TGC's Spicy Book Picks
When I turned the first pages of Anthony Doerr's Cloud Cuckoo Land, I wasn't sure what to expect. I had received the book, along with Kate Quinn's The Rose Code, as birthday gifts from my mom. She chose the titles from a list on The Gospel Coalition website: TGC Editorial Staff: Books We Enjoyed in 2022. Since she knows I can be picky, my mom had done her research. I studied English in college, so I prefer books with good writing. Also, as a Christian, I do my best to, in the words of the Psalmist, "set no wicked thing before my eyes" (Psalm 101:3, Coverdale Psalter 2019). Since my mom had found both novels on a TGC list, I was optimistic that they would both be well-written. At the very least, I assumed they would be clean.
I am sorry to say that my expectations were wrongly placed.
Neither book could be termed "clean." The Rose Code, in particular, was heavily peppered with sexual content. Cloud Cuckoo Land had similar, though less titillating, issues. At least Doerr's work was well written and interesting -- though there were "woke" threads of the story that felt forced and worked against the unity of the book. As for The Rose Code, it seemed to depend on sex and low-quality romance to carry the story.
When I finished reading Cloud Cuckoo Land earlier this year, I reached out to The Gospel Coalition. I never heard back. Part way through reading The Rose Code, I decided I would write this open letter. My hope is that TGC will remove these titles from their book picks. Mistakes happen -- especially when you have such a wide array of personalities and convictions running your website.
Before I go on, I want to make it known that I am no prude. I have read plenty of books with mature content -- especially in college (some of those American Literature classes made me blush). I've read content that was artistic and tasteful, and I've run into content that was titillating. I've read books recommended by friends that, after the fact, I wished I wouldn't have. I enjoy movies, and while I do my best to avoid inappropriate scenes (often using VidAngel these days), they are hard to avoid entirely. There are good movies with unfortunate scenes, and these I still recommend to friends regularly -- though I am always careful to warn them of content to be avoided. I can say the same thing about some books I've read. Sometimes it is worth pushing past an unfortunate passage or two.
My critique is that neither Cloud Cuckoo Land nor The Rose Code are appropriate recommendations for a Christian website. What is more, I don't believe either is proper recreational reading for Christians.
Quinn's The Rose Code
I will begin with The Rose Code, as its problems were more overt. The only positive thing I can say is that Quinn had a great story concept. Prior to reading her book, I knew nothing about Bletchley Park or the women who broke codes there during World War II. Yet, after reading The Rose Code, I still know very little. For, rather than digging deeply into this fascinating corner of history, Quinn uses Bletchley park as a setting for the soap-opera-like antics of three worldly young women experiencing sexual awakenings on various levels. I should have known that this would be the style of book, as almost from the first pages, vulgar topics set the tone of the story. Two of the main characters -- Mab and Osla -- first meet on the train to Bletchley Park because a man is "fondling himself" openly while looking at them (32). Osla gets rid of the man by teasing him about his anatomy, and the girls become fast friends.
The girls live together as boarders at Mrs. Finch's home, where they meet her daughter Beth -- who eventually becomes the third member of their trio. All three young women are drafted to work at Bletchley Park, where their escapades ensue. The various relationships the girls find themselves in are far from mature, and their interactions are anything but appropriate. There are several detailed descriptions of intimate encounters (some couples were married, others not) as well as references to male body parts in an, ahem, excited position.
Aside from the spicy scenes, the tone of the book is accepting of inappropriate relationships. Beth finds herself attracted to and eventually propositions a man in an open marriage. At one point, Osla is one half of an open relationship of convenience herself. Beth trades oral sex for information while she is in prison. While there were a few poignant moments of relational healing, particularly with Mab's marriage, those did little to combat the overt worldliness of the story.
Reading The Rose Code as a Christian, I was troubled by the way Christianity was caricatured in the book. Mrs. Finch, Beth's mother, is the only "committed Christian." She is a strict, abusive Methodist. She is judgmental, almost immediately labeling Osla and Mab as tarts, which offends them greatly. As a reader, I found it ironic that tarts is exactly what they are -- as they go on to corrupt Beth with their brazen ways. One part of the story is Beth's escape from her mother's control (an abuse situation so weird it seems artificial), only to explore her freedom by becoming the most sex-crazed of the three women. Her escape hardly feels like a victory when she uses it so ill. It seems like trading one sort of subjection for another.
