Garry HarperReseñas

I received this thru the early readers group. It took me a long time to finish it. I’m not going to repeat the story line since others have. Religious fanaticism gone bad. I was generally disappointed in the book. The historical narrative was interesting, but the book just never grabbed me.½

Kind of on the fence about this book. As interesting as it was to discover Millerism through this semi-fiction, I didn't really enjoy it. I had a hard time getting in, then for a while I was super into the story... And then the second part happened. And it felt empty, I guess? Like you're waiting for something to happen, but it never does. Which, we could argue, is the whole point of the second part, but still... What happened with Thomas? And what was that ending? It felt so out of place... Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if more characters had been developped a bit more? For example, at one point the author says that Henry doesn't even look at his friends, and it's supposed to invoke some feeling, right? But it fell flat for me. It never felt like they were really important to him, unlike the doctor who somehow had a bigger importance. Anyway, it wasn't the greatest read ever, but I learned some stuff, so that's a plus?½

I have mixed feelings about this book. Most people have heard about the Miller movement and his prophecy of the 2nd coming. This book seems to just take it to the extreem. Ifind it hard to believe a whole community would turn on each other over what a no nmae person says or prophcises.

I received the audiobook version of this book in exchange for a HONEST review. The story is based on historical events surround William Miller and his followers, the Millerites. Miller 'brainwashed' his followers into believing Jesus Christ was returning sometime in 1843-44...don't recall the exact date. As we all know, this didn't happen...
The author did a good job telling the story but I really did not care for the narration/narrator and it took me a long time to finish the book.½

Clouds without Water was a different book. I really enjoyed the premise and the storyline is timely; you can definitely relate certain aspects of world events to this story. However, the book is a bit heavy on Christian rhetoric, which suits the story, but also makes for some challenging and slow reading, at times.

I received this book as an Early Reviewer, which is the only reason I finished reading it. And when I got to the end and there was no author's note, nothing about the research conducted, an afterword, I was doubly disappointed. As someone who isn't a Christian and not a keen reader of the Bible, this was dense reading in many sections and those sections took away from the drama of the events. I had empathy for the characters who resisted the religious insanity, but it just wasn't enough. However, reading the book in this pandemic time when conspiracy theories promoted by charismatic sociopaths became (and remain) rampant, I only feel a sense of sadness that so many people are still willing to be led down an improbable path.

This began with extremely religious terminology which, I have to be honest, immediately turned me off. I'm sorry.

I received this book in ebook format as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer.
This novel was an interesting look at how a town can get swept up in a religious fervor, and what terrible and dramatic effects that can have on the lives of all who live there. The book follows the events of a small new England town, Calvary, when a returned preacher, Reverend William Miller, preaches that the second coming of Christ would happen in October 1844. The millenarianism of Calvary and its returned preacher were very convincing, since the author dedicated significant time to the text of his sermons and writings, detailing the presumed return of Christ, and what that meant for the townspeople. In my opinion, this slowed down the book at the beginning, but the other characters in the town were certainly intriguing enough to keep my interest.
The character of Henry Smith’s daughter Rachel was particularly fascinating. She becomes swept up along with the rest of the town in the religious fervor, although she feels betrayed by her family, who are not convinced of Miller’s teachings. Her father is preoccupied with the farm and his family, particularly a younger brother who is ill, and the older daughter’s time is filled with the home’s maintenance and her emotions are occupied by the town’s other preacher, who disagrees with Miller and tries to build an opposition. I too was overly religious as a teen girl, and I thought the presentation of that particular unique psychological state was realistic, with the fervor, loyalty and emotion of a young person fully caught up in what they believe to be true.
The ending followed, in a way that now seems inescapable, from the rest of the book’s events, and yet I kept hoping to see mercy, clemency, an awakening to the truth. The last scene remains etched in my memory, a picture of what people can do when they are bound together by a pack of lies that they have cornered themselves into carrying for the rest of their lives.

I appreciated the vocabulary in this book, using words that I rarely have heard or seen. It was actually nice and kind of fun for me to remember all these words I studied in high school and college. The book also had a build up in tension, but it was a very slow, gradual build up, the beginning felt very slow to me. And I felt like when it got all built up, it just kind of ended without enough wrap-up or follow-up. It was kind of disappointing after going through the whole book, but maybe that was the point, since it was about the Great Disappointment?
The voices the narrator used for some of the characters were a little weird for me, so it was stranger as an audiobook than a printed one in that regard.
I like that this was based on an actual historical event and movement, but one that I had never heard of. It was interesting to wait for what was going to happen and then to look up the real-life event after.

