The Gospel of Anarchy

Mar 14, 2011 Mariel rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Teddy boys

Recommended to Mariel by: oriana, tuck and phoebe

I quit. I got to the part where they were going to make a porno. I should have quit as soon as it switched to the hippie three-way with the two hippie girls [they are NOT punks. They are hippies!]. Blah blah she was worshipping her between her legs blah blah but Katy only had attention for David blah blah the wonderful special amazing thing about David is blah blah blah the twelve year old girls writing bad poetry in their bedrooms would be embarrassed to read this. Like I didn't just read the f...more

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Nov 09, 2010 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: David Meiklejohn, Oriana Leckert

Shelves: knock-your-socks-off, good-covers

To be fair, I am not exactly an unbiased audience; at the same time, as much as I can be, I believe I am. Nevertheless: I didn't fully realize how much this book kicked my ass until, later on the day I finished it, I got on a plane and for five hours was unable to do anything but stare out the window. Plus the only thing I can seem to stomach as a follow-up is Bolaño. These things all mean that this is a good book -- breathtaking in a stab-you-in-the-heart way.

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May 06, 2013 Victoria rated it 1 of 5 stars

*This is strictly my experience and opinion of the book. Please treat it as such.*

When I read the back of the book, I was immediately intrigued by the things it promised. I thought it was going to open me up to a way of thinking that I wasn't familiar with. And it did, kind of.

At first you think that it's going to be about David the whole way through. Wrong. Turns out you're going to get inside the heads of all the significant members of Fishgut. This was a problem for me. I think, by doing this...more *This is strictly my experience and opinion of the book. Please treat it as such.*

When I read the back of the book, I was immediately intrigued by the things it promised. I thought it was going to open me up to a way of thinking that I wasn't familiar with. And it did, kind of.

At first you think that it's going to be about David the whole way through. Wrong. Turns out you're going to get inside the heads of all the significant members of Fishgut. This was a problem for me. I think, by doing this, the writer missed the opportunity to show us what went on with David as he was making his transition from jaded creep-o porno "connoiseur" to enlightened creep-o God-loving orgy participant.

I have to admit that I could barely follow the characters' ideals and beliefs. The book was good all the way through until they found (view spoiler)

I thought some of their beliefs or whatever were a little cheesy, and others were just incomprehensible. But that's my fault, I believe. Maybe I'm biased. Maybe I'm narrow-minded, which is weird in the context of this book 'cause I'm an apatheist. Maybe I'm an idiot. I don't fault the book or writer for that. I just simply could not handle this as I had expected.

I tolerated the weird sex, but I just could not stomach all the God and Parker talk. Yeesh. I tried to like the book. I did. I did my best to finish it. And I did. But in the end, it just didn't work for me.

*This is strictly my experience and opinion of the book. Please treat it as such.*(less)

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May 22, 2012 Tobi rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-fiction

The Gospel of Anarchy goes from a sexist softcore porn male fantasy tale of dumpster diving Floridian anarcho-punks in Gainesville to magical realism...that centers around a cultish version of anarcho-Christianity...? After taking that turn it gets really boring. Like Jonathan Franzen or Mary McGarry Morris, the writing style is bleak, dystopic, vacant…not so much my thing...if this is a critique or depiction of the vast American suburban emptiness and alienation of sprawl, then ok but it feels...more

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Jan 25, 2012 Tim Meneely rated it 3 of 5 stars

Taylor's a bit of an MFA celeb (particularly in Brooklyn), but I confess that I've never been overwhelmed by his work. He's a competent writer and capable of flights of words of great beauty, but the story had some pitfalls, for me.

