The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose (Book Review)

I went in Booksale praying for a good book to read. As usual, I squatted at the “Religious/Spiritual” section and scanned the spines with hovering fingers. I picked up a few books with catchy titles and put them back on the shelf after realizing the not-so-good content (according to my taste!) or the not-so-friendly price tag.

Then this came out of nowhere (Nah, not really. I found it somewhere in between poorly arranged hardbound books.). This book came to me with a spark, despite my battling over choosing it over the “Hundred Years of Solitude” novel we had discussed in our Novel class more than a year ago. Both novels had reasonable prices but in the end, I went for this book for four reasons:

1. My budget only allowed one book purchase today. (I’m broke!)

2. I still had two unread books that I feel too lazy to read.

3. I wanted a Christian novel this time. I realized I had to get in touch my fiction side, and worldly novels only mess up my thought life.

4. I’m not really a fan of the supposed-classics we’re forced to read in class. As you can tell, being an English major still hasn’t transformed me into a classics-obsessed bookworm. (I still do not get the supposed beauty of some classics – the authors’ ideologies are just too extreme at times, you know. Adultery, murder, and racism are only a few among these, and they’re considered normal!)

Let’s head on to the book though, as I do not want to delve into rants on inappropriate (a.k.a. sinful) themes celebrated in the literary world.

The Unlikely Disciple is Kevin Roose’s debut novel based on his true-to-life accounts as an English major taking a semester off to experience what it is like to study in a Christian University. In this semester, he immerses himself in the “Christian” life and environment most of the Americans seem to be oblivious about.

Honestly, I always had a soft spot for protagonists with the same major. They almost always think the way I do (for the most part anyway). And I identify with them almost immediately. Take Kevin Roose, for example. He’s your average skeptic observer with hundreds of questions hovering at the back of his head, despite his full-time experience in a Christian environment. Perhaps that’s a thing common between us: we question certain things (in my case, certain “rules and traditions” not even encouraged, nor mentioned in the Bible; his, though, varies).

Let’s get one thing straight. I thought this was a Christian novel, after reading its sub-title about a sinner’s semester at America’s holiest school. I was hoping it would be a classic Christian novel, but it turned out it was a novel of somewhere in between – simply of a journalist writing down his experience whilst within Christian territory. After a moment of disappointment however, a realization of its usefulness came tumbling in my head like a blessing rolling down the hill.

What I don’t like about it:

First of all, this is a skeptic’s writing. There would be quite several parts in the novel when the protagonist questions certain Bible teachings that he thinks is either out-dated or irrational. His raised eyebrows on teachings against sexual immorality or homosexuality for example, are only less than a chunk of his skepticism. I have no problem with skeptics, but the teachings he refuses to submit to (despite direct command from the Word), I just feel sad about. It’s thought-provoking, yes, but it makes me sad anyway.

What I like about it:

There are several things I actually like about this book. In a way, I had the privilege to know for myself what happens in an unbeliever’s train of thought. What makes it a good thing? Well, for starters, as Christians, we would not always stay inside our protective bubble. In fact, the lesser we know about how unbelievers logically counter the hope we hold on to, the harder it would be to share to them this victory. I believe allowing ourselves to understand their predicaments and the way they feel about faith, would make us better witnesses.

The Unlikely Disciple also gives us a clear picture of what a Christian community is like. There are pious, holier-than-thou kids, there are those passionately in love with the Lord, and there are several rebels who break laws but still go to Bible Study or church like everybody else. It was honestly as if I were reading a story about me and the other “Christians” that I know of. It is disheartening, really, to agree that the Christian “religion” now has almost become an organization of people who pray the Sinner’s prayer but still live an untransformed (and certainly an un-Christ-like)life (not everybody, but there is a great number). If we are to live continually like this, how do we expect to witness to the world when they couldn’t even see transformation through Christ, right?

It’s an eye-opener, really. It keeps us aware that people do wish to see the filthy side to Christianity. And if they do get to find a soiled spot, then there truly is a problem. After all, there isn’t supposed to be filth in a life in Christ.

Technically speaking, this is quite a light but engaging novel, despite the lack of clear climax (I was waiting for it, but it didn’t appear to me like, Boo!). I’m also impressed that for an English major, Kevin Roose didn’t go all the way with difficult English. It was sort of a journal, after all, and too much fragrance on language could become sickening too.

There were also several moments I had to press the pages to my face and laugh, confirming the good reviews I’ve read at the back of the book’s jacket cover. He is a witty writer with a witty humor, and I like that.

Overall, I’d easily give it 2 stars out of 5. (I could have given it 3 stars had the climax been more defined. I’d love to read more of your works though, Kevin!)

To those would want to read Kevin Roose’s The Unlikely Disciple, I highly encourage you to pray before reading it. I know it sounds weird as we only usually do that before reading the Bible, but it helps a lot, because readers, as I have learned (mostly out of experience), are almost automatically wired to root for a story’s protagonist. What they want become your desires too, and what they think is right you get convinced to believe too. Now, what if their perspectives are not aligned with the Truth? Come to think of it, reading books, in general, requires a great deal of discernment.

Hope you like my review and find it useful.