3-14-07 The Expected One
This is just a followup post about a book written by Kathleen McGowan entitled, "The Expected One" which I finally found on the markdown table for a mere $4.98 last week. I posted about it last July here, although I hadn't read much of anything at that point. Now that I've read the book, I would say that I got what I paid for.
The essence of the southern France connection to Mary Magdelene is very juicily served up in this work of fiction that, were it not for the fact that it was written before the DaVinci Code was written, could easily be perceived as an opportunistic work. As an ode to Christianity, albeit the mystical piece it initially seems to come on as, it ends up being a fairly unsatisfying read (for me, anyway... maybe born-again types will really like it, especially the women).
What got me about the book is that the author had so much great stuff to work with. But with the hidden agenda of validating the resurrection folded in near the end of the story, it was terribly uneven. At some points it moved as tantalizingly as DaVinci Code, but then would drop off into some winding setup for... well, I never did figure out what. In the end the suspension of my disbelief was inadequately tethered.
How any of this can be worked into two more books is beyond me. I was off the bus with the chapters toward the end that are presented as the "gospel of Mary Magdelene"... as if the prose presented could be adequate to suspend disbelief even though it's presented as fiction. Most of the basic plot devices for building up suspense are wasted in favor of the "too much information" turnstile spinning at the end. Handing the reader ALL the answers at the back of the book just proves to be, in the end, unsatisfying.
I got the distinct impression that this is basically Kathleen McGovern's catharsis. As catharthis, it's actually very interesting and full of great stuff about this woman's personal spiritual journey. If it had only been presented as such more clearly, I think I would have enjoyed reading it much more than I did, having come at it from the "DaVinci Code" angle, especially as a work of fiction.
So, I'd recommend this book with that caveat... it's not really a work of fiction, but rather a personal catharsis, an outpouring of how the author put some semblance of order into what would otherwise be chaotic and troubling expereinces... visions, coincidences, quasi-historical revelations, and so forth. She makes no slightest claim to be relating anything but a fictionalized accounting of those personal experiences over the past two decades. As such, the work is more about her finding a resting place for her Christian beliefs, out of the turmoil of her visions and experiences over the past two decades. And I have to say that the feminist bent is enjoyable, too (something there wasn't enough of in DaVinci Code).
There's plenty of tantalizing stuff in the book for "DaVinci Code" fans, but the payoff isn't the big unanswered question leaving one salivating for more. The "payoff" here is a long denouement into a re-affirmation of faith.
The essence of the southern France connection to Mary Magdelene is very juicily served up in this work of fiction that, were it not for the fact that it was written before the DaVinci Code was written, could easily be perceived as an opportunistic work. As an ode to Christianity, albeit the mystical piece it initially seems to come on as, it ends up being a fairly unsatisfying read (for me, anyway... maybe born-again types will really like it, especially the women).
What got me about the book is that the author had so much great stuff to work with. But with the hidden agenda of validating the resurrection folded in near the end of the story, it was terribly uneven. At some points it moved as tantalizingly as DaVinci Code, but then would drop off into some winding setup for... well, I never did figure out what. In the end the suspension of my disbelief was inadequately tethered.
How any of this can be worked into two more books is beyond me. I was off the bus with the chapters toward the end that are presented as the "gospel of Mary Magdelene"... as if the prose presented could be adequate to suspend disbelief even though it's presented as fiction. Most of the basic plot devices for building up suspense are wasted in favor of the "too much information" turnstile spinning at the end. Handing the reader ALL the answers at the back of the book just proves to be, in the end, unsatisfying.
I got the distinct impression that this is basically Kathleen McGovern's catharsis. As catharthis, it's actually very interesting and full of great stuff about this woman's personal spiritual journey. If it had only been presented as such more clearly, I think I would have enjoyed reading it much more than I did, having come at it from the "DaVinci Code" angle, especially as a work of fiction.
So, I'd recommend this book with that caveat... it's not really a work of fiction, but rather a personal catharsis, an outpouring of how the author put some semblance of order into what would otherwise be chaotic and troubling expereinces... visions, coincidences, quasi-historical revelations, and so forth. She makes no slightest claim to be relating anything but a fictionalized accounting of those personal experiences over the past two decades. As such, the work is more about her finding a resting place for her Christian beliefs, out of the turmoil of her visions and experiences over the past two decades. And I have to say that the feminist bent is enjoyable, too (something there wasn't enough of in DaVinci Code).
There's plenty of tantalizing stuff in the book for "DaVinci Code" fans, but the payoff isn't the big unanswered question leaving one salivating for more. The "payoff" here is a long denouement into a re-affirmation of faith.
posted by Jeff Barnard at 10:40 AM
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