At times, the story builds toward confrontations which never culminate, a series of anti-climaxes which I took to be a part of the effect understating the commentary on zealotry. (I kept reading the acolytes and their detractors as a demonstration of how extreme mode...more

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Nov 26, 2011 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars

I’m of at least a couple minds about Justin Taylor’s Gospel of Anarchy. The book tells the story of an anarcho-punk collective in Gainesville near the turn of the 21st century, and while it’s easy enough to see how that story could’ve gone in the direction of some sub-Palahniuk direction of a cultish group who try to grab the zeitgeist by its bright and shining trail, the book never quite does that. The group never becomes a social movement, never really grows to the cartoonish level at all—inst...more I’m of at least a couple minds about Justin Taylor’s Gospel of Anarchy. The book tells the story of an anarcho-punk collective in Gainesville near the turn of the 21st century, and while it’s easy enough to see how that story could’ve gone in the direction of some sub-Palahniuk direction of a cultish group who try to grab the zeitgeist by its bright and shining trail, the book never quite does that. The group never becomes a social movement, never really grows to the cartoonish level at all—instead, Taylor digs into the beliefs of this group of people, and goes deep as the disengaged characters move from a political to a religious engagement with anarchism. Taylor goes deep into the characters do, practicing a more-or-less reasonable version of a contemporary stream-of-consciousness; the syntax is cracked and fractured, the processes associative, but not in a way that leaves you lost in tides of prose like you might reading V. Woolf. And I think that’s to Taylor’s benefit—he’s not trying to show off here, but just going where the story he tells leads him, and it makes for a good book.

But here comes the caveat: the good choices Taylor makes, from deciding not to make the group mean a lot outside the walls of their collective house Fishguts to his decision to bore into character instead of culture (there’s some culture jamming, but it’s fairly non-specific and feels incidental instead of causal in the book), also mean that I wondered a lot of times as I was reading what it was all worth. The book, and the events it describes, is a small thing, only 250 pages and not, to me at least, making strong claims about the world outside its borders, that the lives described here are vital and significant and should, or decidedly should not, be models for our own dealings. I am someone whose own writing, I think, often fails to answer this same question, so I really am sympathetic to Taylor’s challenge, but the book left me asking, even at the end, “So what?”
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Sep 27, 2011 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

Read my full review here: http://virtualmargin.blogspot.com/2011/09/gospel-of-anarchy-44100.html

Taylor's novel is about a group of anarchists (punks, hippies, etc.) who become anarChristians -- defiers of authority who somehow end up following the biggest authority of all. The idea itself is really interesting. Even the title brings together two contradictory elements, and many reviewers have admitted they bought the book on title alone.

I had a really difficult time judging just how serious this...more

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Apr 12, 2011 Anina Ertel rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-fiction

I am giving this two stars because I think the author has talent but I honestly hated this book and really feel like .5 of a star would describe my feelings more accurately.

It's a novel but really it's just a corny ode to CrimeThink publications and other punk rock propaganda of the 90's. So just like that stuff, it's negative and exclusionary. Also, the dialog and plot to me were completely unbelievable. I read to the end because it only took a day and I was hoping it would get realistic, but...more

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Apr 06, 2011 Bob Mustin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Faux Fiction

The Gospel of Anarchy, by Justin Taylor

This book is billed as a novel, and I suppose it is. But it has an ulterior motive, based no doubt in Taylor’s leanings. It’s a rather silly story, really, something college kids will read after a doobie or a six pack of beer. In some ways it reminds me of Richard Farina’s ‘sixties underground favorite, Been Down So Long It Seems Like Up To Me. But where Farina’s book seemed larky and fun, probably inspired by the Beats and Kerouac’s writing, th...more

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Apr 05, 2011 Caitlin Constantine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Maybe the word I would best use to describe this book is "ambitious." Taylor tries to tackle a bunch of really big themes - consumer-driven alienation and isolation, the way people use ideology and religion to give their lives meaning, the way going too far into these things can render a person indistinguishable from the guy who stands on the corner and screams at seagulls for killing his mother - over the course of a slender little novel. I like that. Even if he didn't quite succeed, I apprecia...more Maybe the word I would best use to describe this book is "ambitious." Taylor tries to tackle a bunch of really big themes - consumer-driven alienation and isolation, the way people use ideology and religion to give their lives meaning, the way going too far into these things can render a person indistinguishable from the guy who stands on the corner and screams at seagulls for killing his mother - over the course of a slender little novel. I like that. Even if he didn't quite succeed, I appreciate that he tried.

