Book
Beautiful revolutionary / Laura Elizabeth Woollett.
Explores the allure of the real-life charismatic leader, Reverend Jim Jones, who would destroy so many. It follows Evelyn Lynden, a woman at war with herself, as she is pulled into Jones's orbit.
"It's the summer of 1968, and Evelyn Lynden is a woman at war with herself. Minister's daughter. Atheist. Independent woman. Frustrated wife. Bitch with a bleeding heart. Following her conscientious-objector husband Lenny to the rural Eden of Evergreen Valley, California, Evelyn wants to be happy with their new life. Yet as the world is rocked by warfare and political assassinations, by racial discrimination and social upheaval, she finds herself disillusioned with Lenny's passive ways - and anxious for a saviour. Enter the Reverend Jim Jones, the dynamic leader of a revolutionary church called Peoples Temple. As Evelyn grows closer to Jones, her marriage is just the first casualty of his rise to power. Meticulously researched, elegantly written, and utterly engrossing, Beautiful Revolutionary explores the allure of the real-life charismatic leader who would destroy so many. In masterful prose, Woollett painstakingly examines what happens when Evelyn is pulled into Jones's orbit - an orbit it would prove impossible for her to leave."--Publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 1947534637
- ISBN: 9781947534636
- ISBN: 9781911617594
- ISBN: 1911617591
- Physical Description: ix, 404 pages ; 24 cm
- Publisher: Melbourne, Victoria ; Scribe Publications, [2019]
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Jones, Jim, 1931-1978 > Fiction. Peoples Temple > Fiction. Cults > United States > Fiction. Nineteen sixties > Fiction. California > Social life and customs > 20th century > Fiction. California > History > 20th century > Fiction. |
| Genre: | Historical fiction. Psychological fiction. |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Castlegar Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castlegar Public Library | FIC WOO (Text) | 35146002164382 | Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2019 April #1
In 1968, the Vietnam War in full swing, Evelyn moves with her conscientious-objector husband to Evergreen, California, where he can fulfill his wartime obligation by working in a mental hospital. Looking for a cause to devote her energies to, Evelyn discovers the People's Temple and the Reverend Jim Jones. Unable to resist the pull of Jones' gravity, Evelyn is increasingly drawn into Temple life and, inevitably, the dark future that awaits its members. Inspired by the story of Carolyn Layton, Jones' real-life, right-hand woman, Woollett's latest (The Love of a Bad Man, 2016) presents Jonestown through the eyes of a smart, worldly, socially conscious young woman pulled in by Jim Jones' extreme narcissism. This is a wonderfully written, compelling story, with well-defined characters that each contribute to the community that was Jonestown. And despite the well-known end to her tale, Woollett maintains the tension and uncertainty that must have defined the group's last days. Wollett turns a dark chapter in U.S. history into a deeply human, satisfying read for fans of Emma Cline's The Girls (2016). Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2019 March #1
A young, idealistic couple is torn apart as they are entangled in the Peoples Temple cult. Just out of college and early in their marriage, Evelyn and Lenny Lynden move to Evergreen Valley, California, so Lenny can fulfill his conscientious objector service in a state mental hospital. Lenny is soon exhausted by his work and regularly comes home with energy only to get high. Evelyn tries to devote herself to homemaking, but the loneliness wears on her. Evelyn suggests the two go to church, where she is immediately taken in by the imposing, charismatic figure of Jim Jones. Evelyn and Lenny become deeply ingrained in the Peoples Temple, and Evelyn begins an affair with Jones—who has a wife and children—and soon divorces Lenny. Evelyn (who was inspired by a woman named Carolyn Moore) eventually has a son with Jones, and Lenny marries another member. Evelyn's isolation is clear, but any understanding of her motivations is deeply obscure. Woollett's novel, which is heav ily researched, traverses the uneasy terrain between historical fiction and all that cannot be known about the inner lives of real people. History blends with mythology, creating a dizzying effect in which a reader, too, will be searching for something to ground them. In an effort to explore multiple perspectives, Woollett (The Love of a Bad Man, 2017, etc.) begins to focus on a tumult of other characters, with Lenny and Evelyn receding from the center; the story is at times difficult to follow. Woollett explores how Jones could have been so captivating and manipulative (with a heavy focus on his lies, sexual manipulations, and abuses of his followers), but the Temple's purported focus on socialism and race relations isn't as clear. In the end, a reader feels the characters hurtling toward doom after the cult moves to Guyana. Perhaps one of the story's most devastating takeaways is that two characters who started out deeply committed to pacifism and the imagining of a better world ultimately failed to imagine any actions other than fear, violence, and death. Weighty and disquieting. Copyright Kirkus 2019 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
