In reading other reviews of "The Essence of Nathan Biddle", I noticed a wide range of ratings and a plethora of comments. I really tried to give this novel a chance. However, after the first 60 pages, I decided to call it quits. I've literally read and posted close to 100 reviews. This is only the second time that I have chosen not to complete a novel. I understand the premise of this novel, but it just never got off the ground. The plot kept going around in circles and never really got into the heart of what the story was supposed to focus on. My undergrad is from a Jesuit University and I was required to take 6 credit hours of philosophy. So, yes, I get philosophy, but the continued quotes from philosophers simply bogged down what could have been a decent novel.
Before you make up your mind on this novel, I would recommend reading other reviews. Perhaps your take will be different than mine. ( )

The Essence of Nathan Biddle is a wonderfully written coming-of-age novel. The main character, Kit, has a secret involving his cousin, Nathan, that keeps to himself which affects him in many ways. The storyline is deep and will leave you breathless at times. The characters are very well developed with great depth! Highly recommend! ( )

This is a psychological coming-of-age drama, loosely set in the 1950s, about a confused boy/young man who ponders the meaning of life and who he is. Brought up in a dysfunctional family in which his uncle murdered his cousin Nathan "on direct orders from God," and recently undergoing a breakup with the girl of his dreams, he questions God's existence and benevolence and why any of us are here at all.

I found this book to be long, depressing, and in the end, relatively pointless. It leaves several questions unanswered and the reader dissatisfied. It seems at first to have a strong anti-Christian message, then toys with the possibility of having a Christian message after all, before dropping the subject completely without any resolving message at all. The author uses very basic language with a lot of ten-dollar words thrown in to make it sound like an intellectual work, but intellectual works usually have a clear point and a firm message, and this has neither. It is basically an unresolved study in existentialism. Two stars. ( )

This book would benefit from being restructured. Toward the end, it became interesting. For most of it, there was a lot of teasing of ideas and following around the aimless meanderings of a pretty unlikable main character. It's hard to tell if the main character is meant to be obnoxious or not. It is pretty typical teenager and may be deliberate, but there's an air of "oh, this kid thinks in such a special way" which is really just teenage pretentiousness. Not to mention that he is not particularly kind to his friends and especially girlfriends. Unlikable characters aren't necessarily a bad thing for a book, but there needs to be something to grab you and carry you. The plot that is revealed toward the end should have been more integrated throughout to keep the reader interested rather than just occasional hints. There is a voice to it, it is not an unreadable style. But it was still difficult to trod through. ( )

The Essence of Nathan Biddle, by J. Williams Lewis, is one of the more satisfying debut novels that I have read for a long time. Here, Lewis, himself an Alabama native, uses the Alabama coastal region of the 1950s as setting for the coming-of-age story of a remarkable young man, Kit Biddle, a high school senior who may just be a little too intelligent for his own good. It can’t be a good sign when a high school student starts obsessing too much over questions about the meaning of life and why others insist on seeing him through their own versions of reality. Kit feels like a fraud, and he doesn’t like to feel that way.

But to Kit’s credit, if anyone has a reason to wonder about the meaning of life and who he really is, it’s probably him. Kit and his mother only moved to the city after Nathan Biddle, Kit’s cousin, was murdered by his own father, a man who still believes that he sacrificed the little boy only because God instructed him to do exactly that. Crazy Uncle Nat, as Kit has thought of him ever since, practically destroyed his whole family that day. Although Kit’s other uncle, Newt, is only eight years older than him, Kit grew up believing that Newt was always right, that he knew all the answers to all the important questions. When, after the murder Newt “dropped out of everything except beer joints,” Kit had to start answering even life’s toughest questions for himself.

Despite the Biddle family tragedy, an event of which almost everyone in town is well aware, Kit is doing pretty well for himself before being unceremoniously dumped by Anna, his brilliant and breathtakingly beautiful girlfriend. He is probably the fastest runner on the school’s track team, and he is well on his way to being ranked high in the top ten graduates of his entire class. After Anna’s rejection, however, Kit decides to start doing things his way; he will be the person he knows himself to be, not the person everyone else believes, or wants, him to be. And the next thing Kit knows, he is speeding down the highway in a stolen golf course maintenance truck, about to have the terrible accident that will change the rest of his life. If he really wants answers to life’s big questions, he is going to have to have help. And it is going to be a long way back.

Bottom Line: The Essence of Nathan Biddle, while not exactly a feel-good novel, is certainly an inspirational one. It is impossible not to pull for Kit Biddle as he goes through his emotional and physical struggles — and it is equally difficult not to worry about the girl who comes into Kit’s life after Anna - so when Kit finally turns the corner by openly confronting the Biddle family problems, the reader feels a sense of relief for both of them. Maybe Kit is smart enough to figure out all the answers after all.

Review Copy provided by Publisher ( )