A Children's Bible
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-11 11:52:08
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Lydia Millet
- ISBN：0393867382
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A Children’s Bible follows a group of twelve eerily mature children on a forced vacation with their families at a sprawling lakeside mansion。 Contemptuous of their parents， the children decide to run away when a destructive storm descends on the summer estate， embarking on a dangerous foray into the apocalyptic chaos outside。 Lydia Millet’s prophetic and heartbreaking story of generational divide offers a haunting vision of what awaits us on the far side of Revelation。
Reviews
Barbara
，
It just took three pages to realize I was reading a book with incredible voice。 Just incredible。 Although not a Christian， the story worked for me， although I may have missed some things。 Doesn't matter; what's there is so rich。 The parents were appalling -- beyond appalling -- but then the kids say things like this as they look at the way their parents have failed the earth:"。。。they'd always wanted to be more than they were。 They should always be thought of as invalids， I saw。 Each person， full It just took three pages to realize I was reading a book with incredible voice。 Just incredible。 Although not a Christian， the story worked for me， although I may have missed some things。 Doesn't matter; what's there is so rich。 The parents were appalling -- beyond appalling -- but then the kids say things like this as they look at the way their parents have failed the earth:"。。。they'd always wanted to be more than they were。 They should always be thought of as invalids， I saw。 Each person， fully grown， was sick or sad， with problems attached to them like broken limbs。 Each one had special needs。 If you could remember that， it made you less angry。。。。Still they had wanted to be different。 I would assume that from now on， I told myself。。。。 What people wanted to be， but never could， traveled long beside them。 Company。" 。。。more
Justine
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An unflinching story that takes on the existential threat of climate change and the growing generational divide through the clear and resilient eyes of the youth most affected。 If you care to look， there are tons of reviews and discussions about this National Book Award finalist。 I found it impossible to put down， the feelings it invokes both precise and nebulous， mirroring and reflecting back the inevitable change on our horizon。
John A。
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This was an odd read。 I was expecting something like the book's jacket description， but I felt let down。 The narrative starts with a great premise and slowly descends into an unbelievable story。 In my opinion， the writer was attempting to do many things and failed to make them work。 The Bible story tie ins devolve quickly and the final parts of the book are completely off mark。 By the novel's end the characters become unreal and the plot is rushed。 I felt let down by this read and saw no real in This was an odd read。 I was expecting something like the book's jacket description， but I felt let down。 The narrative starts with a great premise and slowly descends into an unbelievable story。 In my opinion， the writer was attempting to do many things and failed to make them work。 The Bible story tie ins devolve quickly and the final parts of the book are completely off mark。 By the novel's end the characters become unreal and the plot is rushed。 I felt let down by this read and saw no real inventiveness aside from the overly mature children/narrator。 。。。more
Clare
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Extremely meh。 Quick read， not particularly enjoyable， and just felt like it hit me over the head with too much happening。 Combined with the fact there weren't any characters that I cared about， I can't recommend it。 Clearly allegorical， but I just didn't care or "get" it。 Extremely meh。 Quick read， not particularly enjoyable， and just felt like it hit me over the head with too much happening。 Combined with the fact there weren't any characters that I cared about， I can't recommend it。 Clearly allegorical， but I just didn't care or "get" it。 。。。more
Riley
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Can't stop thinking about it now that I'm done。 This book was an indictment。 A furor。 I felt at once condemned and seen by her cast of main characters。 It was so painful to read at parts， but I couldn't put it down。 That stupid meme comes to mind: Are we the baddies。。。？ This book will be on my mind for a long time to come。。。 It's the first piece of fiction I've read that talks about the climate crisis in a way that hits home all that we have to lose。 I've read lots of nonfiction on climate， and Can't stop thinking about it now that I'm done。 This book was an indictment。 A furor。 I felt at once condemned and seen by her cast of main characters。 It was so painful to read at parts， but I couldn't put it down。 That stupid meme comes to mind: Are we the baddies。。。？ This book will be on my mind for a long time to come。。。 It's the first piece of fiction I've read that talks about the climate crisis in a way that hits home all that we have to lose。 I've read lots of nonfiction on climate， and this one provokes the most urgency in me。 。。。more
Kasey
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The writing here is stunning， and the scenes of devastation are beyond harrowing。 As climate fiction goes， this is right up there with MadAddam， for me。 BUT。 I was furiously impatient with the representation of all “parents” （all adults， really） as drunk， irresponsible morons。 It’s as simplistic and unhelpful as “don’t trust anyone over 30” or “OK boomer。” Parable doesn’t have to be this morally reductive。
Amy Thibodeau