In 1844, Reverend William Miller returned to his small town of Calvary, NY along the Vermont border. He has spent years studying various religious texts in order to find the date of the upcoming apocalypse. According to Reverend Miller, that date is only months away on October 22nd. Reverend Miller whips the small town into a frenzy with the news. A divide forms in Calvary between the believers and non-believers. However, as a series of events from around the world seems to coincide with the breaking of the seals that Reverend Miller predicted would happen, more people are pulled to his side. Soon words spread of the upcoming apocalypse and people began to flock to Calvary. One family of Calvary dealing with issues of their own, Henry Smith, decide that Miller's apocalyptic message is not for them and he would rather focus on his farm and his young son's health. However, even after the day in question passes with no changes, Miller's followers dig in harder to his message and decide that the non-believers are to blame and placing the Smith family in imminent danger.

Clouds Without Water is based on the very real events of "The Great Disappointment" in 1844. I love learning about history when I'm reading and this is history that is part of my state as well. Followers of Miller not only went into mass hysteria led by the beliefs of one man, giving up their possessions, closing businesses and selling their land, but continued their beliefs long after creating the Seventh Day Adventists Church. The story is very compelling to me as it shows how easily people will believe something and how quickly those beliefs can be turned into something dangerous. Reverend Miller's character was charismatic and off putting all at once. The Smith family represented those who chose not to believe Miller even though they were ostracized by everyone they knew. I related to Henry's fortitude and distrust of Miller's prophecy and was amazed at his calm as the event unfolded. I was amazed at the Baptist church's view as a whole whose reasoning still resonates today: "They may be small, but their voices are not." I would have loved to know what happened to the Smith family after the Millerites came for them as well as the feelings of the Millerites as time passed with no prophecy fulfilled.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I received this work as an Early Reviewer. No compensation was received other than the chance to read this work.

This is the story of the anticipated second coming of Christ by the Millerites in 1844. Their leader, William Miller, has always been right in his prophesies before. why would this be any different?
This historical fiction book is an interesting view into doomsday beliefs and how those whose faith can be turned into a weaponized fervor are able to follow leaders who would rather destroy opposition than face being wrong.

Recommended for: those who enjoy historical fiction, those who are interested in doomsday prophesies, and those who enjoy a look into different religious sects.½

The Reverend William Miller predicted that the second coming of Jesus Christ would occur on 22 October 1844. Garry Harper builds his historical novel, Clouds without Water around the circumstances of this real event and its aftermath, known by history as the Great Disappointment. The current Seventh-day Adventists movement has its origins in this event.
Based in the fictitious Hudson River town of Calvary, Harper’s story centers around farmer Henry Smith and his children. Reverend Miller’s return to Calvary after a long absence kicks off a series of events as town residents slowly come under the spell of Miller and his promised salvation. When Jesus‘s coming fails to materialise, the shock of disappointment quickly turns darker.
At its heart this is a story about cults and the human condition. The parallels with other events in history are clear. But fiction has a significant advantage over non-fiction in conveying the mood and emotions of the event. We can read all we want about the Great Disappointment in a factual way, but Harper brings it to life with realistic characterisations and a tightly woven narrative.
This is no mean feat. The use of Henry Smith and his children as central characters was a master stroke. The motivations of all the novel’s characters, whether or not you personally empathize with them, are credible and understandable. The story arcs are well done.
As far as negatives go, my first reaction on starting was of somewhat old-fashioned writing. But I came to realize that in fact the style gave a better sense of the time and quickly felt perfectly normal. So my initial negative became a positive. The sermons and musings could become tedious for some readers. The book would benefit from a historical note at the end about the real events and the author’s research. For example I suspect that some of the sermons and text might be drawn from contemporary publications. But these are minor quibbles.
Clouds without Water draws the reader into a world hyped up by religious fervor. A fervor that is not out of place in modern America. It shows us the personal costs for everyone when such fervor gets out of control.
If you’re into historical fiction and want to experience the effects of zealotry ‘first hand’ I highly recommend Clouds without Water.

A very interesting book about the Great Disappointment in the 1840s. This book follows Pastor William and his belief that he knows when Christ will return. He brainwashes a whole community bar one man who gets shunned by his neighbors for his doubt. Very interesting to consider how people can become so convinced of something that might otherwise seem unbelievable. This book was well researched and well written. A very good audiobook.

Fascinating psychogram of a hysteria: how people react in the advent of a prophesied event, how the group in anticipation of the event wants to force the coming, how they ultimately humiliate themselves to the last consequence and do not shrink from the most wicked deeds - all this is magnificently presented here in finely honed characters.

The trigger of the hysteria: the all too "exact" interpretation of an East Coast pastor who prophesies the return of Jesus Christ for the fall of 1822.

