Book Review(ish)

If you are planning on reading Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle you should back out now. I can't really talk about what I want to talk about without some spoilery type things, even though I will try not to give it all away just incase after reading this you decided, "Oh I should read that book!" But I will be talking about some really significant things in the book so it will spoil part of it, so yeah, if you think you are going to read it, back out right now.

So to start, I never thought I'd be reading a Chuck Tingle book. I mean don't get me wrong, titles like: Pounded by President Bigfoot or Sentient Lesbian Food Gets Me Off or the classic Space Raptor Butt Trilogy were well, they were something. I just didn't think they were something for me. 

But part of my reading challenge this year was to read the Fantastic Stranglings book each month. This month's book isn't going to be released until Tuesday so even if I decided to buy the book instead of check it out from the library the odds of me finishing it by Friday aren't strong. Not impossible, but it's at the cost of a lot of other things I would be doing instead of reading all day. Time to call an audible.

She has two other book clubs as well. One for romance and one for horror. I tried reading the romance ones for awhile last year. It's a really popular genre and one I just haven't given much time to so I thought I'd see if I was missing anything. 

I was not. 

So that left her horror club. Which happened to be Camp Damascus. Which had already caught my eye for the number of "best" lists it was already hitting. 

Really? A Chuck Tingle book? The satire to the extreme guy? The did he really write a book called Pounded in the Butt by My Own Butt guy? (Yes, yes he did)

Ooookay....

And, y'all? I really liked it. 

The book is about a lot of things, but the thing it's about that grabbed me was losing your religion when you are VERY religious. And what that does to you. And how much of you is wrapped up in your religion. And then the next step of realizing that while you believed what you did you yourself were pushing those wrong ideas at other people. 

You not only had damage done to you, but you did damage to others. You actively participated or helped others do those things. Those things that you no longer believe and can also now see were wrong.

It's one of the best descriptions about that feeling I've ever seen in a book. The way she mourns first her own loses, then realizes what she helped to do. And is horrified. 

There is also another character in the book from the same religion who leaves their church but does not leave his faith. He still goes to church, just a different one, and still believes strongly in the biblical teachings. Which I also appreciated. I have friends who chose that path. They did not lose their faith completely, they just found churches that more reflected what they believed. 

I told Brent that Mr. Tingle (whoever he really is) had to have been raised ultra religious and either was sent to conversion therapy or knew someone who had been because I don't think you could research your way into that sort of specificity. I could be wrong, I mean one of the reasons I don't write longer stories is because I hate the researching part...

But his capturing of the emotions of what it is like, how hard it is, how devastating it is and the guilt you feel. 

So good. Really so good.

And because it was so good I'm thinking I might have to pick up one of his other books just to see if the writing is that good all throughout the umm....pounding.

Or maybe not. Maybe I'll just hold this one special and dear to me and call it a day.