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The Plastic Priest
When the soul has been thoroughly poisoned, the body must abandon it. Everything feels unreal afterwards, but plastic heads shed no tears. Bram Stoker Award® winning author Nicole Cushing offers an excursion into the Weird, a quiet novella of a madwoman in a mad town.
"An intense and uncompromising literary voice." - Rue Morgue
“I've never read anything quite like The Plastic Priest, and I'm delighted I have. A witty and incisive portrait of a priest beset by doubts, it mutates into a comedy of uncanny paranoia before exploding into weirdness that's as disturbing as it's liberating. Nicole Cushing's tale is a stimulating challenge, and her spare precise prose is a constant pleasure.” - Ramsey Campbell, author of Alone With the Horrors
"An intense and uncompromising literary voice." - Rue Morgue
“I've never read anything quite like The Plastic Priest, and I'm delighted I have. A witty and incisive portrait of a priest beset by doubts, it mutates into a comedy of uncanny paranoia before exploding into weirdness that's as disturbing as it's liberating. Nicole Cushing's tale is a stimulating challenge, and her spare precise prose is a constant pleasure.” - Ramsey Campbell, author of Alone With the Horrors
102 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 15, 2023
About the author
Nicole Cushing
41 books335 followersNicole Cushing is the Bram Stoker Award® winning author of Mr. Suicide and a two-time nominee for the Shirley Jackson Award.
Various reviewers have described her work as “brutal”, “cerebral”, “transgressive”, "wickedly funny", “taboo”, “groundbreaking” and “mind-bending”.
Rue Morgue magazine included Nicole in its list of 13 Wicked Women to Watch, praising her as an “an intense and uncompromising literary voice”. She has also garnered praise from Jack Ketchum, Thomas Ligotti, and Poppy Z. Brite (aka, Billy Martin).
Her second novel, A Sick Gray Laugh (2019) was named to LitReactor’s Best Horror Novels of the Last Decade list and the Locus Recommended Reading List. She has recently completed and polished her third novel.
She lives in Indiana.
Various reviewers have described her work as “brutal”, “cerebral”, “transgressive”, "wickedly funny", “taboo”, “groundbreaking” and “mind-bending”.
Rue Morgue magazine included Nicole in its list of 13 Wicked Women to Watch, praising her as an “an intense and uncompromising literary voice”. She has also garnered praise from Jack Ketchum, Thomas Ligotti, and Poppy Z. Brite (aka, Billy Martin).
Her second novel, A Sick Gray Laugh (2019) was named to LitReactor’s Best Horror Novels of the Last Decade list and the Locus Recommended Reading List. She has recently completed and polished her third novel.
She lives in Indiana.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
December 15, 2023
THE PLASTIC PRIEST is unlike most anything I've read before!
Featuring a female Episcopalian priest in a small town, this novella explores what exactly "faith" means. For Kaye, the priest, it's an important question. For her husband, Charlie, it's important, but he hasn't built his life around it, like Kaye has. For Janus? For that, you'll have to ask him.
The town here is a miserable little place, full of bigots and gossip. The inhabitants' lives are small. Their minds are small. There is no room in there for thoughts about personal liberty, LBGTQ issues, or even racism. Those ideas, those realities are too big for these people.
A tale of a priest struggling with their faith is not a book I would normally gravitate to, but it's Nicole's writing that saves the day. Being privy to Kaye's struggles with her faith, these words rattled around in my head and brought back memories of my mom's struggles with her faith, and the effects that it had on my own. In fact, this book brought to mind a lot of personal experiences I've had with faith, virtually none of them good.
I feel that this novella will affect people quite differently as every reader brings their own baggage to a story. Even though many memories that I recalled weren't great, they spoke to the fact that faith is a battle, a very personal one. As I've been mulling over this tale for the last week, I've upped my rating from 4 stars to 5, because this was a brave book to write. It won't work for everyone, but it worked on a stellar scale for me.
Nicole Cushing is a highly underrated author and I wish I could turn more people on to her work. THE PLASTIC PRIEST might be a good place to start as it's short and wholly unique. Just be prepared to be questioning your own faith by the time you're done. My faith in Nicole Cushing, however, can never be shaken.
Highly recommended!
*Thanks to Cemetery Dance for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
Featuring a female Episcopalian priest in a small town, this novella explores what exactly "faith" means. For Kaye, the priest, it's an important question. For her husband, Charlie, it's important, but he hasn't built his life around it, like Kaye has. For Janus? For that, you'll have to ask him.
The town here is a miserable little place, full of bigots and gossip. The inhabitants' lives are small. Their minds are small. There is no room in there for thoughts about personal liberty, LBGTQ issues, or even racism. Those ideas, those realities are too big for these people.
A tale of a priest struggling with their faith is not a book I would normally gravitate to, but it's Nicole's writing that saves the day. Being privy to Kaye's struggles with her faith, these words rattled around in my head and brought back memories of my mom's struggles with her faith, and the effects that it had on my own. In fact, this book brought to mind a lot of personal experiences I've had with faith, virtually none of them good.
I feel that this novella will affect people quite differently as every reader brings their own baggage to a story. Even though many memories that I recalled weren't great, they spoke to the fact that faith is a battle, a very personal one. As I've been mulling over this tale for the last week, I've upped my rating from 4 stars to 5, because this was a brave book to write. It won't work for everyone, but it worked on a stellar scale for me.
Nicole Cushing is a highly underrated author and I wish I could turn more people on to her work. THE PLASTIC PRIEST might be a good place to start as it's short and wholly unique. Just be prepared to be questioning your own faith by the time you're done. My faith in Nicole Cushing, however, can never be shaken.
Highly recommended!
*Thanks to Cemetery Dance for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
April 24, 2024
This one was really peculiar but the use of repetition was perfection, if you're in the market for weird horror that leaves you with questions this one is going to be up your alley.
December 23, 2023
What an impressive author Nicole Cushing is with this book, with such an impressive writing style that I want to just go back and reread this novella, simply to admire the structure and forms of the language choices she makes. And the story itself, about a female Episcopalian priest who slowly loses first her faith and then her sanity, is strange, harsh, and sad.
Mother Kaye came to the small town of Owlingsville, Indiana, a font of conservative politics and mega-church fundamentalism, to take over after the death of the local priest. Kaye struggles in her role in the toxic town, where the locals keep score on their neighbors' sins. Her marriage is flimsy at best, partly because her husband's pagan beliefs must be kept secret in the town. Being inside Kaye's head as she performs her priestly duties, as she succumbs first to loss of faith and then of reason, is intense. It's a spiral ride that the author's talented writing makes compelling and real.
I'm a new fan of Nicole Cushing! Kudos to her for a great novella, and my thanks to Netgalley and Cemetery Dance for the read.
Mother Kaye came to the small town of Owlingsville, Indiana, a font of conservative politics and mega-church fundamentalism, to take over after the death of the local priest. Kaye struggles in her role in the toxic town, where the locals keep score on their neighbors' sins. Her marriage is flimsy at best, partly because her husband's pagan beliefs must be kept secret in the town. Being inside Kaye's head as she performs her priestly duties, as she succumbs first to loss of faith and then of reason, is intense. It's a spiral ride that the author's talented writing makes compelling and real.