The plot of the book rotates around this group of fanatical Christian anarchists in late-90s Gainesville who live in a shabby punk house and spend their time dumpster-diving, partying, conducting orgies and engaged in philosophical conversation. Eventually they start calling themselves "anarchristians," the idea being that if Christ-like love is the theory then anarchy is the practice. I love to read about religion and religious theory but I kept bumping into one niggling little thought, which is that Jesus may have been a barefoot homeless socialist hippie with long hair, but dude was NOT an anarchist. Remember that whole "give unto Caesar what is Caesar's" scripture (aka "pay your fucking taxes, you damn teabaggers")? Yeah, that doesn't really go with the whole theme of anarchism. Is that nitpicking? Well, it's a big nit that rubbed me so raw I had no choice but to pick it.

I did like quite a bit of the language Taylor used, and I got a kick out of the way he critiqued organized religion even as he explored the mystical side of it. I didn't come away from this book thinking, my god, those crust punks have it all figured out! Rather I thought Taylor had done a good job of showing how these people, in their attempts to keep that encroaching sense of oblivion at bay, threw themselves into anything that could make them feel SOMETHING, anything that could make them feel alive, even if that thing ultimately led them to the path of self-destruction. The characters who saw this and distanced themselves in pursuit of something more moderate, who found ways to pick and choose what worked for them...that they ultimately became the most well-adjusted characters of the book is very telling I think.

This would have been a solid four-star book, though, were it not for the aforementioned theological fail and the philosophical ramblings that veered right into the nonsensical at times. Or perhaps, as I alluded to in the last paragraph, that was the whole point? (less)

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Apr 05, 2011 Jon rated it 3 of 5 stars

If I could, I'd give this book an extra half star. I have to say that I really like this writer. I thought his story collection was fantastic and I think he's one of the only young authors right now who focuses on things that are truly interesting. He is though, much different' from the writers that I tend to like. I enjoyed this novel very much. I actually read it in under 24 hours in order to prepare for an interview. All in all it's beautifully written with well imagined characters. I have tw...more

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Jan 10, 2011 Phoebe rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: loved-it

I, too, knew Gainesville.

I went to Gainesville because I was ISO a change: at 22, I’d been living in New Jersey my entire life, and living in my mother’s house since my senior year of college and though I liked the money I saved, I wanted more. And so I applied to graduate school, and in every case sought out the kind of crunchy little college town I’d always dreamed about, places with exotic, foreign names. Eugene. Madison. Gainesville.

I thought I might stop wearing deodorant there. I thought I...more

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Jan 10, 2011 Nathan rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The execution was really lacking in this one. Hate to be so dismissive because the author seems passionate about the subject matter. The author seems to have a very clear idea of what he wants to say, but has no idea how to say it in the construct of the story through the characters that he's created and as a result, much of the novel is the characters proselytizing, so they come off more like caricatures and more than a bit shallow.

What really would have helped I think is if we had been able t...more

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Mar 08, 2011 Craig rated it 2 of 5 stars

I seriously wanted to like this book and over the first 40 or 50 pages I did. Then the book took a strange turn, a long description of sex, a trip to a Catholic church, a strange dream, and then a new anarchist inspired Christian sect. The prophet of which is a missing friend who refused to join into the debauchery of a house called Fishgut. The rest of the novel meanders through 4 years of college philosophy with characters developed in a shallow and very unlikable way. Intelligent middle class...more

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Mar 01, 2011 Michelle added it

When asked by someone earlier to discuss The Gospel of Anarchy, the most lucid thought I had was to describe it as interesting. The plot is virtual non-existent, and the writing embodies anarchy itself. It is confusing, slightly disturbing, and more philosophical than I expected. Yet, in the end is somehow works. It is a novel that forces one to confront one's own biases and expectations of society. It is not one to be read quickly but rather to be enjoyed slowly, evaluating every word and phras...more When asked by someone earlier to discuss The Gospel of Anarchy, the most lucid thought I had was to describe it as interesting. The plot is virtual non-existent, and the writing embodies anarchy itself. It is confusing, slightly disturbing, and more philosophical than I expected. Yet, in the end is somehow works. It is a novel that forces one to confront one's own biases and expectations of society. It is not one to be read quickly but rather to be enjoyed slowly, evaluating every word and phrase. It draws some unusual conclusions and presents some disturbing images but makes for a decent novel.