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Ended abruptly but quite beautifully。
Sylvia
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Beautifully written， but not a happy ending。
Britt Buckenroth
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Finished this incredible dystopian novel in ONE DAY。 I get like it was a mix of Lord of the Flies meets The Walking Dead - just without the zombies。 Instead - the climate has finally turned on the planet。 The Bible part？ I’m not even going to tell。 But it’s fascinating， so just go and read this gem。
Gwen
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Bleak， but really good。
Rebecca
，
Well written and compelling。。。very depressing。 3。5 Stars
Allyson
，
Odd， but it made me think。
Ryan
，
Quite a book。 You never really know where it's taking you and that's a good thing。It approaches some deep themes and tries to convey something very insightful， and maybe it's my lack of insight， but I don't think it ever gets all the way there。 Never flushed these ideas out fully。I think it is a very good book， a very different kind of story and I enjoyed reading it。 But certain things， I just didn't get。 Quite a book。 You never really know where it's taking you and that's a good thing。It approaches some deep themes and tries to convey something very insightful， and maybe it's my lack of insight， but I don't think it ever gets all the way there。 Never flushed these ideas out fully。I think it is a very good book， a very different kind of story and I enjoyed reading it。 But certain things， I just didn't get。 。。。more
Margo Tanenbaum
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I was a little baffled at why this novel has been so long on the best-seller lists。 It's a cautionary tale about global warming and how we are screwing up the earth that reminded me more of a YA novel than an adult title。 I read it to the end to see how the author resolved the plot but I can't say it really gripped me。 I did not find it especially original or compelling。 I was a little baffled at why this novel has been so long on the best-seller lists。 It's a cautionary tale about global warming and how we are screwing up the earth that reminded me more of a YA novel than an adult title。 I read it to the end to see how the author resolved the plot but I can't say it really gripped me。 I did not find it especially original or compelling。 。。。more
Laura
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What an utterly disorienting book。 As a pastor’s wife， I’m *pretty* familiar with the original book that goes by this title so I caught lots of the allegorical references but I’m sure there’s more that I missed。 I’d love to hear a literature professor break this one down for me。
Amy
，
This might have been more enjoyable if my knowledge of the Bible was more extensive。 By the end， I could see the apocalyptic tale the author was trying to tell， but I'm not sure if it all added up to an effective novel。 This might have been more enjoyable if my knowledge of the Bible was more extensive。 By the end， I could see the apocalyptic tale the author was trying to tell， but I'm not sure if it all added up to an effective novel。 。。。more
Liz
，
I really enjoyed reading this book。 I don’t want to say too much about it， because part of the pleasure for me was the plot unfolding in directions I hadn’t foreseen。 Let’s just say it’s a searing indictment of baby boomers in the world they’re leaving to the next generation。
Gautam Prasad
，
This story never quite landed for me。 I think it was meant to be symbolic。 But the symbolism didn't resonate for me and I just couldn't care about a story paralleling another story。 I found it odd how the children in the book were depicted as having adult peeomalities and the author didn't motivate their disdain for their parents。 It felt like a sad disjointed pointless story to me。 I think someone who enjoys seeing how a part of this story might be similar to the Bible's story arc would enjoy t This story never quite landed for me。 I think it was meant to be symbolic。 But the symbolism didn't resonate for me and I just couldn't care about a story paralleling another story。 I found it odd how the children in the book were depicted as having adult peeomalities and the author didn't motivate their disdain for their parents。 It felt like a sad disjointed pointless story to me。 I think someone who enjoys seeing how a part of this story might be similar to the Bible's story arc would enjoy this， but for me there was way too much that I needed to imagine to compensate for the lack of original story。 I did think the dialogue and mechanics of the writing were good。 。。。more
Andrew Morgan
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Awful teens。 Also when they started calling the hippies “angels” I stopped trying to like it。
Max Benesi
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This is far and away the weirdest book I’ve ever read in my entire life but it definitely wasn’t boring or poorly written， so at least there’s that。
Breea
，
This book is on all sorts of lists and the premise was so interesting to me。 However， I didn’t like it。 Too weird and I didn’t like the characters。 It felt like the author didn’t finish it。。。
Deborah
，
If I realized this book had a bit of a futuristic turn I probably would not have picked it up。 That would have been a mistake。 While this book does take an apocalyptic/futuristic turn it truly could be an experience realized tomorrow。It is craftily constructed。 Glad I took a chance and made time to crack its covers。
Shay McGroarty
，
I really need to reread the bible to get all of these references。
Kate