And the remarkable thing about the hysteria: even when the event does not materialize, the small community is once again persuaded to rely on the priest's fanaticism rather than common sense. Sacrificed in the end are also prosperity, old friendships, even family ties.

Reading it made me draw parallels in particular to the fanaticisms of our time. First and foremost, the hysteria that has built up along the observed global warming. Just as in the book reports of natural disasters were seen as evidence of the "Second Coming," today they become evidence that man himself is to blame.

5 stars.

I was aware of the Great Disappointment and the Second Coming phenomena, but this book really hits home the rise and fall of the individuals who are impacted by the farce. Think Under the Banner of Heaven, the story of a family in town during a moment of change in the community's faith. There are looks at what the children are experiencing, the decision adults are making, and the interpersonal relationships amongst believers and non believers. At the end, it really is a personal story and it's very well done, well written, it's raw, it's hard to read, you want to just yell at these characters for some of what they think or do, and I would love to see this in movie theaters (on streaming!) soon.

I just finished listening to 'Clouds Without Water 'by Garry Harper and the first thought that came in to my head was "Wow, that was disturbing". I even said it out loud to myself! This is the story of how religion can be twisted into something dark and dangerous by a charismatic/genius lunatic and how desperate people will follow even though things don't really make sense. Pastor William has returned to the village he left twenty plus years ago to pursue religious study. Throughout his travels he believes he has pinpointed the exact date and time that Jesus Christ will return for the second coming. He returns to Calvary with his 'good news' and is at first met with disdain and dismissiveness by the towns folk. But as time goes by he draws in more and more converts to his notions and prophecies. The town ultimately becomes cut off from neighboring villages and unfortunately, reality. The folk become brainwashed by Pastor Williams expansive way with words and charlatanism. He becomes a true cult leader. It is hard to watch, especially for a local farmer Henry Smith and his family. Henry resists but then becomes shunned by neighbors and town folk. I can see how something like this can happen, it's a slow burn but once you get there, there is no going back. I highly recommend this well researched novel. It's going to stick with me for quite awhile.

"Clouds without water" is about the very real story, "The Great Disappointment of 1844". I am not sure how much is accurate. It seems incredibly authentic in language and I can tell the writer did plenty of research. It feels similar to the Salem witch trials and I could definitely see this being a classic and scholastic read. It starts out very slow and the audio book, while easy to understand is slower paced as well. I like the narrator's voice and character voices, I just wish it was read two times faster. Yet the solemn tone adds to the whole authentic feel. Since the beginning has a lot of character set ups it made it feel especially slow. I was not officially hooked until I was 1/3 through the book. That's when things started to happen. The moment the town elder was struck by lightning, her daughter felt it was because she had openly mocked God. That's when I realized how out of hand these people were going to get. The returned Reverend William is the catapult for the whole movement and this is where the Seventh day Adventist get their beginning. He knew the bible well and could even recite it by memory, in multiple languages even. He used theatrical end of times sermons to get people's attention, all fear based damnation end of times talk. He would publicly challenge non believers and out talk them into believing. He was more educated than most so, this was not hard for him to do. He believed he had deciphered when the end times would be. He spread his belief through the school and local news paper, across many towns and even over seas. World and local events also seemed to prove it was really the end. Like a locust swarm that took out their crops. He preached that October 22nd was the end of days. He backed up his belief with biblical math and charts. People found it hard to dispute so, they sold off their homes and stopped farming. They even made countdowns for the outside of their homes and bought white ascension robes. Fully committed to joining God on October 22nd. All stood outside together waiting for the Lord to take them. When nothing happened, that was "The Great Disappointment". The town was left depressed, embarrassed, angry and starving. William disappeared for a little while and was genuinely shocked. Eventually he came back. Still in denial, holding on to his beliefs that it was the end times. Instead he claimed it was because they were in a "Tarrying time". They we're not yet worthy and being held back by local nonbelievers. They were stuck waiting because of the other town members who still followed the previous town reverend. He redirected all their disappointment into blame. It was not his fault or theirs, he wasn't wrong. This was a test they must pass, and supposed to weed out those who were not genuine. Instead they must convert or condemn those who disagreed, so they could finally ascend. This tore the town apart. Especially since many were running out of money and food and ready to join God where these things were not needed.

"It was no small amount of work to not have to do a small amount of work". I found this book to be a good read for someone who will appreciate a merge of Saturday Night Live, The Office, with a dash of Quentin Tarantino. And politics. It is creative, dramatic, dark, humorous, witty, edgy, with a modern "yuppie" appeal. A very gifted, unique, talented writer.