This sassy, intellectually savvy, lingo-loaded satire turns theism and atheism inside out and upside down. Through a series of letters written by a female atheist to the leaders of the “New Atheism,” author Mary Eberstadt creates a character who’s ready to tell it like it is and how it should be. The heroine, who refers to herself in The Loser Letters as, A. F. Christian (A Former Christian), mixes present –day pop culture references to Facebook and YouTube trends, hit TV shows such as Project Runway and What Not to Wear, and plenty of texting/instant messaging shorthand, with a hard-hitting critique of key players in both the theistic and atheistic traditions across history.Some reviewers have compared this to C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, and I can certainly see some similarities in the satirical approach to winning more people over to the “dark side.” However, this series of letters all written by A. F. Christian to the powers that be in the Atheist world are more conversational, edgy and so deeply steeped in contemporary culture that youth and those up on technology and the latest fads will get the references to current trends and perhaps some of the historical ones. Others who are well-read in religion, literature, and the pro-life movement will likely find the strategic name-dropping and prominently placed academic references easier to identify with than the latest lingo. Those who are well-read and consider technology a BFF will be left reeling, writhing, and, at times, LOL.
Regardless of your religious or literary leanings, A.F. Christian is likely to press your buttons as she waxes philosophic about the hot topics of our time. Eberstadt digs deep to uncover the weak points of the arguments on both sides of the line. If you don’t find your mouth dropping open or your temperature rising at some point while reading this book, then you haven’t been paying attention.
Eberstadt gives new meaning to the term femme fatale. I highly recommend you read this book to find out why, how, and for what greater purpose she does this.
You can purchase this book here.
I wrote this review of The Loser Letters for the Tiber River Blogger Review program. Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases. I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.