I'm a new fan of Nicole Cushing! Kudos to her for a great novella, and my thanks to Netgalley and Cemetery Dance for the read.
March 23, 2024
"Reverend Ford is not Reverend Ford. At least, not to her parishioners. To them, she's "Mother Kaye."
Kaye is an Episcopalian priest in the small town of Owlingsville. She questions her faith along with the townspeople who continually fail to attend services. She questions why she continues in her role for the people of the town are thinkers of the old fashioned ways, unwilling to accept changes or ways of life. Bigots, gossips, unaccepting, and judgemental. Kaye doesn't dare integrate new ideas for fear of more rejection. She feels stuck in a situation she can't remove herself from.
As she moves forward with her plan to try prayers in the park, she is confronted by what is seemingly a man, but turns out that was clearly not. The things she is told have settled into her mind and she becomes "The Plastic Priest."
I can't tell you what the plastic priest is because that would be a huge spoiler. But this novella will take you on a journey of how one loses their mind, going into complete psychosis, giving into it.
Pay close attention because this is a mind bender. Makes you think and wonder, ponder and contemplate.
The imagery and writing style is captivating. Bizarre, surreal, but entirely unique, nothing like anything I have ever read. There is something very special about this that I just can't quite explain because it has to be experienced. That is exactly what this novella is, a complete experience often times causing me to reread a phrase or take pause and really think about what I just read.
Kaye is an Episcopalian priest in the small town of Owlingsville. She questions her faith along with the townspeople who continually fail to attend services. She questions why she continues in her role for the people of the town are thinkers of the old fashioned ways, unwilling to accept changes or ways of life. Bigots, gossips, unaccepting, and judgemental. Kaye doesn't dare integrate new ideas for fear of more rejection. She feels stuck in a situation she can't remove herself from.
As she moves forward with her plan to try prayers in the park, she is confronted by what is seemingly a man, but turns out that was clearly not. The things she is told have settled into her mind and she becomes "The Plastic Priest."
I can't tell you what the plastic priest is because that would be a huge spoiler. But this novella will take you on a journey of how one loses their mind, going into complete psychosis, giving into it.
Pay close attention because this is a mind bender. Makes you think and wonder, ponder and contemplate.
The imagery and writing style is captivating. Bizarre, surreal, but entirely unique, nothing like anything I have ever read. There is something very special about this that I just can't quite explain because it has to be experienced. That is exactly what this novella is, a complete experience often times causing me to reread a phrase or take pause and really think about what I just read.
December 31, 2023
*** 2.5 stars out of 5, rounded up for Goodreads ***
Amazing concept, underwhelming execution to say the least.
This book started out so awesome. The unique narrative style, the pacing, the writing etc. everything was going great, until it wasn’t… It became way too surrealist, stream of consciousness to the degree that everything was just going over my head honestly. At some point after the halfway mark, I just didn’t care for it. I wasn’t really able to connect with the MC and Cushing’s writing overall.
I don’t know, maybe this one just wasn’t my cup of tea. Like I said, I loved the idea of this novella and it really clicked with me at the beginning. So I’ll probably give Cushing’s work another chance at some time in the future.
Amazing concept, underwhelming execution to say the least.
This book started out so awesome. The unique narrative style, the pacing, the writing etc. everything was going great, until it wasn’t… It became way too surrealist, stream of consciousness to the degree that everything was just going over my head honestly. At some point after the halfway mark, I just didn’t care for it. I wasn’t really able to connect with the MC and Cushing’s writing overall.
I don’t know, maybe this one just wasn’t my cup of tea. Like I said, I loved the idea of this novella and it really clicked with me at the beginning. So I’ll probably give Cushing’s work another chance at some time in the future.
October 25, 2023
ARC for review. TBP December 15, 2023.
Mother Kaye is a forty seven year old Episcopal priest in rural Indiana. On the advice of her Bishop’s office and to boost numbers she begins a month long Prayer in the Park program. On the first rainy evening she encounters a homeless man who identifies himself as Janus who tells her she must resign the priesthood the next morning. She feels as if she’s lost her soul and things come to a head at a funeral.
Odd novella. I love the authors observations on the Episcopal church, my church, “the Episcopal Church, at its best, is cool, calm and collected.” “Congregants in the Episcopal Church feel the subtle warm glow of God’s presence. Subtle, but steady. Episcopalians don’t often experience harsh peaks and valleys in their spiritual walk. If they get fired up by anything it’s politics. Faith, not so much.” This, plus Mother Kaye’s ruminations on why she doesn’t leave the priesthood tipped me over into liking this story of lost faith.
Mother Kaye is a forty seven year old Episcopal priest in rural Indiana. On the advice of her Bishop’s office and to boost numbers she begins a month long Prayer in the Park program. On the first rainy evening she encounters a homeless man who identifies himself as Janus who tells her she must resign the priesthood the next morning. She feels as if she’s lost her soul and things come to a head at a funeral.
Odd novella. I love the authors observations on the Episcopal church, my church, “the Episcopal Church, at its best, is cool, calm and collected.” “Congregants in the Episcopal Church feel the subtle warm glow of God’s presence. Subtle, but steady. Episcopalians don’t often experience harsh peaks and valleys in their spiritual walk. If they get fired up by anything it’s politics. Faith, not so much.” This, plus Mother Kaye’s ruminations on why she doesn’t leave the priesthood tipped me over into liking this story of lost faith.
October 7, 2023
Holy mackerel what did I just read?! If you like nasty religious weirdness coupled with a light dose of nefarious paganism, this novella delivers in spades! I started reading it, just to sample the first few sentences, and before you know it, it was over and I ...was...stunned! Superb writing, magnificent imagery, really bizarre plot. Cushing's imagination fills the pages with a female priest's daily life in a closed-minded small town in the middle of nowhere - and then, boom!, it's an entirely different thing: the priest's plight has turned into a psychotic wonderland. I had to stay vigilant of every phrase, every word, as it all transformed into something utterly unique, definitely creepy, and very very strange. What an experience! Worth checking out!
January 4, 2024
Well, I’ve finished! Eeeeeeeerm, what the heck happened there then?
This is the first Nicole Cushing that I have read, and to be honest, what the hell did I just read? I am not quite sure.
The book tells the story of an Episcopatlian priest, Reverend Ford, known to locals as Mother Kaye, who is experiencing a crisis of faith. Living in the mid western town of Owlingsville (pronounced Owelingsville by the locals) a breeding ground for pick up truck fundamentalists with her pagan worshipping husband she is trying to maintain her flock. However, unbeknownst to her a life changing event will hit in the form of the pandemic. In order to try to reach more people, Mother Kaye adapts an idea that was sent from her boss to hold services in the park. Upon doing so, she meets a homeless man, Janus who irrevocably changes her reality for ever.
Like I said, I had no idea what went on here. In essence it’s an exploration of faith and identity. It’s kind of kafkaesque in Kaye’s metamorphosis from the person she is at the beginning to the person that she ends up being by the end of the book. At points it turns into an exploration of mental health as it seems that this is an exploration of Mother Kaye’s journey into depersonalisation and ultimately psychosis. However, the end threw all that in the air and totally destroyed every assumption I had.
