It is important to note that most of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the book's subject matters & those detailed in my review overwhelming. I suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters that contain reflections on religious extremism, sexism, bigotry, self-harm, mental illness, mania, & others.

Religion is a lingering facet of human society. There has always been a need to believe in more than the self. Alongside this comes the desire for structure. It is certainly attractive for every hour of the day to have a purpose. However, humanity’s self-motivating ability is great; Why would we need someone else to tell us what to do? What is the purpose of a system of beliefs that alter our free will? There is hardly a straightforward answer to either of these questions. Suffice it for humanity to rest easy, contemplating the essence of a creature devout in celestial abilities whose features resemble the mirror’s reflection but whose consciousness is unbound by the valour of malice that pungently exhausts the land.

This story follows a female religious devotee; she leads a church, she reads, & she is mistaken for a follower though she is the leader. She is a devotee of the philosophy of belief; the concept of something other than herself. Her character is nearly inconsequential to the story, so it matters little whether she is of flesh & bone or small choking hazards—plastic. Rather, what is most fascinating about Kaye is the fact that she does not matter at all. She has a husband & yet this man has an entire life, fulfilled by his independent enjoyments, one is left wondering where she factors in. Her church functions independently of her sermons & one is left wondering what part of the Lord’s whispers reaches her ears at all.

While reading this book I found the time swiftly passed me by. I was not preoccupied with the length of the book, the ticking of the clock or the sun’s passage in the sky. What grabbed my attention was the premise; a woman whose faith seems utterly devoid of belief. That is not to say that Kaye has no system on which to rest but that her essence floats like moats in the summer’s sun. Readers will find in her a character that is shallow & grave like the hole whence the body lays in final tranquillity. This is not a bad thing.

In certain cases, the main character of a book is the vessel by which the reader becomes immersed in the narrative. Kaye does not offer readers the opportunity to know her, she isn’t even the person translating the story into palatable chapters. This story is told by some omniscient being, rather unlike the God Kaye has grown to believe in, the narrator understands that Kaye is a woman without much gumption. I appreciated the tertiary narration. At times, I wanted to know who was telling me the story as I felt this might have engaged me further in the rather ridiculous series of events. However, the secrecy of the recounting—the disengaged words from no one in particular—felt intimate & led the story in the direction it needed to go.

Readers who have a firm grasp of various systems of belief, of the houses that bind religions & their facets, will have a better time appreciating this story for what it is, a philosophical question on the foundation of ideology.

Though an archive of religious knowledge will be of use to readers, it is not necessary. One may lean on the narrative to appreciate the depth; Kaye is a woman in a man’s field, she is a woman hearing the word of God, she is a woman speaking the word of God—always thought to be a male entity—to communities led by male figures. Certainly, this is a simplistic view because it is easily ascertained. One need not live in the city center to understand the vast nuance of gender freedoms. However, Kaye never really questions herself in this sense. She is aware that people do not regard her as an authority figure because priests are men & Kaye is a woman.

The simplicity of this fact needs to be considered as it contributes to the downfall of the main character. Had she not met a man in the park maybe she would have been less sympathetic to his ramblings. Had she seen a homeless woman would she have bemoaned the society that led her there?

If Kaye had not been in a heterosexual relationship would God have whispered pleasantries about faith & comfort into her ear to be shared with her community? If Kaye’s mother hadn’t foretold of her daughter’s failure, would Kaye have chosen a path to success? Kaye’s father is not mentioned. Her husband is mentioned only so far as to highlight that he rumbles through life like a tumbleweed; believing in this, incorporating that, & not paying close enough attention to anything in particular to be considered devout.

What is the author trying to convey? Which of the characters is the antagonist? What I find to be a great drag is when turmoil & fear are built up to be a storm but are, instead, raindrops across a garden’s bed. That is to say; Kaye is a person who ponders the truth of her ideology. Her entire system of belief is based on the alternative—a woman priest rather than a male, a traditional church rather than the new-age bigoted lot; devotion on park benches rather than pews; prayer with hands held tight rather than palms facing the sky. Is Kaye different for the sake of being different or does she believe that this path is the right, bona fide & absolute road?

