The High Flyer
1999 • 518 pages

Ratings1

Average rating4

15

Short Review: Howatch's books are always significantly about ideas. It is not that the story is unimportant, but that the story is a method for discussing ideas. In many ways this is a book that attempts to confront atheism and to present a response to the new atheist critique. It is sort of a fictional version of the memoir [b:Unapologetic: Why, Despite Everything, Christianity Can Still Make Surprising Emotional Sense 15929332 Unapologetic Why, Despite Everything, Christianity Can Still Make Surprising Emotional Sense Francis Spufford https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1354217748s/15929332.jpg 21680097] Unapologetic. There is a lot of explication via dialogue here and that is what many people will complain about. The main character wants to hear from everyone around her what they think about an issue before she will commit to her own ideas. So she will talk to an Anglican priest, a spiritual director, her friend, a doctor, a psychologist, a novelist, etc. And that happens more than a couple times in the book.The main story is a psychological thriller/mystery. The main story is fine, but I really read Howatch for the ideas. And this is a good book of ideas. Mostly they are theological responses to the problem of Evil, sin and why God created a world that has evil in it.My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/high-flyer/

September 28, 2015Report this review