Call it my own failings, but I was not prepared for a book that was actually about anarchy. I thought the title was more allegorical; it is not. Once I got over this initial surprise, the story evolves into an exploration of each character's own struggles to find meaning in his or her life. Some follow blindly, with no doubts whatsoever. Others think they understand but find out they do not. Some characters are utterly sympathetic, while others are not. The result is a wild ride through the chaotic world of Fishgut.

Mr. Taylor evokes the spirit of anarchy in his writing. He switches tenses and characters without any warning. Sometimes, he flows into a stream-of-consciousness effect, while other scenes are terse and simplistic. If anything helps one understand what it means to be anarchist, Mr. Taylor's writing in this novel is a great example of making a point not to be bound by the rules of writing.

The Gospel of Anarchy starts out strong, unfortunately fades towards the end and yet finishes strongly. Its failings are that it simply becomes too preachy. When Mr. Taylor focuses on Parker's writings rather than on the actual characters, the story itself loses steam. The novel works best when the reader gets the opportunity to delve into each character.

The Gospel of Anarchy is not for everyone. In his effort to present anarchy and its teachings, Mr. Taylor pushes the boundaries of comfortable reading, leaving even the most open-minded reader squirming in one's seat. Chaotic and at times confusing, he quickly delves into this particular subculture and its exploration of everything and anything. Through the characters' questioning and searching, the reader gets the opportunity to explore his or her own opinions on faith, on politics, and on what it means to follow the rules. For those who can handle the sometimes explicit descriptions and heavily philosophical discussions, The Gospel of Anarchy is a great novel to get someone thinking. I suspect that for a majority of people, however, it is one to skip.
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Feb 23, 2013 Joanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Hippie outsiders search for Truth and the Meaning of Life. Really enjoyed the juxtaposition of soul-searching and gritty living. Maybe one part Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and one part Jack Kerouak - but with a higher readability factor.

Some quotes:

"All you can do is live in contradiciton - a state of faith, basically."

"The breadth and depth of God's trust in us seemed in this moment so vast as to be crushing, suffocting - or else, the more terrifying thought, it was entirely abse...more

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Oct 13, 2011 Ocean rated it 1 of 5 stars

i read this book mostly because i, too, have written a book (not-yet-published) about a wacky collective house, and i want to read all the other wacky-collective-household books to see the similarities and differences. well. this book, like mine, has a dumpstering scene right in front, but that's the only major similarity.
mr. taylor's a competent writer (although a little too MFA-ish for my tastes), but, OMG, i could not handle this book. i didn't care about any of the characters, and about half...more

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Nov 13, 2011 Tatyana Kagamas rated it 3 of 5 stars

Still kind of thinking about this one... There are definitely some cringe-worthy moments of circle jerk punk enthusiasm, and yet this enthusiasm or sincerity is what separates him from other young writers of his ilk, and is what I actually find compelling about his books.

Many of the paradoxes of spirituality and anarchism explored in this are really interesting and well-written. The characters are pretty flat and - as has been mentioned in other reviews - completely insufferable. I don't think i...more

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Feb 20, 2011 Lori rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-reviewers-copy, fiction

From publisher

I was really excited to read this review copy from Harper Perennial. I remember enjoying Justin Taylor's short story collection Everything Here is the Best Thing Ever - of reading his stories and experiencing these moments that were more like memories, of being pulled back into my younger-self, surprising me with their familiarity.

So I was not entirely unprepared for those same feelings and memories to be yanked back up towards the surface while reading The Gospel of Anarchy. Justi...more From publisher

I was really excited to read this review copy from Harper Perennial. I remember enjoying Justin Taylor's short story collection Everything Here is the Best Thing Ever - of reading his stories and experiencing these moments that were more like memories, of being pulled back into my younger-self, surprising me with their familiarity.

So I was not entirely unprepared for those same feelings and memories to be yanked back up towards the surface while reading The Gospel of Anarchy. Justin managed to create a world populated with characters that closely resembled people I had known once-upon-a-time, living a life that was eerily similar to the one they were living.

The novel follows David - a college dropout working a dead end job - as he escapes the choking confines of his humdrum life after running into a former high school friend in the back alleys of Gainesville, Florida.

What began as a little bit of fun and foolishness became a new way of life for David. His old friend Thomas and the residents of Fishgut - a broken down house that serves as half home, half hostel - live a life of lawlessness. They scrounge their food out of dumpsters and contribute money to the "house funds" by stealing products from one store to return them for full price at another or by donating their blood.

