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Mission to America
by
Walter Kirn
From one of our most admired and visible young writers, a superb new novel about the collision between the forces of faith and an overstimulated, overfed, spiritually overextended America.
Mason LaVerle is a young man on a mission—a mission to America. He was raised in a remote Montana town in the church of the Aboriginal Fulfilled Apostles, a matriarchal, not-quite-Christ...more
Mason LaVerle is a young man on a mission—a mission to America. He was raised in a remote Montana town in the church of the Aboriginal Fulfilled Apostles, a matriarchal, not-quite-Christ...more
Hardcover, 271 pages
Published
October 11th 2005
by Doubleday
(first published 2005)
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Mission to America tells the story of two young men raised in an obscure, isolated Montana religious sect and what happens when they leave their cloistered world to recruit new blood for their unhealthily inbred clan.
I liked this book, though not for reasons I would have expected. Many of the reviews described it as laugh out loud funny. Though I did find myself smiling from time to time at the author’s wry perspective on life, I was more impacted by the thoughtful way in which he describes wha...more
I liked this book, though not for reasons I would have expected. Many of the reviews described it as laugh out loud funny. Though I did find myself smiling from time to time at the author’s wry perspective on life, I was more impacted by the thoughtful way in which he describes wha...more
This novel was sometimes a bit muddle but not without it's highpoints.
Page 217
"The only hitch in my noble plan," said Edward, "was that, since boyhood, I've been a pitiful liar, and fictional narratives lie in every line. For example, when something is said to take place 'suddenly.' In life, nothing ever happens suddenly, not even a drunken automobile wreck. The driver spends hours in a tavern first, and before that, of course, there the painful adolescence that initially led him to imbibe. Whic...more
Page 217
"The only hitch in my noble plan," said Edward, "was that, since boyhood, I've been a pitiful liar, and fictional narratives lie in every line. For example, when something is said to take place 'suddenly.' In life, nothing ever happens suddenly, not even a drunken automobile wreck. The driver spends hours in a tavern first, and before that, of course, there the painful adolescence that initially led him to imbibe. Whic...more
A well told tale, signifying nothing
(this is from my Amazon review)
What happens when an insular, moribund religious community meets a heedless, spiritually restless America? That is the premise of this book, where the earnest and well-spoken Mason, a resident of an insular religious community known as the Apostles, is sent on a mission to convert modern Americans to his faith, in order to bring back young adepts to freshen up the local gene pool. In this novel, Walter Kirn very sympathetically d...more
(this is from my Amazon review)
What happens when an insular, moribund religious community meets a heedless, spiritually restless America? That is the premise of this book, where the earnest and well-spoken Mason, a resident of an insular religious community known as the Apostles, is sent on a mission to convert modern Americans to his faith, in order to bring back young adepts to freshen up the local gene pool. In this novel, Walter Kirn very sympathetically d...more
Kirn’s work has been responsible for a few real shitty movies, but I picked this up on a whim when I was looking for something cute and quick during my forced hiatus from Women and Men, and there was a cult and a road trip involved, both of which are secret pleasures of mine. A few observational bòn móts hit about as well as those kinds of things are capable of, and the elders’ first visit to Lara has some lovely stretches of prose as the pair pore over remnants of her terribly sad life, but the...more
The plot of this story is not easy to do in a few words, given the two main characters' frame of reference - a matriarchal religious community in the hinterlands of Montana. Sent on a mission to bring in new converts, they are classic fish out of water, sometimes mistaken for Mormon missionaries. Setting out into the big wide world of American materialism, they fairly quickly lose their way, winding up among some wealthy high-end consumers who represent various marginal religious beliefs of thei...more
Well, it was a mixed bag.
I'd give five stars just for the first section of the book which explains the Apostles lifestyle and religious beliefs. What a wonderful, novel religion. Had me laughing--I thought I'd never see Candida (yeast overgrowth) in fiction, let a lone a religious setting! So much of the matriarchal apostles was familiar...I mean I think he concocted a believable amalgam of feminist, health-nut spiritual beliefs; and he did so tenderly (kudos for that).
Once the Apostles hit Sho...more
I'd give five stars just for the first section of the book which explains the Apostles lifestyle and religious beliefs. What a wonderful, novel religion. Had me laughing--I thought I'd never see Candida (yeast overgrowth) in fiction, let a lone a religious setting! So much of the matriarchal apostles was familiar...I mean I think he concocted a believable amalgam of feminist, health-nut spiritual beliefs; and he did so tenderly (kudos for that).
Once the Apostles hit Sho...more
Walter Kirn’s “Mission To America” had been sitting on my TBR bookshelf for years, so I finally decided to pick it up. I had no idea, that Kirn also wrote the book for “Up In The Air.” I loved that movie and that gave me a lot of hope going into this novel.
This novel was a huge let down. It’s too quirky for its own good and quickly becomes ridiculous. It’s about two missionaries from an obscure cult who go out into America to recruit new members for its dwindling sect.
The book has far too much...more
This novel was a huge let down. It’s too quirky for its own good and quickly becomes ridiculous. It’s about two missionaries from an obscure cult who go out into America to recruit new members for its dwindling sect.