All of these issues are couched in poor writing. The characters are flat, and their behavior is inconsistent. At times, the out-of-character behavior pulls the reader out of the story. This happens throughout the book, but it is especially evident in the way that Osla and Mab argue with each other after a falling out. Even after the reader discovers the cause of their disagreement, the almost comically snarky venom seems disproportionate and out-of-step with their prior friendship. Since The Rose Code is set during a war, you expect sadness -- but there were moments of what felt like gratuitous morbidity in this book. Even aside from the content issues, it isn't a book I would recommend.
Doerr's Cloud Cuckoo Land
I couldn't say the same thing about Doerr's Cloud Cuckoo Land. It is, indeed, a fine specimen of literary craft. The plot is original, spanning both historical fiction and science-fiction. The characters, for the most part, were believable. Positive themes echoed throughout the pages: redemption, the importance of accepting one's place in the world, and life's ability to overcome obstacles to name a few. Indeed, the theme of fertility against all odds seemed overt throughout the various stories -- that is, except for one.
One storyline follows a man named Zeno who grows up in the 60s, becomes a POW in Vietnam, and returns home to care for his ailing stepmother. Zeno suffers from same-sex attraction, a fact he discovers while reading ancient literature about mermen. He tries to outrun these feelings -- literally at one point, as he tries to exercise away his lust -- but he can't seem to have victory. Instead, Zeno's storyline follows the development of his relationship with another man in a POW camp, his feelings for the other man (including bizarre feelings of attraction), his life of random sexual partners, his exposure to the trans community, and the overall emptiness of his life. As a Christian woman, I felt uncomfortable spending so much time "in the mind" of a homosexual, reading visceral passages describing same-sex attraction. I hoped there would be some redemption, and while Zeno does good at the end of his life, some of his last thoughts are of the man he loved and his wish he had pursued the relationship with more abandon. Zeno's sterility seems a stark contrast to the theme of fertility in Konstance's story. It was so jarring, it felt like a piece of LGBTQ agenda marring a work of art.
Along with Zeno's story, there were other sexual issues with Cloud Cuckoo Land. There was some inappropriate humor with graphic sexual references. These fit the story (spoken by one soldier to another), but many Christians would find it offensive. Personally, these issues are something I could overlook in a book like Doerr's if it were not for the thematic issues. Still, I'm surprised TGC would recommend such a book without a content caveat.
Conclusion
When I was reading The Rose Code, I came to a point where I considered quitting the book and tossing it. It was getting smutty, and I try not to read things like that. But I thought -- how bad could a book recommended by TGC get? When it got worse, I again thought about tossing it. Then I prayed about it, and I made a decision -- I would finish the book in order to write this review. It has been a busy couple of months since then (anyone following my other blog knows we are building a house right now), so it took me a while to follow through. I have wrestled with some second thoughts -- I don't want to sound legalistic or preachy. I don't want to make friends who might have enjoyed these books feel judged. But when a trusted resource like TGC recommends books like these, I think someone ought to say something about it. It calls into question the ethics the TGC editorial team abides by. It makes me wary of other content available at the site.
The book recommendations are a bad witness, for the TGC brand but also for Christianity itself. Our Lord calls us to holiness. Of course, none of us can ever be perfect, but God has given us simple commands to abide by. Just this week, I read Paul's familiar words to the Philippians.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8, ESV)
Doerr and Quinn's books fail on many points of this list, so I don't understand why any Christian would recommend them. When we read a novel, we think about it in a deep way. We spend hours getting into the minds of the characters, experiencing the story through their perspective. It's especially important to choose books that will not strain our walks with God or grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). We should choose entertainment that is not only "permissible" but also "beneficial" (1 Corinthians 10:23). Of course, I realize that Christians may sometimes disagree about which books fall into which category. But I also wonder if the real problem is that we consume so much worldly entertainment that many of us have become desensitized. There have been times in my own life when I realized I had slowly relaxed my entertainment standards, and I had to prayerfully cut out some TV shows and movies from my library.
I hope that the editors of the TGC will consider their entertainment choices and pray about whether or not their recommendations encourage their readers in the faith (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Maybe no one from TGC will even see this, but if they do, I hope they look into my concerns. I hope they remove these book recommendations from their website. And in the future, I hope they vet the editorial book picks before suggesting them to unsuspecting readers.