The narrative lacks consistency. When I speak of torrential rain it is in line with what the novel attempts to promise. The scene in the park & the ultimate loss—homelessness—are represented as small dandelions in a field of green, nearly indistinguishable in the grand scheme. Kaye’s reliance on published works might lead readers to conclude that her beliefs are rather seeded in the English language; it does not matter what is written so long as she can read it, consume it, speak it, & live it to be true. When she meets the man who claims to be a planet, a star; a nucleus of the Gods; Kaye poses no objections.

Who is Janus? Due to the nature of this story, one that poses itself as a rather sour satire, I found the answer to this question invisible to my eyes. What would have led Kaye to believe a man she met in the park? What was it about his speech that brought to light the providence of what he foresaw? In ancient Rome, Janus was the God of Doors; he saw what was coming down the line & how it tied into the current state of being. His ability to gauge time allowed him to act as a clairvoyant. His status in ancient Roman religions & mythology declared him as the God of gateways, change, transition; the beginnings, ends; & archways.

Picture yourself standing in a public park in the middle of the rain. A stranger approaches you; a person with perfect teeth but no home. This person offers you a sermon, stating that you have made the wrong decision & you should change course immediately. What do you do? If you live in a boisterous city, this situation has probably happened to you before. I have stood in grocery stores & had similar experiences while contemplating the cracker selection. This makes Kaye’s mental turmoil difficult to understand. She loses her way after a rapid-fire conversation that offers little in terms of morsels of nourishment; Janus says little to Kaye & yet she is consumed by a mania that was triggered by the invisible.

Can the reader conclude that this stranger—Janus—spoke worry into her broken mind? Was Kaye’s temperament likely to crack, regardless of the person who visited her in the park? What made Janus claim that Kaye’s future would need to be altered for her well-being? What part of her lax & rather unburdened existence posed cause for worry?

As I am not the God of Doorways, I am perhaps poorly placed to ask such questions. Yet, the reality is that this story took place in our world, in our day & age with a person who was viscerally integrated into the casualty of modern-day society. Why did she believe a prophet in the park? One can understand reading books & believing the words they share; this happens all the time—this is part of the reason that drives book bans; people have very little critical thinking ability & so become immersed in whatever fiction or fancy is presented to them (think: the Bible).

What I am saying is that the author was unintentional with their premise. It is fine & dandy to have a character fall head over heels for ludicrous stanzas, but this scene felt foggy in the worst way; it was incomplete. There is no motive behind anything that happens. The free will of each individual in the exchange reads as cloistered behind the mind of the author. This plays well into the premise, that God is playing dolls with humanity or that the Prophet—whichever one you believe existed—is a spoilt child longing to alter the narrative of their plastic toys. However, one still needs to ask why.

When one is sitting in a religious institution one is not waiting for mystery. One listens to a speaker who has punctuation to add to folly. One is present & attentive waiting for the parable that will nestle their worries. For Janus to appear in the church after Kaye experiences fever-induced mania does not read as the miracle of prophecy. Rather, this scene feels like a manic episode. One is left feeling rather sad for Kaye as she sinks further into the mud of her mind.

Perhaps this is the point. Is religion a muddy stream seeking to sink anyone who steps foot in its waters? Does it matter that Janus came to Kaye rather than her God manifesting himself in Gabriel or the burning bush? Is the essence of all-encompassing ideology that one loses oneself in their philosophy? What would have become of Aristotle if he had wandered the streets of another city? What if walking across the water was a metaphor for performing that which feels impossible? What if no one hears God because he does not have a voice?

The eclipse of methodology encourages this story to nestle firmly in the absurd. Kaye becomes the familiar face of every person you might know which leaves her disappearance an impossible case to close. Was Kaye a real person to begin with or was she simply a metaphor for the cosmic domesticity of humanity’s insecurity? Is the story’s narrator the author or another omniscient being intent on grotesque exposition in an attempt to instil the bedtime story with a proverbial warning; hold steady to your beliefs or any droplet of rain is likely to turn your life into a monsoon; beware the aimless roamer; hasten your scripture or the pages of your life with slice you to pieces.

Ultimately, the reader may select their interpretation. Religion is a personal philosophy. One may wish to believe that they are unique in their care for the land or their tenderness of a stranger’s well-being yet, cultivated in the woods & within the sewer ways are the gathering of these same drowning foes. Making their way into the cerebellum from the gentle nerves behind our skin; ideology is that which we are better off ignorant of understating least we opt for the drowning vessel carrying feet that can neither part the seas nor walk through waves to safety.

