Here’s another great novel by Novel-in-Progress alumni, Deborah L. King. A sequel to Glory Bishop is expected this fall and I’m looking forward to it, as I loved King’s debut novel and find myself cheering for Glory Bishop whenever I think of her. Here’s my review:
I have a feeling that I just read one of the finest books I’ll read all year. I finished an hour ago and I’m still shaking. Glory Bishop’s mother has placed coverings on all the apartment windows to keep evil out. Author Deborah King peels back the corner of one of those coverings to allow the reader a glimpse into Glory Bishop’s life. From the outside, one sees Glory’s mother, Mary Bishop, as an abuser, a Christian fanatic who has warped the meaning of Bible verse far beyond the literal. Look closer, and one sees a fearful woman desperately trying to shelter her daughter from the world. Seventeen-year old Glory Bishop walks a tightrope every day. On one side, her mother, ready to “send her back to God” before allowing her daughter to be less than a Godly woman. On the other side, Malcolm, a twenty-seven-year old preacher who has targeted her for his future wife, a girl he can control in every way from determining what she will eat to where she will go to college, and his constant threat of violence should she disappoint him. King brings us so far inside Glory’s world that, like one caught in a cycle of abuse and religious zeal, the actions of the abusers begin to seem genuine, normal, benevolent. Don’t be afraid of this book. Read it. There is plenty of love and hope and even joy. I am cheering for Glory Bishop. I received an advanced reader’s copy and I have also pre-ordered my own. I want to keep this one.