Children's Bible, A

Pulitzer Prize finalist Lydia Millets sublime new novelher first since the National Book Award long-listed Sweet Lamb of Heavenfollows a group of twelve eerily mature children on a forced vacation with their families at a sprawling lakeside mansion. Contemptuous of their parents, who pass their days in a stupor of liquor, drugs, and sex, the children feel neglected and suffocated at the same time. When a destructive storm descends on the summer estate, the groups ringleadersincluding Eve, who narrates the storydecide to run away, leading the younger ones on a dangerous foray into the apocalyptic chaos outside. As the scenes of devastation begin to mimic events in the dog-eared picture Bible carried around by her beloved little brother, Eve devotes herself to keeping him safe from harm. A Childrens Bible is a prophetic, heartbreaking story of generational divideand a haunting vision of what awaits us on the far side of Revelation.