The Great Days

by Eli Brown

Told through the eyes and experience of Brother August, The Great Days is a disturbing tale of megalomania and submission that takes place as a spiritual community in the sparse Arizona desert prepares for the great days, a period of enlightenment, to arrive. When Papa, the cult leader, takes a ten-year-old girl, Melody, as his fifth and final wife, some followers resist. But a supreme being cannot accept doubt from his disciples, and resisters are redirected into compliance. As Papa's chief aid and spiritual interpreter, Brother August's loyalty to Papa's vision is taken for granted. But August's love for Melody and her mother jolts him from the intoxicating spell of Papa's power, and soon, August's awakening edges this fragile cult to a ferocious breaking point.

Genres: Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2008

About the author

Eli Brown's middle-grade novel, ODDITY, follows Clover Elkin, the no-nonsense daughter of a frontier surgeon as she tries to protect the secret magical object he's left behind. Booklist called it "...a richly imagined blend of Lloyd Alexander’s The Black Cauldron and Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass."

Brown's culinary pirate novel, CINNAMON AND GUNPOWDER, was a finalist for the California Book Award, a San Francisco Public Library One-City One-Book selection, and an NPR Book Review Staff Pick.

Brown’s first novel, THE GREAT DAYS (Boaz Publications), won the Fabri Prize for Literature. Publishers Weekly called it “…a harrowing, convincing look into the heart of cult life that should linger with readers.”

A Yaddo fellow and featured reader at Litquake, Brown earned his MFA from Mills college. He lives with his family in Northern California where the squirrels bury acorns in his garden and cats bury worse.

Reviews

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

a beautiful account of a disturbing subject. the writing was thick with color and flavor. i found myself re-reading sentences because they were thoroughly delicious in their description. very poetic. about half way through, it was one of those books that you can't wait to get into bed at night to continue reading and find out what happens - right up to the last chapter.

[Rabirongmail.Com · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not find anything about this book worth the time to read, actually only skimmed the last few chapters. It won the Fabri Literary prize for deserving but unappreciated works of fiction. I am in the non-appreciation camp.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Every once in a while I pull a book of my “to-read” shelf, and when I get into I wonder why I’m earth I had it as to-read. This is one of those books.

Well written and evocative. Difficult subject. No real plot or point. I think “literature” just isn’t for me.

[Ivy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting, disturbing book. Trigger warning. I am not sure how I feel about the ending. This book really makes me think. I’m sure I will think about it for a long time.

[Robin]

This wonderful and awful story delves deeply into the heart of life in a religious cult. Shocking and heart-rending, the story unfolds through the eyes and heart and mind of August, a young man who begins to question his faith, face his fears and understand the truth in his own heart. Nicely done!

[Amalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my God. Couldn't read every word due to EXTREME CREEPINESS. This writer can really write - what a gift for fully realizing self-contained little universes. I typically don't like the unreliable narrator - but I cannot deny that this book is well done, however uncomfortable.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well wriiten but subject matter is not for everyone.

[Noelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was good, perhaps it was the subject matter that was a little off-putting. Eh. So, so.

[Colin Slider · Rating 3 out of 5]

an enjoyable, if at times difficult, read - to my mind quite tragic - I had really hoped for a different outcome for the main protaganist