However, whilst I can say categorically I had no clue what the hell was going on, what I did like was Nicole Cushing’s writing. She has a biting wit that shines through the story, often making me chuckle out loud. She has a go at mid western mentality, religion, faith and politics. In addition to that her descriptions of Kaye’s spiral into ?mental health issues is disturbing and frighteningly real.
Whilst, at times my grasp on the story wavered at times, I did ultimately enjoy this story.
This is the first Nicole Cushing that I have read, and to be honest, what the hell did I just read? I am not quite sure.
The book tells the story of an Episcopatlian priest, Reverend Ford, known to locals as Mother Kaye, who is experiencing a crisis of faith. Living in the mid western town of Owlingsville (pronounced Owelingsville by the locals) a breeding ground for pick up truck fundamentalists with her pagan worshipping husband she is trying to maintain her flock. However, unbeknownst to her a life changing event will hit in the form of the pandemic. In order to try to reach more people, Mother Kaye adapts an idea that was sent from her boss to hold services in the park. Upon doing so, she meets a homeless man, Janus who irrevocably changes her reality for ever.
Like I said, I had no idea what went on here. In essence it’s an exploration of faith and identity. It’s kind of kafkaesque in Kaye’s metamorphosis from the person she is at the beginning to the person that she ends up being by the end of the book. At points it turns into an exploration of mental health as it seems that this is an exploration of Mother Kaye’s journey into depersonalisation and ultimately psychosis. However, the end threw all that in the air and totally destroyed every assumption I had.
However, whilst I can say categorically I had no clue what the hell was going on, what I did like was Nicole Cushing’s writing. She has a biting wit that shines through the story, often making me chuckle out loud. She has a go at mid western mentality, religion, faith and politics. In addition to that her descriptions of Kaye’s spiral into ?mental health issues is disturbing and frighteningly real.
Whilst, at times my grasp on the story wavered at times, I did ultimately enjoy this story.
October 9, 2023
I really appreciated that there is a female character as an Episcopalian priest in Plastic Priest. Usually when I read a horror novel with a religious component, the clergy member is a man in an evangelical church. There was the added bonus for me that she struggled with whether or not to stay in this role, with my background I find this very relatable. Dynamics of small town life and sexism play a big role in this novella.
The prose is eloquent and the symbolism in the story is really rich. While the story does go in a really strange direction, the superb storytelling captures makes the reader feel engrossed in the stream of conciousness.
This is not a stereotypical horror story about religious life in the best sense of the word. The wedding of the beautiful words with the strangeness of the world makes for a very compelling read.
I am also posting this review on my blog:
http://glamorousbookgal.blogspot.com/...
The prose is eloquent and the symbolism in the story is really rich. While the story does go in a really strange direction, the superb storytelling captures makes the reader feel engrossed in the stream of conciousness.
This is not a stereotypical horror story about religious life in the best sense of the word. The wedding of the beautiful words with the strangeness of the world makes for a very compelling read.
I am also posting this review on my blog:
http://glamorousbookgal.blogspot.com/...
January 19, 2024
This book tells the story of Mother Kaye, a middle-aged female Episcopalian priest in Indiana who is new to her congregation in the time of the covid pandemic. She is an unconventional priest to say the least. She is married to a pagan and doesn’t really believe in every aspect of her faith, but most of all, she is struggling to connect with her new congregation whose members she finds entitled and old. Her dissatisfaction however, is heavily outweighed by how easy and familiar her job is, the month of holidays in the summer, and the fact that she is a people-pleaser.
Things start to take a surreal turn when mother Kaye encounters a strange homeless man in a park who calls himself Janus (the Roman god of beginnings, transitions, time, duality and endings) and curses her to lose her sense of reality if she doesn’t quit priesthood. She then gradually believes her soul to have become poisoned.
The book is structured in an intense and original way, mixing thematic chapters discussing specific aspects of the main character while also progressing the story. The narration starts off firmly anchored in reality, with very dry explanations and even lists, until it changes to become surreal and somewhat harder to interpret.
Through the main character, who is going through a pretty intense midlife crisis centred around her job and faith, the book explores the themes of religion, belief, doubt and reality. Did she get Covid? Is she experiencing psychosis? Or is one’s self-doubt strong enough to distort one’s sense of reality? The story shows the breaking point a person experiences when all the pressures in life get too much. Between doing a job which profoundly intertwines with one’s identity, the familial pressures, the pressures of the environment and culture, a delicate and difficult balance is easily lost.
The story also explores the small town's dynamics, the rampant prejudices and closed-mindedness, along with a lot of political subtext (especially bearing in mind the Covid-era setting) that I’m not sure I completely got not being from the USA myself. Additionally, not being a religious person, I don’t think I really got the profound nature and impact of doubt in one’s faith which is explored in this story. I think you probably need an interest or an understanding of religion and faith to fully appreciate this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book for my honest review.
Things start to take a surreal turn when mother Kaye encounters a strange homeless man in a park who calls himself Janus (the Roman god of beginnings, transitions, time, duality and endings) and curses her to lose her sense of reality if she doesn’t quit priesthood. She then gradually believes her soul to have become poisoned.
The book is structured in an intense and original way, mixing thematic chapters discussing specific aspects of the main character while also progressing the story. The narration starts off firmly anchored in reality, with very dry explanations and even lists, until it changes to become surreal and somewhat harder to interpret.
Through the main character, who is going through a pretty intense midlife crisis centred around her job and faith, the book explores the themes of religion, belief, doubt and reality. Did she get Covid? Is she experiencing psychosis? Or is one’s self-doubt strong enough to distort one’s sense of reality? The story shows the breaking point a person experiences when all the pressures in life get too much. Between doing a job which profoundly intertwines with one’s identity, the familial pressures, the pressures of the environment and culture, a delicate and difficult balance is easily lost.
The story also explores the small town's dynamics, the rampant prejudices and closed-mindedness, along with a lot of political subtext (especially bearing in mind the Covid-era setting) that I’m not sure I completely got not being from the USA myself. Additionally, not being a religious person, I don’t think I really got the profound nature and impact of doubt in one’s faith which is explored in this story. I think you probably need an interest or an understanding of religion and faith to fully appreciate this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book for my honest review.
March 16, 2024
The Plastic Priest is a short novel detailing the down-spiraling pastoral journey of “Mother Kaye” Ford, priest of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in the city of Owlingsville, Indiana. She is a middle-aged, married cleric, currently on her seventh congregation, all of which she found populated by the entitled, uninformed and dull. Over her 25 years or so of ordination, she has had peaks and valleys of faith, struggling with confidence in her religion and its relevance to modern life, even questioning the existence of God. Married to a pagan and hoping for retirement at age 62, Mother Kaye is doing her best to maintain her employment and grow her church, while facing significant challenges interfacing between her congregants and entities such as the diocese “Congregational Vitality Facilitator,” two groups who have wildly different interpretations of Scripture.
When Mother Kaye tries to start a prayer ministry in a local park, she meets an apparent homeless man during a rainstorm and hears an astounding confession. This meeting creates the crisis of faith that propels the last half of the novel. Without giving away too much, this book defines the doctrine of “Plastianity” and how it manifests in Mother Kaye, leading to a climax at the funeral of a leading citizen that includes a vainglorious funeral director, two-faced gods, Episcopal liturgy and deities of the pagan pantheon. Four stars; AB says check it out.