Thank you to NetGalley, Cemetery Dance Publications, & Nicole Cushing for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was an incredibly bizarre story, very heretical book for those that are Christian. It follows Mother Kaye, a middle-aged Episcopalian priest and her struggles with her religious identity. Then she meets a stranger who identifies himself as another god, and she sort of shatters. It was an engaging read, quite intriguing. Would definitely recommend to people, just maybe not the religious.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

Wow! That was a mind blowing story. I chose it because not only am I Episcopal but my husband is an Episcopal priest (well, Bishop now, but still always a priest) and I have to say some of that story hit pretty close to home! I like the way it started out so very, very real and then descended quickly into utter madness. Or is it madness? Sometimes I think we are all, as the Cheshire Cat says to Alice, "mad here".

Ohhh, I so loved this writing style! Quite compelling, made me want to read more and more.

For the first half of the book I was a bit confused about what the topic was though, but then building the firm base I was thrown of the cliff for quite a ride as the MC:s "decent into madness" became quite the roller coaster. I loved every bit of that, how her delusions - or were they delusions *wink *wink* were described from inside and later also a bit from the outside.

There is hidden depths to this one though - it questions some human habits like why we stay somewhere we do not want to be? Why is it easier to stay where you are unhappy, than take the step to something new?

4/5 stars because even if I did love how it was written, the first half was quite confusing and then it was over way too soon in comparison.

Mother Kaye is the forty seven year old priest at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in a rural Indiana town. On the advice of her Bishop’s office and to boost numbers she begins a month long Prayer in the Park program. On the first rainy night she encounters a homeless man who identifies himself as Janus. He tells her she needs to resign the priesthood in the morning. She believes she has lost her soul and all comes to a head at a funeral.

Odd novella. I loved what the author had to say about the Episcopal church, my own church, “the Episcopal Church, at its best, is cool, calm and collected.” “The congregation in the Episcopal Church feels the subtle warm glow of God’s presence. Subtle, but steady. Episcopalians don’t often experience harsh peaks and valleys in their spiritual walk. If they get fired up by anything it’s politics. Faith, not so much.” These reflections, along with Mother Kaye’s ruminations on the reasons she stayed in the priesthood tipped me over into liking the story about lost faith.

As a retired Anglican Priest, I found this novel enlightening, humorous and thought provoking. Well written story about a female priest confused about her faith and her life in general. An excellent read worthy of five stars.

Wildy strange and rather mesmerizing, The Plastic Priest is a tale of psychological unravelling done right. And right in this instance, is kind of sort of from zero to sixty in no time.
The story follows an Episcopalian female priest in a small, ugly, narrowminded town full of small, ugly, narrowminded people. She is fairly stuck there, in that place, in her job, the inherent limitations of both constantly getting in a way of her wanting to do good.
So she decides to try something new, a form of community outreach. And ends up meeting someone who changes her entire life by making her reexamine her belief system and her raison d'être.
The novella takes a turn around midpoint, going from realism to … something else. Surrealism? Either way, it’s a fascinating and harrowing psychological journey, and the author takes you on it expertly. Ninety minutes of thoughtful, thought-provoking weirdness was the reading experience here, So, recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

Unhinged in the best way. Read if you love storytelling that makes you feel like you're losing your mind along with the characters. Cushing has such a unique way of writing that I was initially uncertain of but quickly sucked me in. Cerebral, bizarre, incisive, and hilarious. Consider me a newly minted fan.

I love the writing and how the horror elements where installed throughout the book, however I must admit I couldn't get into the story.

A interesting and hard to put down novella. Wish it had been a longer story. I love Cushing's writing.

Spooky October #3

What is there not to like in a story about a lapsed Episcopalian priest who lost her mind because she lost her faith and became a plastic figure of Plastianity in the hands of a Little Boy in the Sky?

Review Copy

I would love to tag THE PLASTIC PRIEST as 'humor/insanity'. But I may be the only person to have laughed through so much of the insanely clever work of art.

Nicole Cushing extrapolated on the feelings of a married, female Episcopalian priest in a small midwestern town. She ruminated on the thoughts and possibilities of Supreme Being and as far as this reader is concerned her final pages hit the mark.

