And if that wasn’t enough, interest in organised religion has taken a delirious upturn. It is the decade of the ‘Faith-wave’ and belief in ‘The Rapture’ (biblical Armageddon) is gathering momentum. In this chaos we are introduced to Gabrielle Fox, an art therapist who is about to start work at Oxsmith Psychiatric Institute (a maximum security facility for criminally insane and dangerous youths).

Little does she know that she has been assigned the infamous Bethany Krall, one of the most violent inmates in the compound, and in Britain for that matter. Fox knows nothing of Krall, except that she killed her mother with a screwdriver when she was 14. Her official reports reveal a young girl damaged beyond repair. But this is not what disturbs Fox. The silence of her work colleagues regarding the dismissal of Krall’s former therapist is what begins to get to her. But it’s not long before Fox begins to experience the ‘Bethany’ treatment, and everything she has ever learned about the human mind becomes suspect. There is something very wrong with Bethany, and Fox begins to wonder whether this troubled, dark child, is the anti-christ or a misunderstood messenger from god.

“Jensen’s work is a prophecy written in a disturbing, Orwellian vein using Stephen King’s pen with ink belonging to Thomas Harris.”

‘The Rapture’ transcends genres and is a good example of post-modern intertextuality. Jensen seems to link several varying Armageddon theories that range from religious fanaticism and eco-calamities like Stephen King’s Carrie and William Peter Blatty The Exorcist to psychological thrillers like Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs. Jensen does borrow and channel certain narrative aspects of these books. For instance I found Bethany Krall to be a younger, uncouth version of Hannibal Lecter, but with reams of deadly feminine intuition. Violence-wise she is not a cannibal, but I got a feeling that if left to it, she would at least give it a try. Fox on the other hand is a paraplegic copy of Clarice, reminiscent of the same probing intelligence.

Overall, I am highly impressed by the depth of research that must have gone into this novel, especially with the wide issues that it covers. The environmental dangers outlined are realistic threats that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Ultimately, Jensen has woven a wonderful tapestry of a dystopian future.

I give this 3/5 stars.

View all my reviews >>

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

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audiobook, Character Crush, chinua achebe, disgrace, Dr. Gonzo, fear and loathing, hunter s thompson, jm coetzee, kazuo ishiguro, liz jensen, meme, nocturnes, puerto rico, rum diary, sylvia plath, the rapture

Welcome to ‘It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?’, a weekly meme initially hosted by Sheila at the ‘Book Journey – One Persons Journey Through a World of Books’. This is a great way of letting people know what I’ve been reading over the past week and what I’ve got lined up for this week.

Another slow one this week and I’ve gotten side-tracked a lot, but here’s an honest list of things finished/ pending and currently in the works:

BOOKS READ:
1. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey into the Heart of the American Dream – Hunter S. Thompson

Savoured every last word of this insane epic. Loved it so much that I think I’ve been sitting and re-reading choice paragraphs and committing them to memory. Click here to read my review, and check out my ‘Character Crush’ of the week! 

2. The Rapture (Audiobook) – Liz Jensen 

Finally finished the audiobook version of this dystopian/ environmental/ Armageddon themed book that has a healthy dash of religious fanaticism thrown in for good measure. Click here for my review.

CURRENTLY READING:
1. The Rum Diary – Hunter S. Thompson

Currently on page 50 of this fictional account of Thompson’s journalistic experiences during his short stay in Puerto Rico in the late 1950’s. It was written before Fear and Loathing, and retains the linear writing style of your average reporter. But I’m glad to say I can spot flecks of the pioneering Gonzo style very now and then.  

2. Winter Trees – Sylvia Plath
 
This is where I start to deviate from last weeks reading plans. I felt a dire need for some poetry, so I managed to pick up this very slim (but seriously dense) book of Plath’s poems. Written towards the last 9 months of her life, they evoke the emotional turmoil for a woman trapped in a loveless marriage. She writes like a trapped beast. Each word a cutting claw, a razor tooth. I feel disdain for Ted Hughes…

BOOKS TO READ:

1. Nocturnes – Kazuo Ishiguro

Not the promised Murakami, but still a Japanese author nonetheless. I have been desperate to get my hands on Nocturnes ever since ‘A Pale View of Hills’. Haven’t started it yet, but I’m sure it’ll be wonderful.

2.Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe

I have yet to read any Achebe, and I was seduced by ‘Things Fall Apart’ at my local library. Now that the world cup is on I wanted to read some African Literature. Praise for the book goes like this: “The writer in whose company the prison walls fell down” – Nelson Mandela. 

3.Disgrace – JM Coetzee

Again, another book with a setting in South Africa, this time by Coetzee, another first time read. This novel won the Booker Prize in 1999. Took a sneak peek and I think it’s marvellous. 

That’s it for this week folks. Would love to know what you think of my choices.

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

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fear and loathing, Haruki Murakami, hunter s thompson, in the miso soup, Its monday what are you reading?, liz jensen, meme, rum diary, ryu murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart, steig larrson, the girl with the dragon tattoo, the rapture, wind up bird chronicles

Welcome to ‘It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?’, a weekly meme initially hosted by Sheila at the ‘Book Journey – One Persons Journey Through a World of Books’. This is a great way of letting people know what I’ve been reading over the past week and what I’ve got lined up for this week.

