Matthew’s review of Vox > Likes and Comments

I started this, but wasn’t feeling it at the time. Looking forward to your thoughts. May determine whether I give it another go.

Lori wrote: "I started this, but wasn’t feeling it at the time. Looking forward to your thoughts. May determine whether I give it another go."

Well . . . be prepared for my review as I have a lot of strong thoughts . . . and they are not really all that good!

I didn't care for the book either, Matthew.

Rachel wrote: "I didn't care for the book either, Matthew."

Just checked your review out, too - great review, well said!

Janille wrote: "Excellent review! I think your words are heartfelt and honest – I haven't read this book, but I too have may friends who are of many different religions, and a book that demonizes any one specific ..."

Thank you - I appreciate your feedback. I was worried about how this review came across, and based on your response it sounds like I made my point well! :)

Good for you for having the courage to say something that is true, yet unpopular. Books should not try to feed hatred from any viewpoint!

Nice, honest review, Matthew. I would definitely not be reading this.

Sharon wrote: "Good for you for having the courage to say something that is true, yet unpopular. Books should not try to feed hatred from any viewpoint!"

Thank you, Sharon! I appreciate you taking the time to read my review! :)

I hope to continue to lead by example and show that all of us are different and no one deserves to be the target of hate.

Nasom wrote: "Nice, honest review, Matthew. I would definitely not be reading this."

Thank you, Nasom! Whenever I get an arc, I hope to be spreading the word about it and encouraging other to read it. But, I cannot do that in this case. :(

Thank you for this review! I would identify as being a part of the 99% of Christians that are like you and I appreciate your words on this matter!

Candace wrote: "Thank you for this review! I would identify as being a part of the 99% of Christians that are like you and I appreciate your words on this matter!"

You're welcome! Glad to hear it! When I posted this I was worried about the can of worms it might open, but I would not have felt right about not being honest about my feelings.

Great review Matthew. I have this book on my TBR list, but as a black Christian female, who identifies in that 99% I don't think I would enjoy this book at all.

Matthew, I'm a Christian as well and could identify with everything you were saying in the review. I haven't read the review, but I think the general perception it portrays is becoming more prevalent in society, which is painful. Thanks to people like you, maybe this book can start positive dialogue!

this review strangely inspifed me to read the book. Thanks

Sakina wrote: "Great review Matthew. I have this book on my TBR list, but as a black Christian female, who identifies in that 99% I don't think I would enjoy this book at all."

Thank you!

Corinna wrote: "Matthew, I'm a Christian as well and could identify with everything you were saying in the review. I haven't read the review, but I think the general perception it portrays is becoming more prevale..."

All I can hope for is that people start to see more of the positive in life and less of the misrepresentation of the majority.

Leo wrote: "this review strangely inspifed me to read the book. Thanks"

Interesting - I will be looking forward to seeing what you think!

Pointed m honest review, Matthew!

Wow, what a great review, Matthew! I haven't read this one but after reading your review I most definitely have lost any interest I had. There's enough negativity and religion-shaming in the world, we shouldn't be faced with it between the pages, too!

Matthew wrote: "Corinna wrote: "Matthew, I'm a Christian as well and could identify with everything you were saying in the review. I haven't read the review, but I think the general perception it portrays is becom..."

Correction! I haven't read the book. Haha :) Not review. And yes. I couldn't agree more.

Erin wrote: "Wow, what a great review, Matthew! I haven't read this one but after reading your review I most definitely have lost any interest I had. There's enough negativity and religion-shaming in the world,..."

Thanks! There is definitely a big difference between food for thought and just plain negativity - and my thought was still hungry after this one!

Corinna wrote: "Matthew wrote: "Corinna wrote: "Matthew, I'm a Christian as well and could identify with everything you were saying in the review. I haven't read the review, but I think the general perception it p..."

Ha! I figured that is what you meant! :)

I am a Christian and I am a Christian that believes as you do and I would be enraged at this book... thank you Matthew for an outstanding and honest review... I think that if any other book outright made any religion OR race look extremely bad we would of course hear about it!

Karen wrote: "I am a Christian and I am a Christian that believes as you do and I would be enraged at this book... thank you Matthew for an outstanding and honest review... I think that if any other book outrigh..."

You're welcome! I am seeing some other reviews pointing out that the approach to Christianity seemed silly/wrong, so it looks like there are others feeling this way as well.