When Mother Kaye tries to start a prayer ministry in a local park, she meets an apparent homeless man during a rainstorm and hears an astounding confession. This meeting creates the crisis of faith that propels the last half of the novel. Without giving away too much, this book defines the doctrine of “Plastianity” and how it manifests in Mother Kaye, leading to a climax at the funeral of a leading citizen that includes a vainglorious funeral director, two-faced gods, Episcopal liturgy and deities of the pagan pantheon. Four stars; AB says check it out.
December 13, 2023
Wow. Nicole Cushing, take a bow.
I read this book in one sitting, it's a novella which made that easier and writtten extremely well; which also made it a joy.
Where to start? Our main character is a female priest in the redlands of america; who is trying to keep a congregation engaged whilst herself struggling with her faith. Oh, and her husband is a pagan.
A chance (or is it chance encounter with a homeless person in a park sends her into a mind altering spiral that has you gripped in slack jawed awe as it's mortifying consequences unravel everything in front of your hungry eyes. Religion. Occult. Paganism.
It's a telling study of human beings in modern times, and those trying to do good that question their flaws whilst the no good flawed question everyone else - all wrapped up in a dark little mysterious package.
I will certainly be reading this author again. Thank you for the ride!
I read this book in one sitting, it's a novella which made that easier and writtten extremely well; which also made it a joy.
Where to start? Our main character is a female priest in the redlands of america; who is trying to keep a congregation engaged whilst herself struggling with her faith. Oh, and her husband is a pagan.
A chance (or is it chance encounter with a homeless person in a park sends her into a mind altering spiral that has you gripped in slack jawed awe as it's mortifying consequences unravel everything in front of your hungry eyes. Religion. Occult. Paganism.
It's a telling study of human beings in modern times, and those trying to do good that question their flaws whilst the no good flawed question everyone else - all wrapped up in a dark little mysterious package.
I will certainly be reading this author again. Thank you for the ride!
March 3, 2024
I don’t know exactly what to say—it was an odd book, an odd experience, unique but not always compelling I suppose? It was short enough that I was able to get myself to finish it, and I normally find conflicts of religion very fun to read. This one was slightly mixed, though not necessarily in a bad way. Choosing to round up from 3.5 stars because of the plasticity
January 18, 2024
The Master and Margarita got married in Stepford, conceived their daughter Barbie and Nicole Cushing wrote all about it in The Plastic Priest.
The description drew me to want to read this book. Where does a body go when the soul has been poisoned? I wanted to know.
The cover is dark and weird yet so is the book so it’s entirely fitting.
The Spiritual Stepford wife of God lives in Owlingsville. Her name is Kaye. I met her, I’m sure a bit of her resides in each one of us.
Kaye is an Episcopal priest, married to her pagan husband Charlie. From the get-go you expect a clash, you expect that the mind will be challenged with conflicting beliefs, conflicting thoughts, conflicting emotions, and conflicting understanding of what it means to be human. It was all of this presented within well-rounded characters and some lovely wit.
Cushing developed the characters in The Plastic Priest in a way that made this reader feel like she was sitting beside them, loving some, hating some, and sometimes wanting to roll her eyes and tell some to ‘f’ right off.
The pace of the novella was perfect.
While I loved the development of all the characters, Janus’ left me feeling like I was missing something. Maybe he was a little too abrupt or whimsical in his power. A bit of a jester more than a god? No doubt it was purposeful, but it made my mind stretch into the downward dog to grasp it and I’m a little lazy. That position hurts.
A philosophical thriller? A metaphysical memoir?
If you love grappling with those who grapple with religion, you will enjoy this novella.
Thank you to Cemetery Dance Publications and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.
The description drew me to want to read this book. Where does a body go when the soul has been poisoned? I wanted to know.
The cover is dark and weird yet so is the book so it’s entirely fitting.
The Spiritual Stepford wife of God lives in Owlingsville. Her name is Kaye. I met her, I’m sure a bit of her resides in each one of us.
Kaye is an Episcopal priest, married to her pagan husband Charlie. From the get-go you expect a clash, you expect that the mind will be challenged with conflicting beliefs, conflicting thoughts, conflicting emotions, and conflicting understanding of what it means to be human. It was all of this presented within well-rounded characters and some lovely wit.
Cushing developed the characters in The Plastic Priest in a way that made this reader feel like she was sitting beside them, loving some, hating some, and sometimes wanting to roll her eyes and tell some to ‘f’ right off.
The pace of the novella was perfect.
While I loved the development of all the characters, Janus’ left me feeling like I was missing something. Maybe he was a little too abrupt or whimsical in his power. A bit of a jester more than a god? No doubt it was purposeful, but it made my mind stretch into the downward dog to grasp it and I’m a little lazy. That position hurts.
A philosophical thriller? A metaphysical memoir?
If you love grappling with those who grapple with religion, you will enjoy this novella.
Thank you to Cemetery Dance Publications and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.
October 29, 2023
Nicole Cushing is one of the best writers in horror and once again, she knocks it out of the park. I finished this one in a single sitting and loved every second of it.
The Plastic Priest is a novella about stasis, denial, and faith with humor, absurdity, and cynicism to spare. It cuts hard and travels to strange places, all the while working as a deep-dive character study of its protagonist and the people that surround her.
Entertaining, dark, and rich—highly recommended.
The Plastic Priest is a novella about stasis, denial, and faith with humor, absurdity, and cynicism to spare. It cuts hard and travels to strange places, all the while working as a deep-dive character study of its protagonist and the people that surround her.
Entertaining, dark, and rich—highly recommended.
October 22, 2023
Unhinged in the best way. Read if you love storytelling that makes you feel like you're losing your mind along with the characters. Cushing has such a unique way of writing that I was initially uncertain of but quickly sucked me in. Cerebral, bizarre, incisive, and hilarious. Consider me a newly minted fan.
October 19, 2023
Spooky October #3
What is there not to like in a story about a lapsed Episcopalian priest who lost her mind because she lost her faith and became a plastic figure of Plastianity in the hands of the Little Boy in the Sky?
What is there not to like in a story about a lapsed Episcopalian priest who lost her mind because she lost her faith and became a plastic figure of Plastianity in the hands of the Little Boy in the Sky?
November 10, 2023
It is important to note that most of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the book's subject matters & those detailed in my review overwhelming. I suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters that contain reflections on religious extremism, sexism, bigotry, self-harm, mental illness, mania, & others.
Religion is a lingering facet of human society. There has always been a need to believe in more than the self. Alongside this comes the desire for structure. It is certainly attractive for every hour of the day to have a purpose. However, humanity’s self-motivating ability is great; Why would we need someone else to tell us what to do? What is the purpose of a system of beliefs that alter our free will? There is hardly a straightforward answer to either of these questions. Suffice it for humanity to rest easy, contemplating the essence of a creature devout in celestial abilities whose features resemble the mirror’s reflection but whose consciousness is unbound by the valour of malice that pungently exhausts the land.
This story follows a female religious devotee; she leads a church, she reads, & she is mistaken for a follower though she is the leader. She is a devotee of the philosophy of belief; the concept of something other than herself. Her character is nearly inconsequential to the story, so it matters little whether she is of flesh & bone or small choking hazards—plastic. Rather, what is most fascinating about Kaye is the fact that she does not matter at all. She has a husband & yet this man has an entire life, fulfilled by his independent enjoyments, one is left wondering where she factors in. Her church functions independently of her sermons & one is left wondering what part of the Lord’s whispers reaches her ears at all.
