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Whit
or, Isis amongst the unsaved
476 pages
A wry, culture-clash journey of a sheltered cult member navigating the bewildering landscape of Nineties Britain while her worldview slowly unravels.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping out of a hermetically sealed bubble into the loud, messy reality of Nineties Britain. The narrative moves at a brisk, engaging pace, driven by a wry and satirical tone that perfectly captures the absurdity of culture clash. Through the eyes of a deeply sheltered protagonist, the mundane elements of modern life take on a disorienting, almost alien quality. The mood balances quirky humor with a growing sense of existential dread as absolute certainty gives way to a profound crisis of faith. It is a sharp, observant exploration of religious disillusionment and the loss of innocence. This will delight readers who love coming-of-age stories that pit earnest naivety against a cynical, chaotic world.
- Mood
- quirky
- disorienting
- questioning
- culture-shocked
- Tone
- wry
- satirical
- observant
- irreverent
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- loss of innocence · culture clash · religious disillusionment · navigating modernity · crisis of faith
- The writing
- Sharp and observant, contrasting the earnest innocence of its protagonist with the gritty, absurd realities of Nineties Britain.
- The arc
- From sheltered, naive certainty to a disorienting, profound crisis of faith amidst the chaos of the modern world.
- Who it's for
- Readers who enjoy satirical coming-of-age stories where sheltered protagonists collide with the messy realities of modern society.
Content notes
- cult dynamics
- religious disillusionment
- references to sexual acts
- neo-fascist violence
About the book
Isis Whit is no ordinary teenager. An innocent in the ways of the world, an ingenue when it comes to pop and fashion, she does however rejoice in the exalted status of Elect of God of the Luskentyrian Sect, a small but committed religious cult based near Stirling. A month before their four-yearly Festival of Love, during which members indulge vigorously in acts of carnal abandon, the Luskentyrians are thrown into crisis when their Guest of Honour renounces her faith and refuses to attend. Isis' standing in the Community, coupled with the fact that the apostate is her cousin Morag, swiftly marks her out as the person to venture out among the Unsaved and bring the fallen one back to the fold But her mission through the spiritual barrenness of Nineties Britain - with its 'herbal cigarettes', compact discs and neo-facist thugs - is soon made even more treacherous. It appears that not only has Morag embraced the ways of the Unsaved with spectacular abandon, but for some reason she seems to be actively avoiding Isis, whose own hallowed status among the brethren undergoes a radical about-turn as her pillar of faith slowly crumbles from within.
Description from Open Library.
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