Fantastic review Matthew! I didn’t have any interest in the book before and I definitely don’t now. I am horrified that Christians as a whole would be depicted this way. Agreed, the bad apples seem to get all of the press, but that’s a fraction of the good ones out there. It’s sad to say, but your review is very brave. The First Amendment protects free speech, but not protection from trolls... I respect your review. Very well expressed. Thank you.

Very thoughtful review, Matthew! Thank you for such a clear explanation.

I will throw this one in the "to be avoided" pile. I am tired of all the Christian bashing. We may "turn the other cheek" and suffer these insults in silence by and large, but we don't have to support this kind of tripe when there are so many good books to be read!

Cleanse your palette with something by C.S. Lewis (that notorious Christian "outlaw"!)

wonderful review, Matthew! I did not come at this book from your position, I just thought it seriously dropped the ball in delivering any type message. Pretty lame.

Jen wrote: "Fantastic review Matthew! I didn’t have any interest in the book before and I definitely don’t now. I am horrified that Christians as a whole would be depicted this way. Agreed, the bad apples seem..."

Thank you! I appreciate your response - any time I approach this subject, I always worry about the fall out. So far, so good!

Jane wrote: "Very thoughtful review, Matthew! Thank you for such a clear explanation."

Thank you and you're welcome, Jane!

Matthew wrote: "Jen wrote: "Fantastic review Matthew! I didn’t have any interest in the book before and I definitely don’t now. I am horrified that Christians as a whole would be depicted this way. Agreed, the bad..."

Jerry wrote: "Cleanse your palette with something by C.S. Lewis (that notorious Christian "outlaw"!)"

That is not a bad idea, Jerry! Not a bad idea at all! 😊

j e w e l s wrote: "wonderful review, Matthew! I did not come at this book from your position, I just thought it seriously dropped the ball in delivering any type message. Pretty lame."

Thanks, j e w e l s! I will have to go check your review out.

While I understand where you're coming from, I can tell you from my own personal experience that it can't be 99% of Christians that are nice people who leave others alone. That's the problem with personal experiences: they taint one's world view. ;P
So where I come from, Christians are oppressive with their guilt trips and manipulation and many even fall back to "you don't get a say, you're a woman" when they run out of arguments.
I'm NOT saying that the majority of Christians are like that, only that I get why someone might choose this group of people for a dystopy.

However, most importantly: don't let it get too close to you. How many dystopies are there where other religions are blamed?! And how many of those have caused the actual downfall of humanity? Exactly. It might have rubbed you the wrong way, made you feel distinctly uncomfortable, but I don't see Christians taking over the world and enslaving those they don't like simply because Western religion is retreating (for a number of reasons) and I also don't see anyone attacking Christianity because they are the bad-guys of a book/movie or even several ones. Don't worry. ;)

As for keyboard warriors: they come in all shapes and sizes. Some are religious nutters (from all kinds of religions), some are homophobes, some are black/Asian/Latino/whatever. The gist of it is this: anyone can be an asshole. And yes, we might be a bit more exposed to them nowadays because of the platform that is called internet. But they've always been there.

How many times are Germans the bad guys in books and movies (and not in period dramas about Hitler's Third Reich)?! *shrugs* Let them. Everyone is offended by something, just don't let it get so close.

Trish wrote: "While I understand where you're coming from, I can tell you from my own personal experience that it can't be 99% of Christians that are nice people who leave others alone. That's the problem with p..."

Thanks for your thorough response! I appreciate it!

I can see it not being 99%. A passionate review calls for hyperbole!😁

And, I do see your points and it made me realize I may not have been clear on my explanation of what bothered me. I have read many dystopia and I just don't remember any just blatently pointing at something as specifically as this book does. And, really, all it would have taken is one paragraph when she was describing the down fall that said something like "not all Christian groups stood behind the changes, but this particular faction gained too much power", and I may not have felt the way I do.

You also mention not letting it get to me, and I can feel that, too. Maybe I am a bit too sensitive on it. But, then I think about how comedians have to apologize after jokes about different races, genders, sexual orientation - sometimes to the point of careers being ruined - but they never have to apologize for Christian bashing jokes (or, German bashing jokes, for that matter 😉) So, is it fair for some people to suck it up while other people flip out at every off color joke? And, I might be getting too controversial here, but frequently I cannot tell what is so bad about the joke! One time I saw a story where a Christian group protested a billboard with a joke made at the expense of Jews, and the Jewish person they contacted for comment thought the joke was pretty funny!

