Jun 10

Jun 10 A Children's Bible

Author: Lydia Millet
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

Click above to buy this book from my Bookshop.org shop, which supports independent bookstores (not Amazon). You can also find it via your favorite indie bookstore here.

Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

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.

TL;DR Review

A Children’s Bible was a strange read, but no doubt masterful. Short, unsettling, and apocalyptic, I can see why it was a National Book Award contender.

For you if: You like literary and/or apocalyptic novels.

Full Review

I picked up A Children’s Bible because it was longlisted for the National Book Award. While I wouldn’t quite call it a fun read, I can absolutely appreciate its mastery and resonance, and I’m glad I read it.

The story is about a group of children whose wealthy families have gathered in a big country house for the summer. The kids are unsettlingly mature (which is more of a story device than realistic, but is actually really interesting in the way it positions their partying parents as less irresponsible — particularly given the book’s focus on climate change and impending disaster). Then a storm blows through, and what’s essentially the end of the world begins.

It’s a super-short novel at only about 200 pages, and it’s extremely unsettling, but written in a detached, x-ray like style that’s also really effective. All in all, a fascinating read from a literary perspective, and I can definitely see why some people thought it might win the Pulitzer.

Pick this one up if you like weird, literary books!