Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this novel.

I picked it up and was looking forward to reading about a cult-like setting but couldn’t get past the first few chapters. I may try again in the future! Thanks again.

Beautifully written, achingly sad tale. The complex bonds of family, the effects of choices made in the name of religion and love, and the themes of hope and redemption are explored through characters that are entirely relatable and engender empathy. I was so taken with this book that halfway through I became concerned that the ending would be a disappointment, but I need not have worried. Enger's resolution to the Last Days story arc was not only satisfying, but powerful. I intend to go back now and read his earlier works.

5 "redemptive, surprising, enigmatic" stars !!

Thanks to Netgalley, University of Minnesota Press and the author for an e-copy of this novel. I will be providing my honest opinion and review. This was released October 2020.

Rural Minnesota, Los Angeles and New York. 1974 and the demise of Nixon.

Enoch recovers from a medical emergency and has a vision of the Rapture. He is a preacher and old and full of piss and vinegar. He runs a religious retreat whereby his faithful are gathered. He has a secret love, Sylvia and she is a Unitarian who understands the psychology of religion but not the fire and brimstone which is the heart of Enoch.

His son Peter lives in New York. A failed ball player and aspiring journalist. Angry, hurt and lost. He comes back to Minnesota to witness and write about his father's vision.

Melanie, Peter's first love and neighbor is called back from Hollywood. She has faith in the end of the world and the Rapture and apocalypse but is a slave to both romantic love and Percocet. Saved by Enoch as a young girl and the miracle is disbelieved by all but her.

Willie, the love child, now 15 and meeting his parents for the first time. Skinny the deputy sheriff, full of bluster and psychological pain at his sister Melanie's abandonment. Victor the town fool who acts as Enoch's manservant.

These characters, come together, along with devotees and pilgrims for the second coming of Christ in beautiful cold rural Minnesota.

This is a family drama of the highest calibre. Mr. Enger is in full control of his writing, the story and the complexity, beauty and weaknesses of his characters. These people come together to try and heal hurts, bandage wounds and learn to love each other again and more fully. They discover that no matter how far you run, you turn back home and will grace be found the second coming of Christ or making sacrifices for those you love most and the ones you hurt most.

A deep and beautiful literary achievement. Thank you Mr. Enger.

Enoch is a preacher in 1970s Minnesota. One day he has a heart attack and dies – but is resuscitated by a passing stranger. Hovering between life and death he sees a vison and announces that an angel has told him that the Rapture is going to occur in just two weeks. Initial scepticism gradually changes to belief and people start to turn up at Enoch’s ranch to be there for this long-awaited event, whilst Enoch himself sets out to gather his nearest and dearest around him so that they too won’t miss out. I found this a really compelling read, even though sometimes the characterisation slipped into cliché and stereotype. But as an exploration of religion, faith, belief, family and redemption I found it totally convincing on many levels. It’s never predictable, relationships don’t always turn out as might be expected, and of course, when the Rapture doesn’t happen (surely no spoiler this?) the aftermath is convincingly handled. With Watergate bubbling along in the background it’s a compelling portrait of a time and place, and of religious charisma and the gullibility of those who fall for such charismatic leaders. A very enjoyable – and often thought-provoking - read.

Is there any better setting for a book than the Midwest? No region captures all of the disparate types of Americans than the heartland of America itself. Tracking the lives of 3 people down on their luck, this book tackles the micro-turmoil of these characters while they go through the macro-turmoil of the Nixon administrations downfall. American Gospel expertly tackles the political soul of America and the religious underpinnings that will always drive our culture.

A character study that at points lacks cohesive message or plot. There were a number of real-world, contemporary issues explored, but overall something feels missing here.

A preacher named Enoch experiences a vision and is sure that the rapture will take place in 2 weeks. He makes a radio announcement to draw believers to his commune, especially his estranged son and his former girlfriend, now a Hollywood actress.

I wanted to see more history and politics and culture of the 1970s in how the action unfolded. As it is, if you take out the few mentions of Nixon, you wouldn’t even know when it takes place. Religious movements are influenced by the surroundings, but you get no sense of that here.

I was surprisingly satisfied with the ending though. The author managed to make the vision come true yet not come true. Nice touch.

Review at the Historical Novel Review (Nov 2020): https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/american-gospel-a-novel/

Thanks to University of Minnesota Press and netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I kept asking myself what am I missing here. If there is some sort of higher meaning, a larger message, it was lost on me. For me, this book is a well-developed character study and nothing much else. Sure there are events that propel our characters forward to a sort of divine destiny and reconciliation. But I did not care much about these events. The climax was confusing and it seemed the author forgot what day it was. But maybe I missed a sentence that explained it all because I only cared about our three main protagonists. In the end, this is what I took away from the book: people need a purpose; people need conflict; people need forgiveness; people need each other. Anything more than that is lost on me. After all, I believe this is a story about people and not much else.

Note: Was it the author’s intention to have these people believe Jesus was coming back a day early? The climax takes place on August 18 not 19. Why were these characters disappointed when it only turned out to be a storm? If it is mentioned somewhere in the last part then disregard.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1ZE25GSUEWMCI/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1517910544
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3550718708?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
https://www.instagram.com/p/CG156lFgY0Z/

Rating: 3 stars
Recommend? This would be good for lovers of literary fiction, not necessarily someone who needs a plot-heavy book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review

At a commune in Northern Minnesota in the 1970s, a religious leader named Enoch has a heart attack and dies. When he is resuscitated, he tells his followers that while he was dead, an angel told him the Rapture is coming in two weeks. His son Peter, a wanna-be journalist in NYC, doesn't believe him, but sees an opportunity to get his big break, and meets him at the commune. Peter's high school girlfriend, Hollywood starlet Melanie, is also convinced to go to the farm by Enoch, which draws attention to the predicted event.