So, I do see what you are saying and I try my best to approach books, movies, comedy (usually the Christian bashing jokes are pretty funny, too!) with an open mind. It just felt too different and blatent with Vox. I really would be interested in knowing what the author's experiences are with Christians, if she had an agenda by having no redeeming Christian presence in her book, etc. Many people compare this to The Handmaid's Tale, and I liked that one. I thought it did cautionary just right, even with some of the blame tossed on religion.

Oh, and I get what you mean about Germans in movies - I always have had a soft spot for Hans Gruber. But, I think bad guys in movies is a bit different when they happen to be German, American, Russian, etc. - they are usually not representing the country as a whole. That may have been somewhat different during the Cold War. And, I do think the way the Middle East is currently grouped together in books and movies post 9/11 is dangerous. Not everyone from there is a terrorist!

Thanks again for the response! This type of discussion is what I love about Goodreads!

Finally, the "Christians" you describe running into don't sound like real Christians to me - they sound like a$$holes! 😉

Matthew wrote: "But, then I think about how comedians have to apologize after jokes about different races, genders, sexual orientation..."

That I never understood. It's fucking comedy. If you can't take a joke, don't watch comedy. Sheesh! All the special snowflakes out there are too sensitive anyway if you ask me. There is, of course, a difference between true racism and comedy but the stuff 99.9% of people had to apologize for so far was definitely in the comedy category and people felt stepped on their toes.



Matthew wrote: "...they are usually not representing the country as a whole..."

You think that because nobody ever used the other N-word on you when they ran out of arguments. I never saw a nice German either although not 100% of Germans loved Hitler and cheered whenever a Jew or disabled or black person was walked into a gas chamber.
Then again, it is about majority, like I said. Of course there is never a group that is 100% this or 100% that (no matter if we're talking about religion, sexual orientation etc) but we have to go by numbers and (in case of the Middle East) to take precautions - considering these numbers, I also have different experiences simply because of where I live and because of how many refugees we've taken in. You can't look at the problem in a vacuum.

The thing about religion that I usually say is that it doesn't equal faith. Faith is what Matthew believes. Religion is what certain institutions such as The Church are shoving down people's throats. And maybe there are some nice Catholic priests but there is also an awful lot of the child-raping kind. Not to mention that I've read the Bible (European Roman-Catholic version) as well as many passages of the Koran (for an argument with a few other people, I wanted to have my facts straight) and what is written in those books is often EXCACTLY as bad as one would think. Of course, you can try to explain it away with "but it was a different time" (funny, how many cry for having trivia changed but say religious texts shouldn't be adapted because they are contemporary witnesses by the way) etc but it's still what's written in it and people aren't reading it wrong (the example in the afore-mentioned discussion was the role of women). I can read and know when there is not a whole lot of room for interpretation.

Trish wrote: "Of course there is never a group that is 100% this or 100% that (no matter if we're talking about religion, sexual orientation etc) but we have to go by numbers and (in case of the Middle East) to take precautions - considering these numbers, I also have different experiences simply because of where I live and because of how many refugees we've taken in. You can't look at the problem in a vacuum."

Very true, and I try to not make sweeping generalizations based just on my experiences in Midwestern America - but it is hard not to talk about what you know. And, maybe I try to be overly optimistic in looking towards the good wherever I can. I have had a history of taking the evil in the world too hard on myself at a personal level. I have gotten better at that recently.

Trish wrote: "The thing about religion that I usually say is that it doesn't equal faith. Faith is what Matthew believes. "

I agree with most of your last paragraph. I think some of religion vs faith is about semantics. I don't see religion as a bad word, but many people do because of the horrible things some religions do. You mention the Catholic priest/molestation issue - which I think is terrible. If you ever want to read an enthralling book about Mormon extremism, Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith is a very interesting and eye opening book. I agree with you about certain religions, churches, interpretations of faith being a very bad. And, the bible thing - I get that. Not worth debating here, but even as a church goer and Bible reader (and this may shock some Christians), I take some of it with a grain of salt. It doesn't really matter if the earth was created in 7 days, or Noah had a boat, or all the rules established by Moses, etc., etc., etc. For me, the message is in the loving God and loving others. People who do terrible things and then hide behind the Bible are silly and just add to the bad name Christians get.