If you are a True Believer, this may not be the novella for you. However, if you are open to ideas that take a different path you will definitely want to pick this one up. Coming your way in December from Cemetery Dance.

It's difficult for a horror book to be as disturbing as this one without an ounce of blood being shed and not a whisper of evil entities in sight. But this is the rare one that delivers a growing sense of unease and dread without any superficial horror tropes.

This concerns a female Episcopalian priest in a small, conservative Indiana town. She's plagued by prejudices from every side. Her husband is a pagan, her parents won't acknowledge her priesthood, and the town only accepts her because they're stubborn and set in their ways but really see her as less a spiritual leader and more as just a cog in their religious beliefs.

Worst of all, she dreams of abandoning her calling but refuses out of the same stubbornness and ego. One evening she'll meet a "man" in the park and this will change her life forever.

The undoing of her mental state brings with it questions of faith, spirituality, and philosophy. But her thoughts seem to lean towards an almost fatalistic view of religion as a whole.

Is she simply having a crisis of faith or is she suffering a mental breakdown of a sort? This is a question that the author really leaves to the reader and I'm always happy to read a book that treats us like we have a clue without having to handhold us to an expected ending.

Without the action, bloodshed, or terrible creatures, this novella will have you thinking. Its slow build to what ails our protagonist is tension filled and evocative. This is a fantastic read and showcases an excellent talent in the horror writing community. I highly recommend this book.

A short novella about the stagnating life of an Episcopal priest in a small midwestern town. This is more absurd or weird fiction than horror, with a few very funny moments. Religious, political and class themes all coloring what seems like one woman’s psychotic break or maybe something else. This feels like a rich opportunity for multiple interpretations. A quick read for a rainy afternoon.

Nicole Cushing’s novella is a disturbing story about a madwomen who is an Episcopalian priest, she has fought her way to this position however her mind is directing her another way. They say once the soul has been thoroughly poisoned, the body must abandon it.

The story was surprising and quite dark. The writing was at times bizarre and macabre in how it delivered the inner monologue of the main character. The unique way in which the descent into madness was portrayed was creepy. At times it overlapped with events that were transpiring in real time. Telling them apart was cleverly disguised by the author through the imagery and atmosphere.

As a novella it was gripping and delivered a bizarre story. An unusual but entertaining read.

The Master and Margarita got married in Stepford, conceived their daughter Barbie and Nicole Cushing wrote all about it in The Plastic Priest.

The description drew me to want to read this book. Where does a body go when the soul has been poisoned? I wanted to know.

The cover is dark and weird yet so is the book so it’s entirely fitting.

The Spiritual Stepford wife of God lives in Owlingsville. Her name is Kaye. I met her, I’m sure a bit of her resides in each one of us.

Kaye is an Episcopal priest, married to her pagan husband Charlie. From the get-go you expect a clash, you expect that the mind will be challenged with conflicting beliefs, conflicting thoughts, conflicting emotions, and conflicting understanding of what it means to be human. It was all of this presented within well-rounded characters and some lovely wit.

Cushing developed the characters in The Plastic Priest in a way that made this reader feel like she was sitting beside them, loving some, hating some, and sometimes wanting to roll her eyes and tell some to ‘f’ right off.
The pace of the novella was perfect.

While I loved the development of all the characters, Janus’ left me feeling like I was missing something. Maybe he was a little too abrupt or whimsical in his power. A bit of a jester more than a god? No doubt it was purposeful, but it made my mind stretch into the downward dog to grasp it and I’m a little lazy. That position hurts.

A philosophical thriller? A metaphysical memoir?
If you love grappling with those who grapple with religion, you will enjoy this novella.
Thank you to Cemetery Dance Publications and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

I enjoyed this book by Nicole Cushing. Haven't read her before, but will be finding more from her now. I enjoyed the characters (quirky) and the plot/pacing. #ThePlasticPriest #NetGalley

As always with a Nicole Cushing book I had another great time. Not as strange as some things I've read from her but still very interesting and never fully knew where it was going to end up going.

I found this to be enjoyably absurdist rather than filled with horror. Or maybe the horror was it made me laugh. On that note dry humour runs throughout this short book set in a small conservative town where a seeming crisis of confidence leads to …… , well, lots of unusual occurrences and maybe a not disappearance. Thank you to Cemetery Dance Publications and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.