Audiobook8 hours
Elders
Written by Ryan McIlvain
Narrated by Brian Hutchison
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
A glorious debut that T.C. Boyle calls "powerful and deeply moving" that follows two young Mormon missionaries in Brazil and their tense, peculiar friendship. Elder McLeod-outspoken, surly, a brash American-is nearing the end of his mission in Brazil. For nearly two years he has spent his days studying the Bible and the Book of Mormon, knocking on doors, teaching missionary lessons-"experimenting on the word." His new partner is Elder Passos, a devout, ambitious Brazilian who found salvation and solace in the church after his mother's early death. The two men are at first suspicious of each other, and their work together is frustrating, fruitless. That changes when a beautiful woman and her husband offer the missionaries a chance to be heard, to put all of their practice to good use, to test the mettle of their faith. But before they can bring the couple to baptism, they must confront their own long-held beliefs and doubts, and the simmering tensions at the heart of their friendship. A novel of unsparing honesty and beauty, Elders announces Ryan McIlvain as a writer of enormous talent.
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Reviews for Elders
Rating: 3.375 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
20 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Let me first start off by saying that this is a book that I enjoyed up until the first half. Having been a missionary myself, and being a current member of the church, I found it surprisingly honest about the missionary experience for some people. That being said, the book lost its radical potential for articulating difference near the end.
As an academic Latin Americanist, the thought kept running through my head: would this fit under the category of Latin American novel? Or is it yet another white Anglo person writing about Latin American experience from a very white perspective? The possible vacillation between the two makes it a fascinating read on an intellectual level, but it still leaves much to be desired.
McCloud is certainly the Avatar of the author; boldly intellectualist, smug in his liberal hypocrisy, eventually leading to his pseudo-mormonism that, as always, touts itself in brutal honesty compared to the rest of the church. But Passos is the author's alter ego, acting as a genuine counterbalance to the jadedness of his companion, also being a wholly tin foil pastiche of afro-indigenous religious tropes: the desire to go to byu, the aping of strict obedience as a missionary, the lucid dreams and flashbacks that often paint the Latino body as somehow more spiritual or fervent in its devotion to the religious cause.
It is certainly impressive to see how the author vacillates between these two registers at the beginning of the book, making it feel more genuine than other attempts in Mormon literature. The struggle over language, politics, culture, and other signs of difference that can easily tear companionships apart gives us an opportunity to explore the nuances of universalism. But that attempt to recognize the other fails in the latter half of the book, precisely because the author leans too hard into the overt representation of the two leads. In an oddly naturalist nod to late 19th century Latin American novels, the end is almost comically abrupt and downright unsympathetic to the situations of either elder.
Granted, this might work for some, but it feels like a hollow promise to the reader when the author takes an otherwise nuanced look of missionary life in the beginning towards an absurdly antagonistic conclusion. That is not to say that these kinds of things don't happen on missions, as they most certainly do. But to leave the reader high and dry without a better explication or articulation of the breakdowns in communication is an intellectually dishonest representation of missionary work. Rather than placing the onus of responsibility on cultural difference in the struggle for understanding, the book insinuates that the struggle lies in the lacklusterness of religious experience. That should offend people who are both religious and non-religious, white and non-white alike, as it blithely insinuates that mormonism is the culprit and not the sociopolitical, linguistic, or cultural challenges that impede them from the get-go.
Had the book taken a different turn in its approach while still conserving the agency of both individuals, it could have offered a radical politics of change for transnational coalitions through religious practice. Instead, readers are left feeling emptied out. The surly white intellectual goes back to Boston, a jaded, de-virginized post Mormon; the poor Brown boy, still clinging to a faith that now seems cold and unforgiving in the hopes that it will offer him material benefits.
In this light, we find neither sympathy nor empathy for either. As a result, it reaffirms the neoliberal notion that the only reason that people ever follow religious Praxis in Latin America is for strategic purposes. This robs us, the white readers, of any real chance to reflect upon how our casual dismissal of religious experience reaffirms white supremacy and colonization in the global south.
In conclusion, I will say that this book is not bad, but it is yet another manifestation of what is wrong with much of the more "genuine" Mormon literature by writers who generally identify themselves as either post Mormon or ex-mormon: they will betray nuance by the end, causing a narratological interdiction that demands that the reader submit to pessimism rather than affirmation. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seeing as we're going with a religious theme here, let me start with a confession: I totally judge books by their covers and Elders is a prime example. I think this cover is brilliant.
So, does the novel live up to the cover? It comes pretty close. Elders follows McLeod and Passos, a pair of Mormon missionaries in Brazil. Despite their vastly different backgrounds, the couple is bonded together as they spend their days knocking on unopened doors and hoping to reach their quietly personal goals.
What I thought might be a fiery expose of Mormonism was actually written in a delicate way that is neither accusing nor particularly supportive of the religion, rather it focuses more on the relationship between the Elders themselves. With different languages, backgrounds and cultures, McLeod and Passos have plenty to cause a rift between them. However, it is the different way they approach the Mormon religion and their beliefs that leads to the tension in their partnership.
Though it ended a bit abruptly for my liking, Elders is a unique, carefully written novel that is easy to appreciate and enjoy. - Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I was looking forward to reading this book after hearing an interview with the author on Fresh Air. It sounded like this semi-autobiographical novel would be a great window into a world I know so little about. Unfortunately, it fell well short of my expectations.Pros: Ryan McIlvain's Elders (American McLeod and Brazilian Passos) paint an interesting picture of how insular and isolating it can be to be a Mormon missionary. I certainly cannot imagine how difficult it would be to spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with a virtual stranger, regardless of how committed we both were to the same cause. Add in the extra layer of missionary ambition (who knew??), and the whole situation can become a political powder keg. I also appreciated the way the author dealt with Elder McLeod's doubt. It was interesting to hear the perspective that someone who considers himself religious enough to go on a mission could have legitimate doubt as part of his faith journey. Sort of a biblical "fake it 'til you make it" approach to religious coming-of-age.Cons: I never really connected with any of the characters in this book. Neither Elder inspired trust, confidence, or sympathy. I just didn't care what happened to them or anyone else.Other than the moderately interesting education I received about the day-to-day life of Mormon missionary work (recognizing this IS fiction), Elders had little to offer. I love a book where interesting things happen to interesting people, and this book missed the mark on both counts.