Reviews for Salvation City

The average rating for Salvation City based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-06-01 00:00:00 William Cushman I'm ambivalent about this book, which is why I took a few days before attempting to review it. I didn't dislike it, but I also didn't particularly enjoy reading it. First of all, I think the book was mis-pitched. I got the galley at the dystopian fiction panel at BEA (indeed, I snagged one of the last copies, so I'm surprised that no one beat me to reviewing it on here). At the panel, Sigrid Nunez spoke about how she enjoyed crafting a language and culture for her new society. But in fact, the world in which Salvation City is set is very much like our own. It appears to take place 5-10 years in the future. Yes, Nunez threw in a few inventive new slang words, but most of the linguistic patterns are identical, and even the technology (iPods, email, video games) seems stuck some time in the noughties. In fact, this futuristic society seems outdated before the book has even published--if teens today rarely use email, why would they in ten years? The plot itself has potential--a normal kid is orphaned by a plague and adopted onto an evangelical Christian compound--but Nunez doesn't do too much with it. She certainly doesn't do anything dystopic. And, most disappointingly, the plot lacks a driving force, a direction. I finished this book without any sense of fulfillment. If only Nunez had told the story of Cole's life before and during the plague, rather than focusing on the dismal (and bland) aftermath, this could have been a thriller rather than another sleepy rural tale.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-02-25 00:00:00 J Helmut Before we get started, let me clarify the two-star rating....Salvation City is not poorly written, has believable characters in believable situations, and is an interesting way to spend several hours. But ultimately -- and given the way Goodreads' ratings criteria are defined -- two stars and "it was okay" is all the enthusiasm I can muster. I'd read a three-star "I liked it" book again. I have no desire to read this one again. In the near future, 12-year-old Cole Vining has been orphaned by a flu pandemic more devastating than the 1918 outbreak. After a stint in the hellhole of a public orphanage, he is taken in by Pastor Wyatt and his wife Tracy and brought back to Salvation City, Kentucky, the small evangelical Christian enclave where they live. The overt religiosity of his new surroundings is completely foreign to Cole: his father was an atheist and his mother was a non-practicing Jew; as a result, Cole has had no religious training whatsoever. Emotionally fragile after his own illness and loss, in this new atmosphere, Cole questions everything his parents had ever taught him about the world. Cole suffered memory loss as a result of his illness and, as his memories gradually return, he wrestles with a multitude of overwhelming emotions: loss, anger, bewilderment, confusion...but chiefly guilt. He feels guilty he survived, guilty he can't return the obvious love Pastor Wyatt and Tracy express for him, guilty and disloyal at feeling any kind of affection for them, guilty for wondering if his parents went to Hell as his new knowledge of religion teaches. On top of all this, he has entered puberty with its attendant urges and feelings, and he develops an unrequited crush on his cousin-by-adoption Starlyn. Cole's journey through this morass of guilt and emotion to arrive at a peaceful self-understanding and sense of place is well-drawn and satisfying. Again, this is not a bad book, and not a waste of time. The pacing is leisurely, almost majestic. It's beautifully written, with a spare elegance and delicate touch. Nunez portrays the fundamentalist Christian community with grace and compassion, seeing it almost entirely through Cole's adolescent eyes. I enjoyed reading it, but not enough to keep it around for a re-read. Many thanks to Goodreads Giveaway Program for the opportunity to read this book.