They are punks, they are anarchists, and they have created a following with their handmade booklet called the "Good Zine" and by preaching the word of "Parker" - one of the original founders of their punk anarchist movement who mysteriously went missing one night. They sneak into underground concerts, participate in threesomes and group orgies, and seem to have a never ending supply of alcohol and drugs.

Those memories I talked about earlier? Well, The Gospel of Anarchy reminded me of a group of friends I had back in 1994. At the time, I had an uncanny ability to become friends with just about anyone. At one point, I suddenly found myself hanging out in a Florida trailer park with a handful of teenage skinheads and hippies. The trailers were beat up and barely livable, some without electric. Most of the kids had dropped out of school, or were recently graduated with no real life ambition. They seemed to have no income to speak of, and I wasn't really ever sure who actually lived there and who was just hanging out or simply passing through. Lots of drugs were had (though, miraculously I managed to escape that period of my life 100% drug free), lots of things were stolen from god knows where, and lots of rules were broken and rewritten without rhyme or reason.

When we left the trailer park, we hung out in groups, kicking back in the grass under the hot summer sun, the hippies playing folk songs on their guitars with the grass between their toes believing they were talking to God while the skinheads hated everything that moved and swore to buck the system and live a carefree, workfree life taking advantage of "the man". We baked birthday cakes of chocolate and vanilla with sprinkle rainbows and rainbow colored swastikas and enough candles to burn the trailer down. They shaved and dreaded each others hair, preached to one another about spirituality and the evils of politics.

They were the coolest bunch of kids I had known, and they included me in their crazy, unlikely clan. After a few months, though, the scrounging and lounging wore on us - even though most of us had homes of our own and families that we returned to every night. Little by little, the fighting took over and we slowly broke off into splinter groups, which became sad little threesomes, and then singled ourselves apart until the trailer park and the rainbow cakes became our "remember when's".

Justin Taylor's novel brought all those moments back to me in a way that my old photo album never could. And for that, I want to say thank you.(less)

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Dec 30, 2011 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Justin Taylor is cleary a talented writer and thinker. He does some really clever things with perspective here and also it was a rare treat to read something that takes place in my hometown (Gainesville, FL). This novel reads more like a very long short story. I never felt I knew the characters well enough, they're always held at arms length. The story centers around David, bored college dropout, and three housemates of a sort of anarchist halfway house/weird religious society.

Somewhere toward t...more

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Sep 22, 2011 Lila Brantley rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Gospel of Anarchy is full of beautiful language. Lavish pictures are created with words from a world of anarcho squatters. Justin Taylor has a gift for creating wonderful settings...character development, not so much. Throughout the book, I never really cared about any of the characters and most of them came off as hipsters. It seemed they really didn't have a passion for the scene. I'm not sure if that is what the author was going for, but I don't think it was. The only reason I didn't stop...more

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Dec 11, 2010 oriana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to oriana by: Amanda

Shelves: read-2010

Full disclosure: This was written by my friend's boyfriend, so.

This is a very strange, surprising book. I thought it should be longer, not in plot, but in development. Which is odd, because it is mostly a very internal-development kind of thing, where characters are given pages and pages of something like interior monologue, reacting to things happening now or reflecting on their past or meditating on the future. But yet, some aspects of the book, some aspects of the characters, and some charac...more Full disclosure: This was written by my friend's boyfriend, so.

This is a very strange, surprising book. I thought it should be longer, not in plot, but in development. Which is odd, because it is mostly a very internal-development kind of thing, where characters are given pages and pages of something like interior monologue, reacting to things happening now or reflecting on their past or meditating on the future. But yet, some aspects of the book, some aspects of the characters, and some characters altogether, still seemed...almost unfinished. Hinted at. Not fully realized.