While reading this book I found the time swiftly passed me by. I was not preoccupied with the length of the book, the ticking of the clock or the sun’s passage in the sky. What grabbed my attention was the premise; a woman whose faith seems utterly devoid of belief. That is not to say that Kaye has no system on which to rest but that her essence floats like moats in the summer’s sun. Readers will find in her a character that is shallow & grave like the hole whence the body lays in final tranquillity. This is not a bad thing.
In certain cases, the main character of a book is the vessel by which the reader becomes immersed in the narrative. Kaye does not offer readers the opportunity to know her, she isn��t even the person translating the story into palatable chapters. This story is told by some omniscient being, rather unlike the God Kaye has grown to believe in, the narrator understands that Kaye is a woman without much gumption. I appreciated the tertiary narration. At times, I wanted to know who was telling me the story as I felt this might have engaged me further in the rather ridiculous series of events. However, the secrecy of the recounting—the disengaged words from no one in particular—felt intimate & led the story in the direction it needed to go.
Readers who have a firm grasp of various systems of belief, of the houses that bind religions & their facets, will have a better time appreciating this story for what it is, a philosophical question on the foundation of ideology.
Though an archive of religious knowledge will be of use to readers, it is not necessary. One may lean on the narrative to appreciate the depth; Kaye is a woman in a man’s field, she is a woman hearing the word of God, she is a woman speaking the word of God—always thought to be a male entity—to communities led by male figures. Certainly, this is a simplistic view because it is easily ascertained. One need not live in the city center to understand the vast nuance of gender freedoms. However, Kaye never really questions herself in this sense. She is aware that people do not regard her as an authority figure because priests are men & Kaye is a woman.
The simplicity of this fact needs to be considered as it contributes to the downfall of the main character. Had she not met a man in the park maybe she would have been less sympathetic to his ramblings. Had she seen a homeless woman would she have bemoaned the society that led her there?
If Kaye had not been in a heterosexual relationship would God have whispered pleasantries about faith & comfort into her ear to be shared with her community? If Kaye’s mother hadn’t foretold of her daughter’s failure, would Kaye have chosen a path to success? Kaye’s father is not mentioned. Her husband is mentioned only so far as to highlight that he rumbles through life like a tumbleweed; believing in this, incorporating that, & not paying close enough attention to anything in particular to be considered devout.
What is the author trying to convey? Which of the characters is the antagonist? What I find to be a great drag is when turmoil & fear are built up to be a storm but are, instead, raindrops across a garden’s bed. That is to say; Kaye is a person who ponders the truth of her ideology. Her entire system of belief is based on the alternative—a woman priest rather than a male, a traditional church rather than the new-age bigoted lot; devotion on park benches rather than pews; prayer with hands held tight rather than palms facing the sky. Is Kaye different for the sake of being different or does she believe that this path is the right, bona fide & absolute road?
The narrative lacks consistency. When I speak of torrential rain it is in line with what the novel attempts to promise. The scene in the park & the ultimate loss—homelessness—are represented as small dandelions in a field of green, nearly indistinguishable in the grand scheme. Kaye’s reliance on published works might lead readers to conclude that her beliefs are rather seeded in the English language; it does not matter what is written so long as she can read it, consume it, speak it, & live it to be true. When she meets the man who claims to be a planet, a star; a nucleus of the Gods; Kaye poses no objections.
Who is Janus? Due to the nature of this story, one that poses itself as a rather sour satire, I found the answer to this question invisible to my eyes. What would have led Kaye to believe a man she met in the park? What was it about his speech that brought to light the providence of what he foresaw? In ancient Rome, Janus was the God of Doors; he saw what was coming down the line & how it tied into the current state of being. His ability to gauge time allowed him to act as a clairvoyant. His status in ancient Roman religions & mythology declared him as the God of gateways, change, transition; the beginnings, ends; & archways.
Picture yourself standing in a public park in the middle of the rain. A stranger approaches you; a person with perfect teeth but no home. This person offers you a sermon, stating that you have made the wrong decision & you should change course immediately. What do you do? If you live in a boisterous city, this situation has probably happened to you before. I have stood in grocery stores & had similar experiences while contemplating the cracker selection. This makes Kaye’s mental turmoil difficult to understand. She loses her way after a rapid-fire conversation that offers little in terms of morsels of nourishment; Janus says little to Kaye & yet she is consumed by a mania that was triggered by the invisible.
Can the reader conclude that this stranger—Janus—spoke worry into her broken mind? Was Kaye’s temperament likely to crack, regardless of the person who visited her in the park? What made Janus claim that Kaye’s future would need to be altered for her well-being? What part of her lax & rather unburdened existence posed cause for worry?
As I am not the God of Doorways, I am perhaps poorly placed to ask such questions. Yet, the reality is that this story took place in our world, in our day & age with a person who was viscerally integrated into the casualty of modern-day society. Why did she believe a prophet in the park? One can understand reading books & believing the words they share; this happens all the time—this is part of the reason that drives book bans; people have very little critical thinking ability & so become immersed in whatever fiction or fancy is presented to them (think: the Bible).
What I am saying is that the author was unintentional with their premise. It is fine & dandy to have a character fall head over heels for ludicrous stanzas, but this scene felt foggy in the worst way; it was incomplete. There is no motive behind anything that happens. The free will of each individual in the exchange reads as cloistered behind the mind of the author. This plays well into the premise, that God is playing dolls with humanity or that the Prophet—whichever one you believe existed—is a spoilt child longing to alter the narrative of their plastic toys. However, one still needs to ask why.
When one is sitting in a religious institution one is not waiting for mystery. One listens to a speaker who has punctuation to add to folly. One is present & attentive waiting for the parable that will nestle their worries. For Janus to appear in the church after Kaye experiences fever-induced mania does not read as the miracle of prophecy. Rather, this scene feels like a manic episode. One is left feeling rather sad for Kaye as she sinks further into the mud of her mind.
Perhaps this is the point. Is religion a muddy stream seeking to sink anyone who steps foot in its waters? Does it matter that Janus came to Kaye rather than her God manifesting himself in Gabriel or the burning bush? Is the essence of all-encompassing ideology that one loses oneself in their philosophy? What would have become of Aristotle if he had wandered the streets of another city? What if walking across the water was a metaphor for performing that which feels impossible? What if no one hears God because he does not have a voice?
The eclipse of methodology encourages this story to nestle firmly in the absurd. Kaye becomes the familiar face of every person you might know which leaves her disappearance an impossible case to close. Was Kaye a real person to begin with or was she simply a metaphor for the cosmic domesticity of humanity’s insecurity? Is the story’s narrator the author or another omniscient being intent on grotesque exposition in an attempt to instil the bedtime story with a proverbial warning; hold steady to your beliefs or any droplet of rain is likely to turn your life into a monsoon; beware the aimless roamer; hasten your scripture or the pages of your life with slice you to pieces.
Ultimately, the reader may select their interpretation. Religion is a personal philosophy. One may wish to believe that they are unique in their care for the land or their tenderness of a stranger’s well-being yet, cultivated in the woods & within the sewer ways are the gathering of these same drowning foes. Making their way into the cerebellum from the gentle nerves behind our skin; ideology is that which we are better off ignorant of understating least we opt for the drowning vessel carrying feet that can neither part the seas nor walk through waves to safety.
