The best of the reviews for The Popcorn Girl:
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By CSLowe
Format:Kindle Edition
Michael J. Vaughn’s THE POPCORN GIRL is a tremendously complex and bittersweet novel masterfully researched and honed. Vaughn
is to be congratulated on untangling the “knots” deeply rooted in religious hypocrisy and its oftentimes ancillary manifestation in the abuse of children, who may, in turn, self-mutilate, act out in sexually deviant ways, or fall prey to dissociative disorders to better cope with the aftermath of their traumas. This book is tempered by tremendous compassion and fraught with tension and revelatory psychological wisdom. Moreover, it is set against a backdrop of welcomed razzle-dazzle rock band hijinx, (go ahead and ask me what a dachshund slipper is), descriptions of breathtakingly gorgeous California vistas, and impassioned debates over organized religion, destructive cults, and the legalization of marijuana. As if these elements are insufficient enough to mesmerize a reader, they are all further enhanced by depictions of enough mouth-watering culinary repasts to rival any mealtime scenes lovingly tucked inside the pages of a Dickensian novel.
In an era when one in four women will be molested before they reach 18 and one in six men, Vaughn has navigated some difficult and frightening territory in creating this novel. That said, everyone who reads it no doubt has suffered personally from such incidents or knows a friend or family member who has been victimized by sexual predators and/or religious sociopaths. This is but one reason why THE POPCORN GIRL needs to reach a wider audience. More significantly still, Vaughn tackles this unabashedly dark terrain while simultaneously sustaining the suspense of gradually unraveling the gripping twists and turns of a damaged young woman’s mysterious past and breathing life into characters you care about because they have overcome so many disillusioning experiences with grace, wackadelic humor and indomitable courage. The dialogue is scrumptious, the secondary characters as fully drawn and engaging as the primary ones, and the romance interwoven between the two main protagonists, Paul and Jasmina, yields a compelling exploration of taut sexual and intellectual chemistry. The adjectives frisky, provocative, riveting and risqué come to mind with all the attendant emotions they evoke. Vaughn takes the reader on a balls-on and paradoxically redemptive ride into what it means to overcome and transform adversity into imaginative incursions into what life can look like freed of banal, white-knuckled adherence to religious orthodoxies that more often than not suffocate our deepest longings for autonomy and authentic connection with the Divine.
is to be congratulated on untangling the “knots” deeply rooted in religious hypocrisy and its oftentimes ancillary manifestation in the abuse of children, who may, in turn, self-mutilate, act out in sexually deviant ways, or fall prey to dissociative disorders to better cope with the aftermath of their traumas. This book is tempered by tremendous compassion and fraught with tension and revelatory psychological wisdom. Moreover, it is set against a backdrop of welcomed razzle-dazzle rock band hijinx, (go ahead and ask me what a dachshund slipper is), descriptions of breathtakingly gorgeous California vistas, and impassioned debates over organized religion, destructive cults, and the legalization of marijuana. As if these elements are insufficient enough to mesmerize a reader, they are all further enhanced by depictions of enough mouth-watering culinary repasts to rival any mealtime scenes lovingly tucked inside the pages of a Dickensian novel.
In an era when one in four women will be molested before they reach 18 and one in six men, Vaughn has navigated some difficult and frightening territory in creating this novel. That said, everyone who reads it no doubt has suffered personally from such incidents or knows a friend or family member who has been victimized by sexual predators and/or religious sociopaths. This is but one reason why THE POPCORN GIRL needs to reach a wider audience. More significantly still, Vaughn tackles this unabashedly dark terrain while simultaneously sustaining the suspense of gradually unraveling the gripping twists and turns of a damaged young woman’s mysterious past and breathing life into characters you care about because they have overcome so many disillusioning experiences with grace, wackadelic humor and indomitable courage. The dialogue is scrumptious, the secondary characters as fully drawn and engaging as the primary ones, and the romance interwoven between the two main protagonists, Paul and Jasmina, yields a compelling exploration of taut sexual and intellectual chemistry. The adjectives frisky, provocative, riveting and risqué come to mind with all the attendant emotions they evoke. Vaughn takes the reader on a balls-on and paradoxically redemptive ride into what it means to overcome and transform adversity into imaginative incursions into what life can look like freed of banal, white-knuckled adherence to religious orthodoxies that more often than not suffocate our deepest longings for autonomy and authentic connection with the Divine.
Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
Beautifully written novel with so many compelling elements...where to
start? Yes, the mystery kept me on my toes. There were so many
surprises, it felt like Christmas, albeit a twisted Christmas (it is a
psychological thriller after all!) The characters have a depth and
charm that really drew me in. There is even a very sweet romance.
