The Rapture

A powerful story with characters I connect with can actually have a physical impact on me - my stomach churns, my heart races, my palms sweat. That said, after turning the final page of The Rapture by Liz Jensen, I felt like I had just run a marathon. The book is full of emotion, tension, suspense and well-researched information -- all of the ingredients of a great novel. The Rapture introduces Gabrielle Fox, a beautiful but deeply damaged clinical psychologist. Paralyzed from the waist down, Gabrielle has come to Oxsmith, a hospital for criminally insane youth in Hadporth, England, to start anew personally and professionally. She leaves behind a tragic and traumatic history in London that has left her broken physically and emotionally. Gabrielle becomes fixated on one of her art therapy patients, 16-year-old Bethany Krall, the daughter of a fanatical Faith Wave pastor who brutally murdered her mother two years earlier. Bethany is having apocalyptic visions of natural disasters worldwide, drawing highly detailed and accurate pictures of events that have yet to happen, from a megahurricane in Brazil to a major earthquake in Istanbul. Gabrielle spends the rest of the book trying to decipher Bethany's disturbing prophecies, to determine whether the girl is a psychotic or a gifted and to figure out how much she's willing to invest in the visions - and the millions of lives at stake if they're true. The therapist's personal drama is backdropped by scenes of global political upheaval, disease, climate change and social chaos that further whip the book's atmosphere into a frenzy that builds toward a truly unforgettable ending. I thought Jensen's writing was breathtaking. She uses language that is rich in both imagery and vocabulary -- I think I would have loved the book no matter what its topic, just because of the way the author writes. Her characters are deeply flawed and very human -- although sometimes frustratingly so. Gabrielle is at times infuriating in her self-doubt and paranoia, but her troubled psyche is key to the plot. The story is sometimes painful to read, and Jensen doesn't pull her punches. This is apocalyptic fiction, folks. Don't expect a sunshine-and-rainbows ending. The events contained within are disturbing and realistically plausible, and have very well given me something else to sit up at night worrying about. Jensen's end-of-days horror is not a recycled asteroid-hits-Earth scenario, but a well-researched threat that I'll look forward to reading more about in the future. Jensen does infuse the end of The Rapture with a shred of bittersweet hope for the future, uncertain and difficult as it may be for her characters, and the world.

60. The Rapture by Liz Jensen I wish I could remember who recommended this one, I owe them a massive thank you. It is definately one of my memorable reads for the year. Bethany is troubled to say the least. Currently being treated in a youth mental facility after violently killing her mother. As a last resort the facility begins sessions of ECT, electroshock therapy. Suddenly, Bethany claims she can predict the natural disasters that are plaguing the world more and more often. Her new therapist Gabrielle, who is fighting her own personal demons, is put to the task of getting to the bottom of it, but the bottom is not what anyone expects. Bethany predicts a disaster like none other....one that will be the end of everything as we know it. Both Bethany and Gabrielle are fighting their demons, and they need each other to fight them off. The characters we both fascinating to me. The way they interact is perfect. Their story unfolds and brings other characters to them in a way that takes you to into the story as well. The story ends in a way that I never quite saw coming, and in a sad way everyone gets what they want (I'm really not giving much away here I promise). If you can get your hands on this book...do it. You will not regret it. 5/5

I wasn't sure I'd like this book, but it has ended up as one I am sure I will read again. It is set in the near future, in a world that is uncertain (sound familiar so far?). Gabrielle, an art therapist who ended up in a wheelchair after a car accident, is our narrator. She works with a young patient at a psychiatric hospital, who seems to have an uncanny ablilty to predict future events. The book begins as a page turner, the story moves along quickly, and the ending alone was well worth the read. I think description in apocalypic stories is often lacking, but that's not the case in this book. The images are well described, vivid enough to take you into the story and away from the words on the page. Well written, and fascinating story, not predictable, order it!

I picked up Liz Jensen's "The Rapture" as a lark. Who doesn't like to contemplate the end of the world as a bit of entertainment? But Jensen's ambitious and original new novel grabbed me within the first few chapters and never let me go. An ingenious combination of eco-thriller, psychological chiller, and apocalyptic/biblical horror story--"The Rapture" is a smart read that is both timely and plausible in its set-up, but mysterious and otherworldly in its execution. It is a rare and beguiling mix of genres that serves the story well through to its powerful and exciting climax. At the heart of "The Rapture" is an intriguing, damaged heroine. Gabrielle Fox is a therapist rebuilding her life after an accident has killed her family and left her paralyzed. Vulnerable and raw, she is charged with a new patient--a sixteen year old girl who viciously murdered her mother. Manipulative and disturbed, Bethany Krall also seems to have a talent for predicting natural disasters. Gabrielle struggles to uncover a logical explanation--is it a hoax, dementia, or something more unexplainable? But can Gabrielle handle the truth? As more of Bethany's visions come true, the debate of science versus faith becomes a pivotal element as a dangerous end is foretold. I found "The Rapture" to be enthralling. The characters are well drawn. Gabrielle, especially, displays much depth as she explores these uncharted mysteries. And Bethany is a terrific construct. Is she a prophet or a demon or a deranged girl out to cause trouble? There is a lot of scientific discussion in "The Rapture" due to the ecological implications of what is happening--which might have slowed a lesser novel down. Ditto for religious conjecture. But Jensen expertly weaves her plot points together so that the momentum never wanes. And, refreshingly, "The Rapture" doesn't chicken out and provide easy answers. Many of the questions it raises, especially in regard to Bethany, are left up to interpretation--so different people may respond differently--which is fantastic! I loved "The Rapture," which came as a huge surprise! It's an intelligent thriller with genuine thrills that never dumbs down or compromises its story.

Some potential readers may assume from the title that this novel carries a religious message, so let me say first that it definitely does not. We are a few years in the future, and the world is unchanged except that global warming has gotten worse. It is of course hotter, and natural catastrophes--hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes--are more frequent. Still, everything is pretty much okay--if you ignore a subtle sense of impending doom. Some people have turned to religion; they anticipate the Rapture, when believers will be raised to heaven as earth becomes a hell and human life is destroyed. In England, a psychotherapist, Gabrielle, confined to a wheel chair after a car accident, treats a sixteen year old girl in a hospital for criminally insane juveniles. The girl, Bethany, has murdered her religious zealot mother. Bethany is hostile, dangerous, and uncannily intuitive about Gabrielle's personal life. She also seems capable of predicting natural catastrophes and insists a big one is coming. The writing in this novel, including wonderful brief descriptions that bring characters and scenes to vivid life, is absolute first-rate. The author makes you care about Gabrielle, physically and emotionally vulnerable, gutsy, and clear-eyed about her own flaws. Bethany is also a beautifully drawn character as is Frazer, a physicist who comes to believe Bethany's stories, and may or may not be in love with Gabrielle. This is a book I devoured. It has a great plot and suspense that builds to a satisfying climax. None of the characters ask themselves if there is any spiritual meaning to Bethany knowing what she knows, except religious zealots who think she is possessed by the devil. The good and wise characters automatically assume a purely materialistic world view is the correct one. I would have liked them to think more deeply about the issues Bethany's existence raises. Still, I very much enjoyed this novel and recommend it highly.