Elders

I spent most of my life in the Mormon church. I'm also a serious reader. And it's always been strange to me that these two parts of my life didn't come together. There was simply no "good" Mormon fiction. There was bad fiction by Mormons for Mormons. There were a small number of successful Mormon au......more

Ryan McIlvain’s debut novel Elders is a remarkably candid and wholehearted exploration of one young man’s spiritual crisis and another’s attempt to uphold the sanctity of Christ’s teachings. As a Mormon missionary planted in Carinha, Brazil, Elder Seth McLeod struggles to overcome the vacuous degree......more

I was excited to find this title though the author's interview published in the SL Tribune. Fiction about Mormons has little legacy to stand on, with quality production mostly in film. There has been a fair amount of good fiction written by Mormons about other topics, and a stunningly famous body of......more

Wow. In all the years I've been reading and doing my small part to nurture fiction that is both Mormon and yet not constrained by the didacticism that seems to be an inherent part of insider Mormon art, I've hoped for a new Mormon aesthetics, one that is unafraid to embrace the internals of Mormon c......more

Mixed bag. The character development and dialogue are incredible, but the story is a real downer. I thought Elder Passos was a really interesting character. He was really strengthened and fed by his faith, but he had some personal failings that he never quite overcame. Elder McLeod was pitiable and......more