Thank you to NetGalley, Cemetery Dance Publications, & Nicole Cushing for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Religion is a lingering facet of human society. There has always been a need to believe in more than the self. Alongside this comes the desire for structure. It is certainly attractive for every hour of the day to have a purpose. However, humanity’s self-motivating ability is great; Why would we need someone else to tell us what to do? What is the purpose of a system of beliefs that alter our free will? There is hardly a straightforward answer to either of these questions. Suffice it for humanity to rest easy, contemplating the essence of a creature devout in celestial abilities whose features resemble the mirror’s reflection but whose consciousness is unbound by the valour of malice that pungently exhausts the land.
This story follows a female religious devotee; she leads a church, she reads, & she is mistaken for a follower though she is the leader. She is a devotee of the philosophy of belief; the concept of something other than herself. Her character is nearly inconsequential to the story, so it matters little whether she is of flesh & bone or small choking hazards—plastic. Rather, what is most fascinating about Kaye is the fact that she does not matter at all. She has a husband & yet this man has an entire life, fulfilled by his independent enjoyments, one is left wondering where she factors in. Her church functions independently of her sermons & one is left wondering what part of the Lord’s whispers reaches her ears at all.
While reading this book I found the time swiftly passed me by. I was not preoccupied with the length of the book, the ticking of the clock or the sun’s passage in the sky. What grabbed my attention was the premise; a woman whose faith seems utterly devoid of belief. That is not to say that Kaye has no system on which to rest but that her essence floats like moats in the summer’s sun. Readers will find in her a character that is shallow & grave like the hole whence the body lays in final tranquillity. This is not a bad thing.
In certain cases, the main character of a book is the vessel by which the reader becomes immersed in the narrative. Kaye does not offer readers the opportunity to know her, she isn��t even the person translating the story into palatable chapters. This story is told by some omniscient being, rather unlike the God Kaye has grown to believe in, the narrator understands that Kaye is a woman without much gumption. I appreciated the tertiary narration. At times, I wanted to know who was telling me the story as I felt this might have engaged me further in the rather ridiculous series of events. However, the secrecy of the recounting—the disengaged words from no one in particular—felt intimate & led the story in the direction it needed to go.
Readers who have a firm grasp of various systems of belief, of the houses that bind religions & their facets, will have a better time appreciating this story for what it is, a philosophical question on the foundation of ideology.
Though an archive of religious knowledge will be of use to readers, it is not necessary. One may lean on the narrative to appreciate the depth; Kaye is a woman in a man’s field, she is a woman hearing the word of God, she is a woman speaking the word of God—always thought to be a male entity—to communities led by male figures. Certainly, this is a simplistic view because it is easily ascertained. One need not live in the city center to understand the vast nuance of gender freedoms. However, Kaye never really questions herself in this sense. She is aware that people do not regard her as an authority figure because priests are men & Kaye is a woman.
The simplicity of this fact needs to be considered as it contributes to the downfall of the main character. Had she not met a man in the park maybe she would have been less sympathetic to his ramblings. Had she seen a homeless woman would she have bemoaned the society that led her there?
If Kaye had not been in a heterosexual relationship would God have whispered pleasantries about faith & comfort into her ear to be shared with her community? If Kaye’s mother hadn’t foretold of her daughter’s failure, would Kaye have chosen a path to success? Kaye’s father is not mentioned. Her husband is mentioned only so far as to highlight that he rumbles through life like a tumbleweed; believing in this, incorporating that, & not paying close enough attention to anything in particular to be considered devout.
What is the author trying to convey? Which of the characters is the antagonist? What I find to be a great drag is when turmoil & fear are built up to be a storm but are, instead, raindrops across a garden’s bed. That is to say; Kaye is a person who ponders the truth of her ideology. Her entire system of belief is based on the alternative—a woman priest rather than a male, a traditional church rather than the new-age bigoted lot; devotion on park benches rather than pews; prayer with hands held tight rather than palms facing the sky. Is Kaye different for the sake of being different or does she believe that this path is the right, bona fide & absolute road?
The narrative lacks consistency. When I speak of torrential rain it is in line with what the novel attempts to promise. The scene in the park & the ultimate loss—homelessness—are represented as small dandelions in a field of green, nearly indistinguishable in the grand scheme. Kaye’s reliance on published works might lead readers to conclude that her beliefs are rather seeded in the English language; it does not matter what is written so long as she can read it, consume it, speak it, & live it to be true. When she meets the man who claims to be a planet, a star; a nucleus of the Gods; Kaye poses no objections.
Who is Janus? Due to the nature of this story, one that poses itself as a rather sour satire, I found the answer to this question invisible to my eyes. What would have led Kaye to believe a man she met in the park? What was it about his speech that brought to light the providence of what he foresaw? In ancient Rome, Janus was the God of Doors; he saw what was coming down the line & how it tied into the current state of being. His ability to gauge time allowed him to act as a clairvoyant. His status in ancient Roman religions & mythology declared him as the God of gateways, change, transition; the beginnings, ends; & archways.
Picture yourself standing in a public park in the middle of the rain. A stranger approaches you; a person with perfect teeth but no home. This person offers you a sermon, stating that you have made the wrong decision & you should change course immediately. What do you do? If you live in a boisterous city, this situation has probably happened to you before. I have stood in grocery stores & had similar experiences while contemplating the cracker selection. This makes Kaye’s mental turmoil difficult to understand. She loses her way after a rapid-fire conversation that offers little in terms of morsels of nourishment; Janus says little to Kaye & yet she is consumed by a mania that was triggered by the invisible.
Can the reader conclude that this stranger—Janus—spoke worry into her broken mind? Was Kaye’s temperament likely to crack, regardless of the person who visited her in the park? What made Janus claim that Kaye’s future would need to be altered for her well-being? What part of her lax & rather unburdened existence posed cause for worry?
As I am not the God of Doorways, I am perhaps poorly placed to ask such questions. Yet, the reality is that this story took place in our world, in our day & age with a person who was viscerally integrated into the casualty of modern-day society. Why did she believe a prophet in the park? One can understand reading books & believing the words they share; this happens all the time—this is part of the reason that drives book bans; people have very little critical thinking ability & so become immersed in whatever fiction or fancy is presented to them (think: the Bible).
What I am saying is that the author was unintentional with their premise. It is fine & dandy to have a character fall head over heels for ludicrous stanzas, but this scene felt foggy in the worst way; it was incomplete. There is no motive behind anything that happens. The free will of each individual in the exchange reads as cloistered behind the mind of the author. This plays well into the premise, that God is playing dolls with humanity or that the Prophet—whichever one you believe existed—is a spoilt child longing to alter the narrative of their plastic toys. However, one still needs to ask why.
When one is sitting in a religious institution one is not waiting for mystery. One listens to a speaker who has punctuation to add to folly. One is present & attentive waiting for the parable that will nestle their worries. For Janus to appear in the church after Kaye experiences fever-induced mania does not read as the miracle of prophecy. Rather, this scene feels like a manic episode. One is left feeling rather sad for Kaye as she sinks further into the mud of her mind.