Let me approach this another way. This is a book (you can tell by the title) about anarchy and God. It's often very cerebral, and is shot through with conviction and belief and faith. Now, I wish I could fully commit to anarchism nearly as much as I wish I could commit to agnosticism, but I can't. I like a degree of order, I have a fundamental cynicism at my core that shakes my faith in people, and God? Nope. I just can't buy into it, and haven't since I was young. My sister is an anarchist, and I am always shocked by how optimistic and idealistic and just plain nice her anarchist friends are, and I think that's wonderful, and I love spending time with them, and talking politics and philosophy with them, and I let myself get caught up in it, usually, in visions of utopian equality and each unto his needs and no ownership and no money and peace and peace and peace. But then I leave and someone shoves me out of the way when I'm trying to get out of the subway, or a homeless dude is screaming to himself on the street as everyone averts their eyes, or I read the newspaper or even just look around me at all the shit and misery, and the glow leaves and the spell is broken.

I guess the characters in The Gospel of Anarchy are able to keep right on living without losing the glow. And in fact it goes one step further, by combining the idealism of anarchy with the rapture of faith in God, of discipleship, of the absolute conviction that what they are doing and working toward is completely right.

I don't want to give the impression that this is some hippie love-fest or angry-punk screed or densely philosophized treatise. It's not any of those, really, but it's also sort of all of them. There are some really smart and interesting ideas here, and the writing is extremely evocative and gentle -- almost too gentle, really; the few scenes which should have involved real fights, either physical or verbal, are completely glossed over, their outcomes revealed later through backward glances rather than being violently smashed through while they were happening. But it's a lovely book, if maybe a little too fanciful for me. The time and place (Gainesville, 1999) are made beautifully real, the characters (especially Katy and Liz) are believable and familiar. I'm sure I should have taken my time and read this more slowly to have gotten full benefit of the ideas, because there really is a lot to meditate on and digest. But I'm too impatient for that.(less)

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Jul 05, 2011 Margaret rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this very much, though I prefer his short story collection. He jumps around a lot from one narrative voice to another, which in a collection of stories didn't bother me - in fact, I liked the diversity of characters and points of view. In a novel, though, I found it rather jarring. Still, I marvel at Taylor's ability to capture and immerse his reader in a distinct subculture while maintaining the specificity and authenticity of his characters. He also has a remarkable gift for weaving...more

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Feb 25, 2011 Sam Rosenberg rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Very much worth diving into.

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Sep 07, 2010 Erica added it

Coming out from us in feb 2011, this is justin taylor's first novel, after his book of short stories last winter, everything here is the best thing ever. I loved EHITBTE for the way it portrayed the more unlikable members of my generation, and the gospel of anarchy continues that. It's about a group of anarchist punks in gainesville, florida in 1999 and though some of the anarchy-talky parts were less my thing, the characters are so great and the language is amazing. it feels really trite to cal...more

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Aug 22, 2012 Peter rated it 2 of 5 stars

Guy becomes disillusioned with his corporate day-to-day life and embraces a punk commune, one that acts out in all the predictable ways. Is swallowed whole by the delusions of a self-created creed. Encounters stereotypes of all stripe. Yawn. Nothing new here, and I know it's not about the 'what' but the 'how,' but I found the 'how' lacking. I don't know what I found more jarring: the shift in voice and language, the utter wooden-ness of the characters, the self-indulgent pornographic scenes, or...more

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Jan 31, 2011 Tim rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Young adulthood is often a search for both self and meaning. As such it is prime ground for literary exploration. Yet while Justin Taylor's The Gospel of Anarchy gives a somewhat different take on the subject it's an exploration that falls short.

The story is built around David's search for self, which brings him into a loose group with an anarchistic bent living in a house they call Fishgut. The story is set in Gainesville, Florida, home of the University of Florida, in the late summer of 1999...more Young adulthood is often a search for both self and meaning. As such it is prime ground for literary exploration. Yet while Justin Taylor's The Gospel of Anarchy gives a somewhat different take on the subject it's an exploration that falls short.

The story is built around David's search for self, which brings him into a loose group with an anarchistic bent living in a house they call Fishgut. The story is set in Gainesville, Florida, home of the University of Florida, in the late summer of 1999 and into Y2K. Both the location and time seem a bit odd. While some of the characters, including David, are brought there by the University, from which they have since dropped out, and others are "townies," Gainesville is a far from an hotbed of anarchistic thought. In addition, Taylor admits in a note at the end of the slim volume that this is a composite Gainesville, parts of it describing a city that didn't exist until after 1999. The 1999 setting seems a bit odd also. While the anti-globalization movement would draw significant attention as a result of the WTO protests in Seattle near the end of the year, Gainesville is plainly on the outside of that movement. And while anarchists undoubtedly made up part of the WTO contingent, it was anti-globalization that motivated the crowds, not any particular political theory or philosophy.

