Review by Alexandre-Marie -- The Narrow Gate
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Review by Alexandre-Marie -- The Narrow Gate
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Narrow Gate" by John Servant.]
The Narrow Gate by John Servant is, on the whole, a poster book for unremarkableness. As a Christian or fan of Christian literature perhaps in the last ten pages of The Narrow Gate is where you would find actual guidance on contemporary Christian living. The rest of the novel is simply not worth your time. Here’s why.
Having spent a few hours perusing its pages, I gradually learnt that the 124-paged novel has very little to offer. I found nothing to commend. It is a botched attempt at the mastery of Christian literature and a tedious story to read. Tedious because while it offers a quick read with zero vulgarity, the novel is riddled with errors in both narration and grammar which quickly becomes frustrating.
The story is about Joe Jay. He is a charming, educated, handsome man who becomes a politician when propositioned by the local party leaders. He is young and ambitious and rather than uphold his Christian morals as a democratic leader, he deviates from the ways of God taught to him by his high school teacher, Sister Francis and falls into secularism.
Notably, the most frustrating aspect of The Narrow Gate is the redundancy. One such example is the sentence ''So the dinner moved on to sports, the family and small talk’’. Events also seem to rotate which emphasizes the mundane nature of narration. It’s the kind of frustration that had me frowning at my screen a few times in disbelief. Surely the story cannot be that bare?! But it was disappointingly so.
From the very start, it easily becomes clear how rushed and rather summarized the events are. The Narrow Gate is like a movie trailer, slowed down to replace the movie it should precede. It highlights only the major events in Joe Jay’s life, those significant to his rise and ultimate downfall in politics, with the occasional mention of Joan and Joey, his family, and Sister Francis, his ever concerned mentor. I expected that this hasty narration was artistic, that the events highlighted would be suspenseful and intriguing but that expectation too was crushed.
In addition to that, the description has been inconsistently detailed because it's largely the shallow highlighting aforementioned or too much unnecessary information like the dessert Joe had at a dinner meeting. The characters were generally disappointing, moral or not, as they had little personality and character and I felt that what mattered more was what they represented rather than who they were. Joe is the sinful, secular man who later rises to grace and changes his ways. Joan is the meek, ignorant wife in the background. Joey the victim of parental conflict and neglect while Sister Francis is the embodiment of true Christianity.
Despite being non-fiction, the novel is unrealistic and its characters are impossible to relate to. Were it not so painfully summarized, then perhaps the characters would be relatable, the description consistent and the story likeable. However, hasty narration that concludes with climatic motivational lessons in morality and following Christ does not excuse John Servant’s bland and uninspired storytelling. This is the reason why I rate The Narrow Gate 1 out of 4 and consequently cannot recommend this novel to any other than a thorough and brutal editor.
******
The Narrow Gate
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Narrow Gate by John Servant is, on the whole, a poster book for unremarkableness. As a Christian or fan of Christian literature perhaps in the last ten pages of The Narrow Gate is where you would find actual guidance on contemporary Christian living. The rest of the novel is simply not worth your time. Here’s why.
Having spent a few hours perusing its pages, I gradually learnt that the 124-paged novel has very little to offer. I found nothing to commend. It is a botched attempt at the mastery of Christian literature and a tedious story to read. Tedious because while it offers a quick read with zero vulgarity, the novel is riddled with errors in both narration and grammar which quickly becomes frustrating.
The story is about Joe Jay. He is a charming, educated, handsome man who becomes a politician when propositioned by the local party leaders. He is young and ambitious and rather than uphold his Christian morals as a democratic leader, he deviates from the ways of God taught to him by his high school teacher, Sister Francis and falls into secularism.
Notably, the most frustrating aspect of The Narrow Gate is the redundancy. One such example is the sentence ''So the dinner moved on to sports, the family and small talk’’. Events also seem to rotate which emphasizes the mundane nature of narration. It’s the kind of frustration that had me frowning at my screen a few times in disbelief. Surely the story cannot be that bare?! But it was disappointingly so.
From the very start, it easily becomes clear how rushed and rather summarized the events are. The Narrow Gate is like a movie trailer, slowed down to replace the movie it should precede. It highlights only the major events in Joe Jay’s life, those significant to his rise and ultimate downfall in politics, with the occasional mention of Joan and Joey, his family, and Sister Francis, his ever concerned mentor. I expected that this hasty narration was artistic, that the events highlighted would be suspenseful and intriguing but that expectation too was crushed.
In addition to that, the description has been inconsistently detailed because it's largely the shallow highlighting aforementioned or too much unnecessary information like the dessert Joe had at a dinner meeting. The characters were generally disappointing, moral or not, as they had little personality and character and I felt that what mattered more was what they represented rather than who they were. Joe is the sinful, secular man who later rises to grace and changes his ways. Joan is the meek, ignorant wife in the background. Joey the victim of parental conflict and neglect while Sister Francis is the embodiment of true Christianity.
Despite being non-fiction, the novel is unrealistic and its characters are impossible to relate to. Were it not so painfully summarized, then perhaps the characters would be relatable, the description consistent and the story likeable. However, hasty narration that concludes with climatic motivational lessons in morality and following Christ does not excuse John Servant’s bland and uninspired storytelling. This is the reason why I rate The Narrow Gate 1 out of 4 and consequently cannot recommend this novel to any other than a thorough and brutal editor.
******
The Narrow Gate
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Soul Seeker by Kaylin McFarren