Perhaps this is the point. Is religion a muddy stream seeking to sink anyone who steps foot in its waters? Does it matter that Janus came to Kaye rather than her God manifesting himself in Gabriel or the burning bush? Is the essence of all-encompassing ideology that one loses oneself in their philosophy? What would have become of Aristotle if he had wandered the streets of another city? What if walking across the water was a metaphor for performing that which feels impossible? What if no one hears God because he does not have a voice?
The eclipse of methodology encourages this story to nestle firmly in the absurd. Kaye becomes the familiar face of every person you might know which leaves her disappearance an impossible case to close. Was Kaye a real person to begin with or was she simply a metaphor for the cosmic domesticity of humanity’s insecurity? Is the story’s narrator the author or another omniscient being intent on grotesque exposition in an attempt to instil the bedtime story with a proverbial warning; hold steady to your beliefs or any droplet of rain is likely to turn your life into a monsoon; beware the aimless roamer; hasten your scripture or the pages of your life with slice you to pieces.
Ultimately, the reader may select their interpretation. Religion is a personal philosophy. One may wish to believe that they are unique in their care for the land or their tenderness of a stranger’s well-being yet, cultivated in the woods & within the sewer ways are the gathering of these same drowning foes. Making their way into the cerebellum from the gentle nerves behind our skin; ideology is that which we are better off ignorant of understating least we opt for the drowning vessel carrying feet that can neither part the seas nor walk through waves to safety.
Thank you to NetGalley, Cemetery Dance Publications, & Nicole Cushing for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2023
A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Cemetery Dance Publications for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This novella unfortunately never fully grabbed me, and by the end I was more confused than anything else. We follow our main character Kaye, an Episcopal priest as she questions her faith and her beliefs, while feeling stuck about them due to the smallness of the town she’s in. It’s stated multiple times that above all else, she wishes to keep her job. So, despite having multiple crises of faith and incorporating varied understandings of the Bible in her faith, she remains the same for her small church in order to keep the small amount of attendance she currently has.
Honestly, while this novella describes itself as “ madwoman in a mad town” I kind of thought neither were entirely true. The town itself isn’t mad, it’s simply Smalltown USA with typical conservative, Republican beliefs in it. And Kaye only begins to lose her mind when confronted with a random stranger who may or may not be a god, and who challenges her beliefs about what is real. To be honest, I kind of felt the inclusion of “Janus” as a character was out of left field, and it would have felt more natural for Kaye to more organically become delusional, as it were.
Personally, this novella wasn’t bad and if abstract horror is your jam I think you’d really like this. However, this novella was simply too abstract and not personally clear enough for me to understand what was going on, for me to properly enjoy it.
This novella unfortunately never fully grabbed me, and by the end I was more confused than anything else. We follow our main character Kaye, an Episcopal priest as she questions her faith and her beliefs, while feeling stuck about them due to the smallness of the town she’s in. It’s stated multiple times that above all else, she wishes to keep her job. So, despite having multiple crises of faith and incorporating varied understandings of the Bible in her faith, she remains the same for her small church in order to keep the small amount of attendance she currently has.
Honestly, while this novella describes itself as “ madwoman in a mad town” I kind of thought neither were entirely true. The town itself isn’t mad, it’s simply Smalltown USA with typical conservative, Republican beliefs in it. And Kaye only begins to lose her mind when confronted with a random stranger who may or may not be a god, and who challenges her beliefs about what is real. To be honest, I kind of felt the inclusion of “Janus” as a character was out of left field, and it would have felt more natural for Kaye to more organically become delusional, as it were.
Personally, this novella wasn’t bad and if abstract horror is your jam I think you’d really like this. However, this novella was simply too abstract and not personally clear enough for me to understand what was going on, for me to properly enjoy it.
April 28, 2024
⛪️⛪️🛐Bool Review🛐⛪️
#theplasticpriest by #nicolecushing
Nicole is a #bramstrokerawardwinner !!!!!
Another awesome #netgalley arc! The plastic priest is a short story about a woman who is a priest. Everyone including her own mother believes that only men can be priests so she lives in constant judgment every day. Trying something new. She goes to the local park to hold the church service however, the weather is so horrible with crushing rain, she becomes so disappointed in herself as no one shows up. But I don’t know where someone does show up. And that someone else, someone from another realm, to convince her she is just a plastic priest. One of many. There’s a lot of detail in this book about the history of different religions. This is not something I read all the time however I got sucked in due to the way the author writes. She’s extremely detailed and character builds like no one else. While reading this book, I almost felt like I was talking to a friend. It was just so relatable and weird ways. This is a short and a it’s perfect for a rainy day!! I write this book 4 stars and I would recommend it!
#netgalleyreadathon #netgalley #netgalleyreview #netgalleyreviewer #netgalleyreads #netgalleyarc #ilovebooks #ilovebooks📚 #bookrecsofinstagram #bookrecommendations #bookreader #bookreviewersofinstagram #booknerdigans #booklover #kindleunlimited #kindle #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreviewer #ilovebooks #bookrecsofinstagram #booksbooksbooks #bookloversofinstagram #booknerds #booknerdcommunity #bookishengagement #booksilove #ilovebooksmorethanpeople #bookstagramfeature
#theplasticpriest by #nicolecushing
Nicole is a #bramstrokerawardwinner !!!!!
Another awesome #netgalley arc! The plastic priest is a short story about a woman who is a priest. Everyone including her own mother believes that only men can be priests so she lives in constant judgment every day. Trying something new. She goes to the local park to hold the church service however, the weather is so horrible with crushing rain, she becomes so disappointed in herself as no one shows up. But I don’t know where someone does show up. And that someone else, someone from another realm, to convince her she is just a plastic priest. One of many. There’s a lot of detail in this book about the history of different religions. This is not something I read all the time however I got sucked in due to the way the author writes. She’s extremely detailed and character builds like no one else. While reading this book, I almost felt like I was talking to a friend. It was just so relatable and weird ways. This is a short and a it’s perfect for a rainy day!! I write this book 4 stars and I would recommend it!
#netgalleyreadathon #netgalley #netgalleyreview #netgalleyreviewer #netgalleyreads #netgalleyarc #ilovebooks #ilovebooks📚 #bookrecsofinstagram #bookrecommendations #bookreader #bookreviewersofinstagram #booknerdigans #booklover #kindleunlimited #kindle #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreviewer #ilovebooks #bookrecsofinstagram #booksbooksbooks #bookloversofinstagram #booknerds #booknerdcommunity #bookishengagement #booksilove #ilovebooksmorethanpeople #bookstagramfeature
June 19, 2024
I had previously subscribed to a blind @cemeterydancepub paperback club, receiving two paperbacks every month. This was one of those books. My god, I’ve never been so thrilled to have read something blind.
Is this horror? No, not quite — unless you consider the depth of your own thoughts a potential horror. This is certainly WEIRD fiction and the very best kind. In this slim novella, which I read over the course of one drive through New England, I was confronted with some of the very deepest questions about faith and the very nature of reality. Pulling that off is more farfetched than any monster story I could ever read.
As soon as I finished, I looked up Nicole Cushing’s other work. Can’t wait to fall headfirst into another of her world’s.