But since this is a novel, Taylor can set it when and where he wants. Yet the book still stumbles on other literary ingredients -- voice, character development and motivation.

Although David narrates the first part of the novel, once he moves into Fishgut the perspective for most of the balance of the book switches among the house's other main residents -- Liz, Katy and Thomas -- without a lot of rhyme or reason. There's nothing wrong with switching perspective but it's never quite clear why some parts of the story are seen from a particular perspective. There is not a great deal of differentiation among their voices, with a somewhat distinctive tone occasionally appearing to reflect an emotional state, such as in the midst of sexual acts. What is really surprising is that despite the various perspectives we get, none really allows us to grasp or appreciate the characters as individuals.

Yes, they claim to be anarchists and, yes, a couple have some religious inclinations, but how and why they arrived at Fishgut or their views of life, the universe or anything doesn't appear to be of great moment in The Gospel of Anarchy. As a result, the characters come off more as one-dimensional pieces moving around in setting where anarchism is an atmospheric overtone rather than substantive. Here, the philosophy or political theory seems to "no rules" rather than "no rulers."

David is a prime example. Even though he is the most developed character we're never quite sure what motivates him. Sure, the first part of the book establishes that he has an internet porn "habit" (as opposed to a compulsion or addiction) and hates his job cold calling people for telephone surveys. Granted, that might leave a person feeling dissatisfied and disconnected but why it might encourage them to be drawn to communal living in a run-down house isn't quite clear. Once David meets the people of Fishgut and stays there, he ends up in his own real life porno, an ongoing triad relationship with Liz and Katy. Yet his adoption of Fishgut's lifestyle and almost faux anarchism can't just be for the sex because if that is the pathway to insight, then millions of people are still and forever lost.

The meat of the book involves a grassroots anarcho-mystic-Christic movement that arises because David and Katy create a zine collecting some of the writings found in a notebook belonging to Parker, a long-missing early denizen of Fishgut. While far closer to an examination of self and life than the characters ever seem to engage in, the passages are largely rambling commentary involving philosophy, religion and politics. While this effort gives The Gospel of Anarchy its title, both are so unanchored and adrift they never rise above the level of arguably interesting observation.

(Originally posted at A Progressive on the Prairie.)(less)

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Nov 13, 2011 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, kindle

This was a good book, I think. It was an odd book, and I wish I had read it when I was 18, or even in my early 20s, more when I was in the punk rock, edge phase, rather than in the early middle age lifestyle than I'm in now. But it was nice to read it and remember that I used to be this way once. That I used to read zines, that I used to be okay with dumpster food, and squats, and I used to believe in anarchy to a degree, and I used to believe in something and nothing all at once. I spent a lot...more

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Jun 01, 2011 Jesus Garcia rated it 4 of 5 stars

my takeaway from "the gospel of anarchy" is something about the delusion of faith and underground movements and philosophy-bloated spirituality, and the hypocrisy of so-called freedom and anarchy, and the neediness of poets and students and alternatype "free" thinkers to believe in something anything beyond what's offered to them by the status quo. is what they often find in their earnest explorations just as empty as what's found in more conventional settings? perhaps to an outsider (reader?) l...more

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Mar 25, 2011 pattrice added it

Deeply disappointing in its unexamined phallocentrism. Early on, the protagonist cannot believe that he has found himself in the midst of "every straight guy's number one jerk-off fantasy" (p. 51). We can't believe it either. And it only gets worse from there. I kept reading, thinking that perhaps this technically gifted writer was playing a trick on us. But, no. He appears to expect us to accept this plot as credible as it devolves into an increasingly incredible story, the climax of which is j...more

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title link	preview: The Gospel of Anarchy: A Novel
avg rating	preview: The Gospel of Anarchy: A Novel Goodreads rating: 3.07 (235 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9256533-the-gospel-of-anarchy?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1289576321l/9256533.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9256533-the-gospel-of-anarchy?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Gospel of Anarchy: A Novel by Justin Taylor[/url]

The Gospel of Anarchy: A Novel

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