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Allusion， allusion， allusion！ I love literary devices， so it’s no surprise that I enjoyed a book that is chock full of them。 Millet may have connected the dots a little more then was needed， but you still need to remember your Bible stories to catch them all。Because so much time is spent on the allusions， there is very little character development or even defining traits for characters。 It took me about half way through the book to begin remembering each of the children as individuals （except fo Allusion， allusion， allusion！ I love literary devices， so it’s no surprise that I enjoyed a book that is chock full of them。 Millet may have connected the dots a little more then was needed， but you still need to remember your Bible stories to catch them all。Because so much time is spent on the allusions， there is very little character development or even defining traits for characters。 It took me about half way through the book to begin remembering each of the children as individuals （except for Jack and Shel）， but I think that’s partly the point。 This book isn’t about the characters because we are the characters。 This book is about the warning: what will happen when our climate changes？ What will happen when the world ends？ How will our children look at us when it happens？ In some dystopian books this is explained in detail， but here Millet chooses to answer those questions through metaphorical allegory and allusion， replaying all of the events in the Bible through the actions of a group of teenagers （and their parents and supporting cast） who are spending the summer together in a Big House on the coast when hurricanes hit and the apocalypse begins。My only major gripe， as a believing Christian， is that Millet treats the Christ figure in this novel as a prophet rather than a savior。 I wonder how the ending would have changed if he was shown to be a savior of souls （or minds or whatever parallel Millet would have drawn）。 I would’ve liked to see that hope injected into the narrative。Even with that caveat， I really enjoyed this book！ I could easily see it being taught in high schools。 。。。more
Jonathan Jakobitz
，
A Children’s Bible follows teenaged protagonists as they face the dangers of a near-apocalyptic climate disaster， their hedonistic and apathetic parents， and the ramifications of both。 The work is rich with subtext， with biblical parallels running throughout， yet the story carries enough weight on its own that even if you are biblically illiterate （or just missed the parallels） the message still comes through loud and clear。 This is a heavy book; children face real hardship while navigating that A Children’s Bible follows teenaged protagonists as they face the dangers of a near-apocalyptic climate disaster， their hedonistic and apathetic parents， and the ramifications of both。 The work is rich with subtext， with biblical parallels running throughout， yet the story carries enough weight on its own that even if you are biblically illiterate （or just missed the parallels） the message still comes through loud and clear。 This is a heavy book; children face real hardship while navigating that liminal space between adolescence and adulthood。 Yet ultimately， like many post-apocalyptic stories， it tries to end on a message of hope。 However， while the peril and destruction in this story pales compared to that of many other apocalyptic stories， in the end， I found the subtle and ultimately fatalistic weight of Millet’s narrative to negate this message of hope。 This is a short， but heavy read， that should be rewarding in rereads （especially once you are keenly aware of the subtextual allusions）。 Overall， I am not sure how I feel about this one， but it is a story that will haunt me， and one I may return to again。 4。5 stars 。。。more
Brownd2
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DNF。。。ugh， do not have many of these， but could not bring myself to finish this strange story。。。
Kaitlin Heikkinen
，
So eerie， so good！
Bonnie Gibbs
，
A beautiful elegant book， it is perfectly paced and simple and reworks an ancient idea with a real vibrance。 It doesn't overwork the idea of the apocalypse or the revelation where I think many books tussle with it too much and the narrative risks becoming somewhat cliche。I think the avoidance of this， given how extensively this topic has been written about in the past， is due to the characters' rich subtleties。 Millet writes the younger generation well and relies on the reader's ability to pick A beautiful elegant book， it is perfectly paced and simple and reworks an ancient idea with a real vibrance。 It doesn't overwork the idea of the apocalypse or the revelation where I think many books tussle with it too much and the narrative risks becoming somewhat cliche。I think the avoidance of this， given how extensively this topic has been written about in the past， is due to the characters' rich subtleties。 Millet writes the younger generation well and relies on the reader's ability to pick up the slack and read between the lines in order to maintain their realism。 The plot does not try to conceal itself and so it unfolds calmly and logically and ends satisfyingly。 。。。more
Carol
，
This was certainly topical， but it felt a little forced。 Maybe I've read too much post-apocalyptic fiction？ The narrative also took a few too many swerves。 I felt like the author had tried out several endings and then sort of just left them all in。 This was certainly topical， but it felt a little forced。 Maybe I've read too much post-apocalyptic fiction？ The narrative also took a few too many swerves。 I felt like the author had tried out several endings and then sort of just left them all in。 。。。more
Paul Goings
，
Very thought-provoking， but too many loose ends。 Better understood metaphorically than as a novel in the traditional sense。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Children's Bible
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Children's Bible&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Children's Bible&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0