Initial Thoughts: The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman
So yesterday in the mail I received the trade paperback edition (a review copy, not a purchase) of The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman. Based on all the reviews I read last year, this book was not on my radar...at all. But just for the heck of it I decided to pick it up and read a few pages. Next thing I knew, I had read the first 40 and was enjoying it. I can see why some (lots) of folks complained about the writing style, though for some reason it works for me. In some ways it reminds me of David Keck..his writing style was something you either really liked or really disliked. I think Hoffman's writing inspires the same sort of reaction...a love it or hate it kinda thing. I read a review that mentioned the narrator being omniscient..is that the right term? I know the narrator's voice is tightly coupled to the overall writing style, but I do like the narrator so far, too.
The religious aspect is interesting, also...seems to be based on Catholicism in some (many?) ways. I grew up Catholic, but disagreed with lots of the beliefs (especially when I couldn't find so many of the Catholic "rules" in the bible)..so I later got baptized in a Baptist church (and now attend a non-denominational)..all this to say I find the religion in this world interesting so far.
The characters..its too soon to tell. I don't have any issues with any of them yet, so that's good.
So..40 pages in..and I'm thinking I'm going to keep reading it. Hopefully my opinion doesn't change as I get further into the book..I'll report back in another day or two (depending on how much reading time I have the next couple of nights).
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