Is this horror? No, not quite — unless you consider the depth of your own thoughts a potential horror. This is certainly WEIRD fiction and the very best kind. In this slim novella, which I read over the course of one drive through New England, I was confronted with some of the very deepest questions about faith and the very nature of reality. Pulling that off is more farfetched than any monster story I could ever read.
As soon as I finished, I looked up Nicole Cushing’s other work. Can’t wait to fall headfirst into another of her world’s.
January 11, 2024
The Plastic Priest by Nicole Cushing follows Mother Kaye, a female Episcopal priest in a rural town as she struggles with her religious beliefs and who she is as a person.
As a lover of the most weird and wackiest of horror, I truly believed I was going to love this book. Unfortunately, this novella just wasn't for me.
The idea of a priest's struggle with her beliefs and her identity, which leads to what can only be described as a sudden descent into madness was an amazing idea, but it just was not executed well. I feel if this story was fleshed out into a full novel, it would have been amazing.
It wasn't until I was around 40% into this novella that I began to enjoy it, but by the end I was left confused and disappointed. I wish there was more discussion around the 'Gods' idea within this story. Was an ancient God at play here, or was the ending a true descent into madness by both Kaye and her husband?
I felt that the story was rushed and there was no clarification on a lot of ideas in this book. Maybe the rushed and scattered sense to this story was a reflection of Kaye's mental health and mental spiral, but I just didn't pick up on it.
Maybe I'm on of the few who just did not get the concept and underlying idea behind this novella as a lot of people seemed to have loved it, but this just wasn't my cup if tea. This story has not put me off reading Cushing's other works. If anything, it has intrigued me into checking out more of their books! I really look forward to diving into the world of madness and horror that is Nicole Cushing!
Thank you so much to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.
As a lover of the most weird and wackiest of horror, I truly believed I was going to love this book. Unfortunately, this novella just wasn't for me.
The idea of a priest's struggle with her beliefs and her identity, which leads to what can only be described as a sudden descent into madness was an amazing idea, but it just was not executed well. I feel if this story was fleshed out into a full novel, it would have been amazing.
It wasn't until I was around 40% into this novella that I began to enjoy it, but by the end I was left confused and disappointed. I wish there was more discussion around the 'Gods' idea within this story. Was an ancient God at play here, or was the ending a true descent into madness by both Kaye and her husband?
I felt that the story was rushed and there was no clarification on a lot of ideas in this book. Maybe the rushed and scattered sense to this story was a reflection of Kaye's mental health and mental spiral, but I just didn't pick up on it.
Maybe I'm on of the few who just did not get the concept and underlying idea behind this novella as a lot of people seemed to have loved it, but this just wasn't my cup if tea. This story has not put me off reading Cushing's other works. If anything, it has intrigued me into checking out more of their books! I really look forward to diving into the world of madness and horror that is Nicole Cushing!
Thank you so much to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.
November 27, 2023
Dark, humorous theology
"Everything feels unreal after the soul is shed'
Mother Faye is an Episcopal priest who is married to a pagan. She's been a priest now for twenty years and is questioning her career choice. She's also questioning her faith. After she meets a homeless man who claims to be a pagan god, she begins to feel dissociated. The outcome is a darkly funny romp through theology, faith, philosophy, and insanity.
Someone who likes their Kafka with a touch of humor would probably enjoy this quick read.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
"Everything feels unreal after the soul is shed'
Mother Faye is an Episcopal priest who is married to a pagan. She's been a priest now for twenty years and is questioning her career choice. She's also questioning her faith. After she meets a homeless man who claims to be a pagan god, she begins to feel dissociated. The outcome is a darkly funny romp through theology, faith, philosophy, and insanity.
Someone who likes their Kafka with a touch of humor would probably enjoy this quick read.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
December 17, 2023
The Plastic Priest by Nicole Cushing.
When the soul has been thoroughly poisoned, the body must abandon it. Everything feels unreal afterwards, but plastic heads shed no tears. Bram Stoker Award® winning author Nicole Cushing offers an excursion into the Weird, a quiet novella of a madwoman in a mad town, as an Episcopal priest grapples with the meaning of faith, reality, and if there is anything real to either of them, at the end of it all.
A weird and strange read. It was definitely different. I did like the red crosses at the start of each chapter. 4*.
When the soul has been thoroughly poisoned, the body must abandon it. Everything feels unreal afterwards, but plastic heads shed no tears. Bram Stoker Award® winning author Nicole Cushing offers an excursion into the Weird, a quiet novella of a madwoman in a mad town, as an Episcopal priest grapples with the meaning of faith, reality, and if there is anything real to either of them, at the end of it all.
A weird and strange read. It was definitely different. I did like the red crosses at the start of each chapter. 4*.
January 17, 2024
I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own opinions.
I'm not sure what I just read. Did I like it? Yes. Did I want to stop reading it? No. Is the term "professional Christians" permanently in my vocal? 100%.
It's books like this that make me love short fiction, very well written and give you something to ponder when you are done
I'm not sure what I just read. Did I like it? Yes. Did I want to stop reading it? No. Is the term "professional Christians" permanently in my vocal? 100%.
It's books like this that make me love short fiction, very well written and give you something to ponder when you are done
November 21, 2023
Thank you to Cemetery Dance for providing a review copy.
This is an exceptionally strange little novella. I'm not really one for religion and the pondering of such, but despite this I read the whole thing in one sitting. I liked it, but I'm not sure I got it entirely. It is a very interesting character study and I'm intrigued enough by it to seek out other works by the author.
This is an exceptionally strange little novella. I'm not really one for religion and the pondering of such, but despite this I read the whole thing in one sitting. I liked it, but I'm not sure I got it entirely. It is a very interesting character study and I'm intrigued enough by it to seek out other works by the author.
March 2, 2024
When you have no idea what you’re reading
But you can’t stop.
The most bizarre but captivating book. I’m sure it was intended that way. I loved it, in the strangest, darkest kind of ways. Short, but I’m not sure I would have been able to get through a longer version.
Read it. It’s weird, in the best kind of way.
But you can’t stop.
The most bizarre but captivating book. I’m sure it was intended that way. I loved it, in the strangest, darkest kind of ways. Short, but I’m not sure I would have been able to get through a longer version.
Read it. It’s weird, in the best kind of way.
May 4, 2024
3.5 rounded up to a 4
interesting, weird and introspective. less intense horror than i expected but not bad. i enjoyed the characterization of Mother Kaye, and i greatly enjoyed the sections where she talked about the ‘toxic soul’ and the ‘soul shedding’, ending left some things to be desired but all in all a good and quick read.
interesting, weird and introspective. less intense horror than i expected but not bad. i enjoyed the characterization of Mother Kaye, and i greatly enjoyed the sections where she talked about the ‘toxic soul’ and the ‘soul shedding’, ending left some things to be desired but all in all a good and quick read.
February 1, 2024
Really enjoyed this. I loved the characters and how absurd they were. The voice and the understated, flippant kind of humor…perfect. I loved the transition from everyday weird to weird-weird. And the weird-weird was great.
April 14, 2024
The biggest problem is the pacing here imo. The first 50 pages are kinda the introduction for the incoming big change. After this it gets better, but it cant salvage the slow beginning for me. I honestly didnt fully enjoy the book, but I feel like I didnt pay enough attention to detail and maybe didnt get enough out of it as I could have.
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