For example, I will never forget how she establishes the poverty and scarcity of water under the Millenials, only to show that the rich have water and everything else in abundance. And her vision of a pagan utopia would be fascinating to see on film, except that Hollywood is every bit as patriarchal as the fundamentalists and would never do it justice.
One thing I wonder about is the tendency to divide the world into "good" Pagans and "bad" Christians.
Time was, it wouldn't have bothered me, but since then I have met many people who define themselves as Christians, even conservative Christians, who are good ordinary people; and I have run into plenty of dysfunctional and patriarchal behavior in the pagan/Goddess community. Friends in SF these days tell me that much of the pagan community there is far from what we had in mind when we did those first tentative rituals in the '80s.
In short, I find myself questioning the book's polarization of people and even societies into camps of "good" and "bad." Turns out it just doesn't work that way.
There was one strange omission: it never addresses the status of Jews under the Christian Fundamentals. Are they persecuted? Now, of course, I also find myself wondering what the status of Muslims would be, as well as Catholics, Buddhists and any other non-fundamentalists or non-Christians.
Technically, I think the story would have benefitted from another draft. In a long epic story like this, everything should have a point that works into the central story and creates the final outcome. But when I looked back on it, some episodes seemed disconnected or pointless.
Ultimately, I prefer Starhawk's non-fiction. However, I still give the book 4 stars because it's clear that it serves as inspiration, healing or awakening for many people, and that means it accomplished its purpose.
In this book, the Fifth Sacred Thing is Spirit, or more precisely Human Spirit. While that statement is broad in its ramifications and very debatable, I think the message and brilliance of the novel is more than evident when you read it. It's a well crafted story that takes you from human paradise to human hell and then back again. Very few dare do this, and of those that try, very few get it right. Starhawk gets it right.
It's a charming book that shocks you and then comforts you and then abandons you. It leaves you alone, in the wasted, twisted remains of a bombed out L.A. which is now called Angel City. Only English is allowed to be spoken. You are left struggling for breath, any breath, all breath, as the world around you burns. A young child is raped and then killed. Violent murder is done at your innocuous request, by pale beautiful genetic eunuchs. You feel empty... used up... worthless...
You are rescued from this hell and cast into another: drifting out to sea and too tired to swim ashore. You are rescued again. You return home, only to find one of your worst nightmares to have become a reality.
What do you do?? How does it end??