Child of God

by Lolita Files

Book Overview

In this searing novel, bestselling author Lolita Files tells the tale of a Southern family torn apart by the secrets it struggles to keep. Everybody knows everybody else's business in Downtown,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684841436
• ISBN13: 9780684841434
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 316 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Great book

It keeps you wanting to know what's going to happen next, I couldn't put it down!

Lolita Files Moves Away From Typical Stuff!

Lolita Files has written a story that really caught me off guard. I wasn't even sure what I expected but this wasn't it! In any case, this book captivated me from the beginning until the end and I found myself flipping back pages, from time to time, just to make sure I was keeping all of these characters/generations straight! Lolita Files has written a bold and daring book that covers all sorts of family secrets. Ms. Files has earned my praises not just for writing an amazing story, but for hopefully setting a new trend. I personally would like to see other writers like herself get away from the usual and typical writing about 2-4 friends who have drama, drama, DRAMA in their lives. The market is saturated with too much of this type of book and I found Child Of God refreshing to read as well as original. I hadn't read a book by Lolita Files since Scenes From A Sistah but Child Of God is definitely great stuff. Get this one and enjoy!

Go 'Lita, Go 'Lita!

"Child of God" is by far Lolita Files best work of fiction to date. Spanning generations of the Boten family's trials and tribulations, their stories will snatch you up by the collar, pull you into the story , and plop you down on the sidelines as the action unfolds. "Child of God" focuses on family love both pure (in the case of Ophelia and Polo) and unpure (Ophelia and Lay are just one incestuous combination), as well as drugs, voodoo, murder and suicide. This is no "and they all lived happily ever after" story. Characters die in a multitude of graphic, violent ways - this book is not for the squemish - but the death toll never feels overdone and the plot twists feel authentic, not just done for the sake of theatrics. After reading this book, it's safe to say that Lolita Files was just playing with us with her three previous novels. "Child of God" shows her true talent for spinning a tale, and quite a spinner she is.

Off the Hook!!!

Lolita Files' latest novel about a Tennesse family plagued with the legacy of incest, murder and secrecy is by far her best. From the very first line I was hooked and could not put the book down until I turned the last page. The manner in which Files weaves in the backstories was masterful. In "Child of God" Files creates drama and suspense that will leave you craving for more.

Her best work yet

The first line of the novel introduces the audacity of this spirited story of a rural family plagued with menacing deep family secrets and arduous dilemmas that leave an ominous cloud hanging over them. The Boltens teeter between aerious innocence and ignorant wickedness. Files unfolds their history of murder, incest, and deceit, expertly moving from past to present. Evil and sin run rampant through the pages interspersed through each character and successfully shaping the story.Child of God is Files' best work yet. The blatant parallels of the novel to Shakespeare's Hamlet are ingenious. Files assembled a fleet of characters that are colorful, spirited, and unique. The characters are developed and delivered in their own entity where they project themselves into the unfolding of this lurid story. This tragic story is full of capricious plots that will leave your mouth agape in disbelief, but will continuously grab your interest. This novel is very different from Files' previous novels; however, it shows acute intelligence and versatility in her writing. You will enjoy this story.

Some Serious Drama!

Lolita Files? is back with an edgy and daring new novel titled Child of God?a saga of a Southern family tormented by a legacy of shameful secrets. Files? latest heroine is Ophelia Boten, a young woman who must confront her family?s past before she can extinguish the curse that threatens her future.Set mostly against the backdrop of a small, country town named Downtown, TN, Child of God shows the sordid secrets binding one family over four decades. The story opens with the death of Ophelia?s son, baby Hamlet, who is the lone casualty of a mysterious fire. However, the reader quickly discovers that this is the first of many tragedies throughout the book. Similar tragedies that keep repeating over and over throughout the generations. As Files? carefully weaves us forward and backward in time with this family, we discover a multitude of secrets and sins?incest, voodoo, rape, homosexuality, drug addiction, murder and suicides. Before Ophelia can find true love and share it, she must unravel the intricate relationships, mystical ties and forbidden passions that have tormented her family over the years.Child of God is a fast-paced and suspense-packed read and shows Files ability to tackle different storylines and tell a good story. However, readers looking for more of the sistafriend relationship of Reesy and Misty will be disappointed with Child of God because this is truly a different read and probably more in line with Blind Ambition?albeit a darker story than any of her stories to-date. Child of God is a storyline filled with lots of violence, brutality, tragedy and anguish. The storyline has a Jerry Springish feel and mentality with far-fetch and over-the-top situations that might make some folks want to throw the book against the wall and leave it there. Those who enjoy lots of drama with a soap-operaish type style will love this book. Aside from some of the loose ends such as Lay?s behavior and Lay and Sukie?s relationship which I never quite understood, I enjoyed the colorful characters, vivid situations, poignant dialogue and riveting storyline. I look forward to future books from Ms. Files.