In A Perfect World . . . Soft Apocalypse Concluded

In a perfect world there would be no market for books such as Soft Apocalypse. I know this sounds very harsh, but after reading the book (and yes, I forced myself to read the entire novel), I just couldn't find any redeeming qualities.  The main character, Jasper, never changes.  He is clearly the intended protagonist because he seems to be struggling to find a place to fit into a chaotic world, but his character never undergoes any sort of change.  Jasper never really learns anything about himself or anyone else.  The novel presents a society that is both chaotic and contradictory; most people function as animals, surviving on what little can be foraged. However, there is an indication that a wealthy class exists that lacks nothing and continues to have access to food, technology, money, and luxury.  He does present one interesting idea that I think is evident in our current administration--dissent is not tolerated.  In this novel, the only people who have everything they need are those who are willing to be infected with the "happy" virus so that they become automatons, without the capacity to think for themselves.  These people are gathered into walled cities and have everything they need supplied for them; unfortunately, they have also lost the ability to think and experience any sort of real emotion.  Perhaps one of my biggest problems with the novel is the use of profanity that proliferates the novel.  Profanity in dialogue, while objectionable, can serve a purpose if it adds to the development of a character (even though I personally disagree with this), but this novel uses profanity even within the narrative portions.  That completely uncalled for and unacceptable.  In my opinion, it shows lack of development as a writer.  The only reason I would recommend this novel to anyone (and I don't) is that is illustrates what society and life might be after Christ raptures his church.  When God's presence is removed from this world; total depravity will set in.  Only God's grace and mercy has protected our world from the depraved state depicted in this novel.  Let me take this opportunity to ask you to accept Christ as your personal saviour if you have not done so.  For those who claim to be followers of Christ, I ask that you examine your life and make sure that sin has not been able to gain a foothold.  Jesus is coming again; we all need to be ready!

In A Perfect World . . . Soft Apocalypse

After a substantial hiatus from popular fiction, I'm currently reading  Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh. Actually, I've read four chapters, and I must say, it has been an ordeal.  I keep waiting for a character to be developed and a plot and/or theme to emerge; so far that hasn't happened.  Before you begin sputtering that I don't know what I'm talking about, check my credentials--I hold a Ph.D. in literature, so I understand criticism.  I think it's also fair to say that during the course of my academic career I've read many things that were not particularly to my liking, but I was usually always able to find the academic merit of the work.  That doesn't seem to be the case with this novel.  Clearly, this a postmodern novel set in a postmodern environment; it's clear that neither the character (and I'm relatively sure the author) doesn't believe in absolute truth.  The novel opens with America in shambles, divided into basically two groups--the rich and the poor; the middle class no longer exists. The novel moves from one act of violence to another and is laden with sex and profanity.  Part of the problem with this novel is that opens in a state of depravity (that only seems to get worse), but the reader is clueless as to how American actually ended up in this state.  Ironically, even though the people are poverty stricken and at the point of starvation, are constantly being harrassed by the government, and afflicted with what most of the characters believe to be biological viruses, everyone manages to survive and still have access to some type of media--specifically MSNBC.  These facts lead to me to suspect (I have no actual proof) that the author is liberal and hates anything connected to capitalism.  This in itself is ironic in that one of the main characters, Jasper, is becoming quite the entrepreneur as he struggles to help the owner of a small convenience store rebuild his business after it is vandalized.  The timeline of the novel covers very large segments of time; these time spans are usually identified at the beginning of each chapter, and it is virtually the only way the reader has to keep track of elapsed time.  The events of the novel could easily take place on successive days.  Even though this is a terrible novel, and I certainly don't recommend it to anyone, I'm going to finish it.  Perhaps I can eventually find some redeeming quality, but I really don't hold out much hope for that.  One of the reasons the novel is so bleak is that there is absolutely no mention of religion (except for God's name to be taken in vain).  A world without Jesus would probably resemble the world created by McIntosh; it would be a world devoid of hope, love, and compassion.  Reading this novel reinforces the need to take Jesus to every people, nation, and tongue.  Only Jesus can bring America and the rest of the world to a place of perfection.  I'll continue to blog about this novel, but let me close this one in this manner--if you don't know Jesus as your personal saviour, I pray that you stop what you're doing and ask Him into your heart.  Let the love of Jesus wash over your soul and cleanse you from all sin (yes, we are all sinners).  Ask yourself this all important question:  If I were to die tonight, do I know for certain that I would be with Jesus in heaven? You can; He's waiting with open arms to transform your heart, mind, and soul.