I’m sorry to say it’s been a slow one this past week, but it’s a good thing because I tend to take time over the books I like. So, here’s a list of books I completed, am still reading/ listening to/ look  forward to reading this week:

BOOKS READ:
1. Sputnik Sweetheart – Haruki Murakami

I’m quite surprised by how quickly I get through Murakami’s books. They are so reader friendly! This one took no time at all. I think next up is ‘The Wind-up Bird Chronicles’. Click here to read my review. 

2. In The Miso Soup – Ryu Murakami
Another amazing read, this time by Ryu Murakami, who just happens to be Haruki Murakamis favourite author. Hmm. I wonder why? lol! Again, a quick read, not because I wanted to get through it quickly; but because the suspense was so masterfully engrossing. Review coming soon!

CURRENTLY READING:
1. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A savage Journey into the Heart of the American Dream – Hunter S. Thompson
Taking it easy with this one, nice slow doses, no sudden movements… after all, you must have your wits about you if you are to venture into Gonzo journalism at its finest! One toke over the line…

2. The Rapture (Audiobook) – Liz Jensen
Another one I’m taking my sweet time with. It’s been a while since I listened to a story, and I’m finding it quite enjoyable, if not a bit too tedious at times. WIth books, you can scan a page if nothing worthwhile is happening, but with audio, you have to listen to every single word. It’s a good thing that my version comes with three different narrator speeds. I’m listening to it in ‘Chipmunk mode’. Hilarious! Watch out for the review, it’s going to be one helluva breakdown.

 BOOKS TO READ:
1. The Rum Diary – Hunter S. Thompson
I’m going full-throttle through as many Gonzo books as I can. It’s my version of buying the ticket and taking the ride. I’ll probably end up reading a biography of him too. Anyone recommend a good one?

2. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles – Haruki Murakami
I want to read a fat book by Murakami. I’m fed up with the thin ones. This will give me more food for thought.

3. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson
After reading an excellent description of the main character (a kick-ass girl who’d give Trinity a run for her money) I decided it’s high time I started reading the trilogy. And besides, I saw the movie trailer and it looks absolutely stunning! 

Well, that’s my little list for now, I’d love to hear what other people have been reading the past week and what they’d recommend.

June Audiobook Month | Celebrating the Spoken Word!

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audiobook, eva rice, june, liz jensen, lost art of keeping secrets, midnights children, salman rushdie, the rapture

I’ve resisted it for a while but after seeing so many rave reviews of how great audiobooks are, I’ve decided to take the plunge and indulge in a few great titles that I’ve been meaning to read for a while now. Today my little pile of audiobooks have arrived in the post and I’m really excited!

Here are the titles I’ll be listening to this June:

1. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie

  

Synopsis: Saleem Sinai was born at midnight, the midnight of India’s independence, and found himself mysteriously ‘handcuffed to history’ by the coincidence. He is one of 1,001 children born at the midnight hour, each of them endowed with an extraordinary talent – and whose privilege and curse it is to be both master and victims of their times. Through Saleem’s gifts – inner ear and wildly sensitive sense of smell – we are drawn into a fascinating family saga set against the vast, colourful background of the India of the 20th century.

Recommended by: This was recommended to me by Brenna, and I’m really excited to be getting the chance to ‘listen’ to Rushdie’s work for the first time. I’ve not read Rushdie before, so this will be an experience that will either leave me loving or hating him.

 _____________________________________

2. Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice

Synopsis: Set in 1950s London, The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets centers around Penelope, the wide- eyed daughter of a legendary beauty, Talitha, who lost her husband to the war. Penelope, with her mother and brother, struggles to maintain their vast and crumbling ancestral home—while postwar London spins toward the next decade’s cultural revolution.

Penelope wants nothing more than to fall in love, and when her new best friend, Charlotte, a free spirit in the young society set, drags Penelope into London with all of its grand parties, she sets in motion great change for them all. Charlotte’s mysterious and attractive brother Harry uses Penelope to make his American ex-girlfriend jealous, with unforeseen consequences, and a dashing, wealthy American movie producer arrives with what might be the key to Penelope’s— and her family’s—future happiness.

Recommended by: Nobody… I just felt like throwing in a bit oc chick lit to balance out the heavy books I’ve been reading lately. And look! What a gorgeous cover! I have a feeling this will be a surprise good read.

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3. The Rapture by Liz Jensen

Synopsis: In a merciless summer of biblical heat and destructive winds, Gabrielle Fox’s main concern is a personal one: to rebuild her career as a psychologist after a shattering car accident. But when she is assigned Bethany Krall, one of the most dangerous teenagers in the country, she begins to fear she has made a terrible mistake. Raised on a diet of evangelistic hellfire, Bethany is violent, delusional, cruelly intuitive and insistent that she can foresee natural disasters – a claim which Gabrielle interprets as a symptom of doomsday delusion. But when catastrophes begin to occur on the very dates Bethany has predicted, and a brilliant, gentle physicist enters the equation, the apocalyptic puzzle intensifies and the stakes multiply. Is the self-proclaimed Nostradamus of the psych ward the ultimate manipulator, or could she be the harbinger of imminent global cataclysm on a scale never seen before? And what can love mean in ‘interesting times’?

Recommended by: My local librarian, Chris. He said it was a fabulous read. Again, I’m not familiar with Jensen’s work but I’ve heard nothing but good things about this book.

So, that rounds off my audiobook’s for this month. If you have an audiobook list, or discovered one that everyone needs to listen to, I’d love to know about it. Stay tuned for the reviews!