Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Do what you can for Mormon Lit: buy this book!

I just want to give you all a heads-up about something that I think is groundbreaking. Angela Hallstrom (who happens to be my friend, but this is beside the point) has written a book that I think could do something amazing for Mormon Letters. This book is thoughtful, well-written, and a dang good read. What’s more, it has no shocking elements, it’s plot doesn’t depend on whether people will stay true to the church, and it upholds faith without making faith into something shallow. (That’s the groundbreaking part—that it can have all that good without being sentimental or trite or, as I said, shallow.) I’ve read it and loved it. I especially recommend it for women and women’s book groups. If you’re in a book group, try this book out and let me know what you think. I want to know if the women respond to it the way I predict: Wow! I didn’t know Mormon lit could be like this!

Hurray for Angela and Parables for showing us it could be done! Now let’s show them that we’re grateful by supporting it (buy the book). Let’s show them that good LDS lit does have a market (buy the book—buy two or three; Mother’s Day will be here soon). How this book does, commercially, will send a message to other publishers (buy the book).

And, of course, besides caring about what this book can do for the future of Mormon lit, I also care about what it can do for my future as a writer, because although she is much more talented than I am, Angela’s stuff is a lot like mine, and my book would be the same type (buy the book). So I’m hoping it will do very well.

All that aside, it’s a good read, as I said. You’ll like it.

2 comments:

C. Jane Kendrick said...

I am so glad that I have a friend who I can trust when it comes to recommendations on Mormon Lit. thank you thank you thank you. I will check it out.

Anonymous said...

Darlene, thanks so much for the nice post. I couldn't ask for a better friend and supporter. And you need to delete that line about your talent, because you are one of the most talented writers I know. We will see a title by Darlene Young hitting the shelves sometime in the near future, I am sure of it, and it will be amazing.