What I liked:
- The cover definitely drew me in! It's so beautiful
- Lin Enger is a talented writer, and I enjoyed the prose itself
- The premise of this book - religious fanaticism and a nation in turmoil due to the actions of the president - felt very timely in our current state
- I enjoyed the story's overall arc and thought the ending was well-done

What I didn't like: Overall, I wanted more from this story
- I wanted more on Nixon and his resignation and how it impacted the country
- I didn't like the main characters. They felt straight out of a cliched 70's movie, and I wish they had been further fleshed out
- This book's premise is so intriguing, but the story drags. There was a lot of opportunity for this to be edgy and thrilling.

I really liked the premise of this book- the son of a religious zealot goes to visit his father who is predicting the end of the world. It is set in the 1970's and also features a famous actress who has ties to the son, a failed baseball player and now writer. They reconnect at the father's communal farm in rural Minnesota.
I just wish the writing had been as interesting as the storyline. It was ok- I've read worse- but it just drags. I loved the beautiful cover and the premise but less so the title and the writing.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Interesting character studies, particularly around truth. The plot was mostly engaging, and it has a good ending. Solid overall.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

Wanted to love this one more than I did. Found some of the characters very hard to believe, but the premise was gripping and a thought provoker. Enjoyable but not memorable.

When a cult leader declares the time for the rapture is only a few days away this becomes the catalyst for an interesting story about dysfunctional families. The half-truths that grow into myths and the control over everyday life comes to a head the closer the prediction nears.
The story started a little slow and wondered where it was going only to find that I enjoyed Lin Enger's style once it all came together.
An independent review thanks to Univ Of Minnesota Press / NetGalley

Enoch, Peter, and Melanie are the main characters in this story of religious fanaticism and the resulting fallout for all related people. Peter and Melanie's love affair began when they were minors, and despite giving their child up for adoption they still have feelings for each other. Enoch's certainty that the end of days (Rapture) is coming throws them together again and allows them to meet their son. Both of which are huge positives, but are overshadowed by Enoch's instant fame and gathering of other zealots. Interesting, but not my favorite book.

The book was was good, but I felt it could have been even stronger. It seemed that all of the characters were rather stereotypical and two-dimensional without enough depth o surprise the reader. Called home, the protagonist has to deal with an end-of -the-world prophecy and all of the accompanying activities.

Set at the end of the Nixon presidency, AMERICAN GOSPEL is an ode to family - the family we are born into, and the family we choose. Peter, a down-on-his-luck journalist loses an opportunity to turn his career around when he has to travel home to Minnesota to see his father, Enoch, who suffered cardiac death but was revived. But while he was dead, Enoch claims to have had a vision telling him the date and time of the Rapture. Enoch already has a small group of followers but as the word gets out, people start to come from all over, camping out on Enoch's farm. Among them is Melanie, Peter's childhood sweetheart turned movie star. She welcomes the Rapture and embraces Enoch's vision. Peter, on the other hand, does not believe, but thinks he can make a great news story out of his dad's vision and subsequent failure when the Rapture doesn't occur and promised. Enger tells the story without hyperbole, making all the more believable. A remarkable read.

I have a weak spot for novels set in the Midwest (aaaahhhhh - how I miss the Midwest!) and Enger's story certainly is atmospheric and fun to read, but it's also a little too formulaic - while the ending is hard to predict, the characters are modeled after well-known types which unfortunately takes away from the impact the book could have (pun intended - let the cover give you a hint!). It's the 1970's, and wannabe-preacher Enoch, the head of a commune in Minnesota, says that while he suffered cardiac arrest, an angel told him that the Rapture was coming in two weeks. First, people think he lost his mind, but when he manages to convince Hollywood actress Melanie Magnus whom he knows from her childhood days to come and await God with him, he starts getting attention - also because Enoch's estranged son Peter, a failed journalist, joins them in the commune and starts covering and selling current developments and past events...

So yes, we have the messianic, manipulative preacher who believes in his vision, we have the Hollywood actress with a substance abuse problem and a dark secret who wants to be more than a projection surface, and we have the guy in his thirties who sees his former aspirations coming to nothing which leads him to drastic decisions. While the overall atmosphere is superbly written, the characters lack an element of suprise and are sometimes dangerously close to being cliches. While Nixon does play a background role, his story could have been more closely interwoven with the main plot (keyword: Delusions).

The text plays with biblical themes and is often funny without being disrespectful to the scripture: The biblical Enoch, a dude born in Babylon (!), wrote The Book of Enoch in which he explains why angels fall from heeaven and why the great flood was a good idea. Our Enoch in the book, a deeply religious man, is also shown as a very human plotter, and hypocrisy is a major theme throughout the text. Enger plants many hints that suggest how Enoch could have tricked himself into evoking or believing his visions and why Melanie is so eager to believe him - while "Melanie", a stage name, derives from the Greek work for "blackness", her real name, "Annie", hints at "Angel(a)". The name of sceptical Peter refers to the biblical Peter who denied Jesus three times (before repenting).

It's a rather dangerous move to choose a title that is so close to the now classic masterpiece American Pastoral, as it raises expectations to enormous heights. All in all, this is a solid novel, but Enger could have been bolder, because the storyline would have allowed for edgier, more complex characters. The book's theme, the human wish to believe and belong, makes the reader ponder, and Enger could have challenged us more.