Interwoven throughout is a thought-provoking exploration of religion and
atheism. I've read other books by Michael J. Vaughn; The Popcorn Girl
is without doubt my favorite.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
As a Catholic school veteran turned Agnostic, I found "Popcorn Girl"
fascinating on a number of levels. The story says a lot about the impact
of religious upbringing on identity. Can we ever really escape the
iconography and the theology embossed in our young minds? Even rebelling
against it somehow ties you to your religious background. People, like
the characters in Vaughn's book, can wrestle with it their whole lives,
sometimes without being aware of it. And the people in "Popcorn Girl"
are dealing with religious baggage that made mine feel very light
indeed. I loved the main character, Paul, a recovering Jehovah's Witness
and vigorous Atheist whose knowledge of religious history would put a
holy roller to shame. His efforts to help the tormented Jasmina sort out
her murky past while carrying on a fairly torrid romance makes for a
great story, with many a shock along the way. As always with Michael
Vaughn, the characters are well developed, the story is rewarding, and
the dialogue is fluid and clever. I need to reread it, because I think I
read the book it in two hours.
By meloid13
Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
I tend to read more non-fiction than fiction--focusing on books about
atheism and science--but the idea of reading a story in which the main
players were atheist was irresistible. I'm glad I didn't resist. The
book was engaging, well written, and quite a satisfying treat. Thank
you, Michael J. Vaughn.
on August 8, 2014
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
This
was a wonderful read! I was a bit put off at first by what seemed to be
obsessing about something that to me is trivial i.e. the evils of
religion but I was quickly so entranced by the deeply portrayed
characters that I kept on. Soon enough, the plot revealed that religion
was a central issue to the story that followed. Difficult content in
parts, incredible abuse, but really not surprising in the context. And
despite that things seldom work out so well in real life, the ending was
totally believable and very redeeming. Loved it!
on January 14, 2014
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
I have downloaded several hundred books from Amazon.
I have read probably 80-100 of them.
This is the one I liked the best!
I have read probably 80-100 of them.
This is the one I liked the best!
on March 18, 2013
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
Great story about two damaged people and the love that keeps them fighting to help and keep the other. Good read!
on March 9, 2013
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
When
I first started reading this book I almost stopped. Not because it was
bad, it just wasn't my type of story. However, years ago I made myself
a promise that rather I liked a story or not I would finish it. I am
so glad that I made myself that promise. What a truly wonderful
contemporary love story. READ IT!!!
1 comment:
This is Oral Sex in the Ramayana !
Sita performs Fellatio on Ravana ! Ravana was an African and deeply dis-satisfied with her husband !
The Satanic Verse is that Ravana made Seeta perform fellatio ! dindooohindoo !
Book III : Aranya Kanda – The Forest Trek
Chapter [Sarga] 52
तस्यास्तत्सुनसं वक्त्रमाकाशे रावणाङ्कगम्।
न रराज विना रामं विनालमिव पङ्कजम्।।3.52.18।।
Sita’s face with her beautiful nose on Ravana’s lap and not on Rama’s, shone no more like a lotus without its stalk.
NOTE – SITA’S NOSE WAS IN RAVANA’S LAP ! WHAT WAS HER NOSE DOING IN RAVANA;’S LAP ? THE NOSE IS NEAR THE MOUTH ! IT IS FELLATIO !
बभूव जलदं नीलं भित्त्वा चन्द्र इवोदितः।
सुललाटं सुकेशान्तं पद्मगर्भाभमव्रणम्।।3.52.19।।
शुक्लैस्सुविमलैर्दन्तै प्रभावद्भिरलङ्कृतम्।
तस्यास्तद्विमलं वक्त्रमाकाशे रावणाङ्कगम्।।3.52.20।।
रुदितं व्यपमृष्टास्रं चन्द्रवत्प्रियदर्शनम्।
सुनासं चारुताम्रोष्ठमाकाशे हाटकप्रभम्।।3.52.21।।
Sita’s face looked beautiful with her smooth forehead, shining hair and spotless complexion like the inside of a lotus, with clean, white, shining teeth, a nice nose and lovely red lips. She was continuously weeping and wiping her tears. Her face which was pleasing like the Moon on the lap of Ravana appeared as though the Moon was rising through dark clouds.
NOTE THE FELLATIO POSE – WHITE TEETH AND RED LIPS ! NOTE THE RAVANA TONE – MOON RISING THROUGH DARK CLOUDS ! THE CLIMACTIC EJACULATION !
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