I will say that the part you mention about women in the Bible - it mentions Women taking care of Men, but also - in the same verse - that Men should love their wives the same way Jesus loves. So, people who just quote that Women should serve Men are looking at it all wrong (in my opinion). The point of that whole verse is that we should take care of each other. But, not trying to start a debate, I have just run across this argument before.

The almost comical thing is when one religious group points the finger at another, outraged about this or that - despite ALL of them being exactly the same. I also laugh when people tell me that they've turned to Buddhism because it's such a peaceful religion. UHm, yeah? Then you've clearly NEVER read actual Buddhist scriptures because, amogst other things, they demand the burning of the infidels - while they are still alive so the fire cleanses their souls. *lol*
And almost all religions are especially hard on women, no matter what the newest propaganda machine says. It's one great unifier, sadly.By the way, I wasn't talking about the Bible and the therein role of women, but the Koran. No taking care there, it compares women to fields to be ploughed by men as they see fit.

Religion is definitely not for me but the way I see it, if faith makes you be a good person and help others, go for it. Just so long as I'm left alone and nobody tries to tell me that I'm worth less or can't know the meaning of morale because I'm an atheist (I had a Catholic say that to me once). *rolls eyes* Live and let live.

But, the author straight up comes out a blames Christianity, quotes scripture, and repeatedly brings it back to the forefront Fantastic review, Matthew. Look, the Christians in my country can be very closed-minded at times because they come from a very strong Calvinistic route, but that does not make them bad people that would do this sort of thing. I just don't understand why books are allowed to blame Christians but not other religions - then it's supposed to be wrong for some reason? It's sickening.

Unfortunately, history has had its fair share of bad religion (and its fair share of good Bad Religion - inside joke for punk rock fans!)

Trish wrote: "Live and let live. "

I agree very much with this. I live my life and try to be the best I can be, and if that cause people to be interested in me and what I am all about, great. If not - so be it! I am not going to try and force people to be like me. Also, unless you are actively punching kittens, I am not going to try and make you feel bad about who you are. I do know that some members of every religion feel it is their duty to convert and/or make people feel bad for being who they are.

But, think about this - if I stand in the middle of a park yelling "You all suck for not being like me!", how many do you think will come over to find out how they can be like me? But, if I am hanging out, having pleasant conversation, smiling, waving, accepting all people into my presence, people are going to want to know more about me and be my friend. If, at that time, they decide there is something about me that they want to be a part of, great! If not, at least we had a pleasant conversation and a good time hanging out!

I think this is how all Christians should be!

Jennifer (Jen/The Tolkien Gal) wrote: "But, the author straight up comes out a blames Christianity, quotes scripture, and repeatedly brings it back to the forefront Fantastic review, Matthew. Look, the Christians in my country can be ve..."

I just checked your profile and it looks like you are in South Africa. Trish is in Germany. It has been very interesting in seeing response on this from all over the world!

Thank you for your reply and adding additional info from your neck of the woods! :)

Matthew: Great review as always. Appreciate the passion.
Trish: Always good to hear your perspective.
I really enjoyed the discussion!

Matthew closed with: "I think this is how all Christians should be!" I'd like a world where everyone is accepting, full stop. In that world hate, mistrust, etc. have no place. Pie in the sky but we can all hope/pray for it.

Stephen wrote: "Matthew: Great review as always. Appreciate the passion.
Trish: Always good to hear your perspective.
I really enjoyed the discussion!

Matthew closed with: "I think this is how all Christians shou..."

Thanks, Stephen! Maybe our hope for the future can begin with a lively conversation on a book review - who knows!?

Kimber wrote: "A very honest and thoughtful review, Matthew. : )"

Thank you, Kimber!

I appreciate your review. You were honest, informative and I can tell you took time to reflect on the book's implications. Thank you for sharing Matt.

(Bern) Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas wrote: "I appreciate your review. You were honest, informative and I can tell you took time to reflect on the book's implications. Thank you for sharing Matt."

You are very welcome, Bern! Thank you for comments!

Thank you for your informative review Matthew. Believe I'll pass on this one.

Yikes! Politics... religion... I try to avoid books with these topics altogether, I just often find them too controversial and not very entertaining. I often look forward to your reviews as I know they surely do not disappoint.

Excellent and honest review, Matthew!

I appreciate the honesty in your review, Matthew! I don’t plan to read this one but definitely am curious to get my friends’ perspectives on it :)