The book has far too much...more
This book had lots of vivid detail, a few cute moments, and absolutely no point. It was trying to be super clever and ended up just being pointless and dumb. If your two favorite characters are going to be from an isolated cult then don't try to sell me on them knowing how to use a remote control and recognizing Cher. If these cult members are on a mission to recruit new members, why is there precious little detail about them actually doing any of it? I just don't get it, and frankly I shouldn't...more
A few years ago I read this author's short story collection, and formed a very high opinion of his writing talent. This book, often described as satire, is something more than that. Satire is a kind of exaggeration, but everything in this book is firmly rooted in America of today. We just don't normally see all these elements rubbing against each other quite so determinedly. Deeply cynical and very hopeful all at the same time, this novel should be studied by future generations trying to underst...more
meh. this was billed as clever satire, but struck me more as chuck palahniuk lite. there were some interesting parts, most based on the novelty of the protagonist encountering the modern world after growing up in a sheltered religious group. some of the targets were pretty uninteresting, though - did you know some new age thought can be a little silly? and that sometimes people have religious faith for hypocritical reasons? it never quite landed for me.
Two young men--one of them the narrator--set out from their isolated, eclectic cult in Montana to recruit fresh blood as a man plots a takeover of the matriarchal cult. The pair end up on the Colorado ranch of a sick, elderly man. Our narrator is confused about his role in the cult & in the world but is ultimately a healthy soul surrounded by manipulators.
It had an entertaining premise - missionaries from a fringe religious cult send strapping young men to proselytize and bring back wives. However, I found the satire so broad that all the characters felt like caricatures of goofy religiosity, new-age woo-woo, or consumerism, and in the end, I felt a bit let down that I didn't care more.
I struggled to get through this book. The premise was good but the story was not well written nor as creative as the author could have been with the subject matter. I found myself skimming parts and struggling to understand what is actually taking place. Would have been more interesting to me if the subjects had actually interacted with some more mainstream characters.
Walter Kirn is a contributing editor to Time magazine, where he was nominated for a National Magazine Award in his first year, and a regular reviewer for the New York Times Book Review. The author of four previous works of fiction, including the novel Up in the Air, Kirn reads from and discusses his new novel Mission to America, a superb story about the collision between the forces of faith and an overstimulated, overfed, spiritually overextended America.
We met Walter Kirn when he visited the Ta...more
We met Walter Kirn when he visited the Ta...more
Hilarious. Captures a type of generational angst the same way Generation X did. Especially funny if you have a fundamentalist faith background.
I liked this more than I recall, after reading my SF Chronicle review: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article...
Compared to "She Needed Me" and "Up in the Air", the two previous novels by Walter Kirn that I've read, "Mission to America" doesn't match up.
I was reading this recently, and halfway through I realized I'd actually already read it a few years ago. Not very memorable, clearly.
A matriarchal cult cloistered in the mountains of Montana sends forth two missionaries to recruit young women for marriage in order to counteract the effects of inbreeding which are threatening their existence. In the end, this book seems to be as much as commentary on consumerism and modern culture as the place and function of belief and organized religion in society. I wanted to see a more in-depth treatment of the latter themes (make no mistake, they were there, but I wanted more), but I stil...more
Very much in the style of Tom Robbins.
Walter Kirn grew up Mormon and took a lot from his religious experience as a teenager to construct this fake cult.
The cult is losing members and have been cut off from the world all of their lives when it's time to start recruiting from 'the world'.
Two missionaries go out to bring back new followers, and start to bend the rules a bit as it's their first journey to the read world which may as well be outer space for them.
here's my kirn interview
[http://www.drinkswithtony.com/walterk...]
The cult is losing members and have been cut off from the world all of their lives when it's time to start recruiting from 'the world'.
Two missionaries go out to bring back new followers, and start to bend the rules a bit as it's their first journey to the read world which may as well be outer space for them.
here's my kirn interview
[http://www.drinkswithtony.com/walterk...]
An interesting look into American values from the perspective of a character living in a society outside the American mainstream.
Despite the cynicism and pessimism the author suggests pervades our lives, there is always a ray of hope that we can ignore all the ugliness around us if we just try.
The beautiful ending to this wonderful novel left me feeling uplifted and happy that people can find love amidst the strangest of circumstances.
Despite the cynicism and pessimism the author suggests pervades our lives, there is always a ray of hope that we can ignore all the ugliness around us if we just try.
The beautiful ending to this wonderful novel left me feeling uplifted and happy that people can find love amidst the strangest of circumstances.
It had potential, but about halfway into it "Job 30:27".
My introduction to Kirn's work was his appearance at the Central Library for Lost in the Meritocracy. If you were there, you know the excerpt he read was memorable. (Teaser: there is college humiliation and piano destruction.) So I started this book, which had been on my shelf awhile. Mission to America is enjoyable as a subtle parody of the current state of American spirituality and lack thereof.
This is an entertaining novel about a matriarchal religious sect in Montana that sends two young men to "America" to find brides to prevent the group from becoming inbred. The highlights of the novels are funny descriptions of their reactions to American culture. It is worth reading, but the ending trails off and the novel looses its poignancy.
Man, this could have been a great book. The premise is funny: members of a cloistered matriarchal religious community going out into the real world, which they call Terrestria, to recruit new members. It had some funny moments, but I guess I thought it could have been lots funnier. So I was a little bit disappointed.
Interesting read about two people from a sect who gain their freedom. Well written but very sad.
This book was amusing and a little bit sad. Enjoyable, but not extremely memorable. Its message is strongly individualistic and also kind - especially to the crazies out there.
I tell ya, there is something about religious cult books that I cannot get enough of...This one is great. Really enjoyed it.
Our hero wore vinyl shoes and packed a lunch of cold-smoked trout and beet greens salad.
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Walter Kirn is a regular reviewer for The New York Times Book Review, and his work appears in The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, Time, New York, GQ and Esquire. He is the author of six previous works of fiction: My Hard Bargain: Stories, She Needed Me, Thumbsucker, Up in the Air, Mission to America and The Unbinding. Kirn is a graduate of Princeton University and attended Oxford on...more
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