This isn't a poorly written book, and it's not inaccurate. It's a fairly factual, straightforward, fictionalized recounting of the events leading up to and surrounding the Jonestown Massacre. I think my disappointment was simply in that I expected the book to be more emotionally evocative and thought-provoking, and perhaps more creative in its approach. I would recommend it to someone who wasn't familiar with the topic, particularly as an accessible primer, but as a reader, I didn't feel as though it taught me anything new. ( )

You have to give the author of Beautiful Revolutionary, Laura Elizabeth Woollett, credit for her ambition in writing a book like this. It demonstrates a level of artistic ambition and bravery that suggests a bright future for this young Australian author. It's not easy to write about the Jonestown Massacre and the events that led up to it.

It took me two attempts to finish reading this novel. The first time, I got two chapters and abandoned it. The second time, I crawled through the first third of the book by sheer force of will. I absolutely detested the characters of Lenny and Evelyn Lynden, and they were a big part of my allergy to this story.

As the novel unfolds, however, these characters take a back seat, returning later in the story to fulfill their destinies. In the middle parts of the narrative, therefore, we move to characters like Bobbi and Wayne, who end up leaving the movement, or on the closeted policeman Gene Luce, or on Lenny's second wife Terra.

For me, Jonestown is a topic of particular horror and fascination. Jim Jones embodies so many elements of my upbringing and idealist politics, and yet he is an object lesson in hubris and twisted logic. I've read Jeff Gwynn's recent book on the topic, and seen several documentaries, as well as watch the unedited footage the cameramen shot leading up to that terrible day. As Woollett mentions in her afterword, there is a "Jonestown Vortex" of information that swamps and engrosses anyone who ventures into this dark territory.

I think Woollett's choice of exploring the dark side of sexual and political passion is a fascinating one. Her misstep, I think, is tying her theme too closely to the story of Jonestown. For obvious legal reasons, with the exception of Jones himself, Woollett changes the names of the main players in her story. Thus Marceline Jones, Jim Jones's wife, becomes Rosalind Jones, Larry and Carolyn Layton become Lenny and Evelyn Lynden, and so on.

One problem with this approach is that we know from the outset how all of this is going to end, and that is a huge negative from a narrative point of view. Another major problem is these characters are inherently loathsome from the beginning. Lenny is an unlikable, over-privileged loser who has no will of his own, Evelyn is a dishonest, mean-hearted manipulator, and Jim Jones is - well, we know what he was like.

The other thing that I often felt ambivalent about was the way that Woollett overstated the sexual aspects of Jones's appeal. It's certainly true that this was part of his charisma, particularly to his inner circle of followers, but at a certain stage in the novel it seemed as if there was barely a character who was not motivated by a sexual attachment to Jones. The choice to portray things in this way, for me, trivialized the political and social issues that were also central to his work. It also pervades the way Woollett defines her main characters, who are all described, male and female, in terms of their sexual appeal, and seem to struggle primarily with their erotic identities.

While I disliked Beautiful Revolutionary and found it a painful reading experience, I think its faults generally come not so much from a lack of talent on Woollett's part so much as her ambition in taking on a story that surpasses her current abilities as an author. There are other works that explore similar cases of sexual obsession more successfully - Vladimir Nabokov's [b:Lolita|7604|Lolita|Vladimir Nabokov|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1377756377l/7604._SY75_.jpg|1268631], for instance, or Ian McEwan's [b:The Comfort of Strangers|6872|The Comfort of Strangers|Ian McEwan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388197584l/6872._SY75_.jpg|1084689] - but what works best about these works is that they use the dark side of sexuality to approach questions of politics obliquely. ( )

After I finished reading “Beautiful Revolutionary” by Laura Elizabeth Woollett I was in a very weird mood. I didn’t even know what to say about the book right then.

Before reading this fictionalized story about the events surrounding the Lyndens, Joneses, Peoples Temple and Jonestown, the only thing I really knew was that a bunch of people drank some poisoned generic Kool-Aid and died because their leader, Jim Jones, told them to.

After reading “Beautiful Revolutionary,” I feel oddly compelled to learn everything I can about these disturbing events and how so many people were led so far astray.

The book opens with the Lynden’s on their way to start a new chapter in their life. Newly out of college, newly married, and their dreams of a happy life fully possible. But Evelyn Lynden quickly grows tired of her housewife duties and her husband. Their lives take a dark turn when Evelyn, a minister’s daughter, takes them to Sunday service at Peoples Temple. It’s here where they, and so many others, meet and fall under the spell of Jim Jones.

Even knowing where the characters in this story would ultimately end up, I still found myself dumbfounded when I got to the end. I recommend “Beautiful Revolutionary” for anyone who has a fascination with cults, Jonestown, or who is just looking for a fascinating historical fiction novel. ( )

I have always been fascinated by the massacre of Jim Jones and his followers in Guiana. This book gave me so many unique details that I have never read or heard of before. It is written in a style that is easily read but yet keeps you engrossed.

I almost put the book down in the middle during the more graphic and disturbing retelling of the abuse Jim Jones inflicted on his followers. But the author's intent was to disturb her readers and cause a visceral response to this horrible tragedy. Many of the characters were well-developed and inspired disgust, sympathy, pity, frustration. That so many people could be lured in by Jim Jones boggles the mind, but it speaks to his charm and his followers' need for love and belonging. ( )