Oh, Sister: The powerful new novel from the author of Another Life

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I won’t lie, it’s a hard book to read. There are some seriously intense themes, and some emotional scenes, talk of sexual abuse, death, complicated love affairs etc. They are hard to read sometimes, but I think she’s found a nice balance. They’re there for a point, to show that this religion is not always the happy place it’s often depicted as, but they’re not just there for entertainment purposes. They really mean something to the author, the characters, and the reader. As the pressure builds and Frankie's personal life begins to take the hit, she starts to wonder if she'll ever manage to escape the strange world of fashion unscathed. And, quite frankly, does she even want to?

Oh, Sister by Jodie Chapman - Penguin Books New Zealand Oh, Sister by Jodie Chapman - Penguin Books New Zealand

Distinct and so movingly told that as a reader you really root for them to thrive' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING One is cast aside because her husband left her for a younger model, and she realises her life does not have to revolve around that man. Starting with a truly traumatic event, Oh, Sister asks us to question what faith is and how far we would go for what we believe, even if it means turning against our friends and family. So I have to admit I didn’t really know what exactly this book was about going into it, but I adored @jodiechapman’s debut so knew I was in safe hands. Turns out this may be even BETTER than Another Life 😲 Oh, Sister is the story of three different women who are living or have lived within a strict denomination of Christianity. Although it is not explicitly named in the book, it is fairly obvious that the denomination it’s based on is that of the Jehovah’s Witness’s Church.

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I'm going to start by saying this - this is a horror story. Not one with ghosts and full moons, but one even more terrifying because this is about the monsters that exist outside of nightmares. It is a searing statement about the dystopian hellscape that is reality for many women who live under the rule of religious fanaticism and fascism. To a lot of people, it might sound like something only from a speculative fiction story, but it's very real. Zelda is a rebel who seeks to live life on her own terms, but she’s not entirely successful in leaving her past behind. Jen almost died. And now the community that should be comforting her is condemning her for surviving, for trying to claim her body as her own. This beautiful tale of love, loss and sacrifice will break your heart . . . With echoes of David Nicholls' One Day and Sally Rooney's novels, it perfectly captures the agony of falling in love and the razor-sharp reality of pain and loss' DAILY MAIL Three women, with distinct lives, disparate desires, and different degrees of belief in this ‘community’ – a religious cult known as The Disciples of the Last Days – that controls their bodies, their personhood, their whole lives. Oh, Sister tells the gut-wrenching story of these women’s experiences of disfellowship and their difficult, intertwined journeys of coming to terms with the reality of their predicament and rising above it, above the misogyny, corruption, violence, and zealotry of it all. The author bases the substance of this supposed fiction off of her own upbringing as a Jehovah’s Witness; what may come across as the unimaginably dystopian suffering of her female characters is happening to real women in this very world that we call ours.

Oh, Sister by Jodie Chapman - Penguin Books Australia Oh, Sister by Jodie Chapman - Penguin Books Australia

This is Jodie Chapman’s second novel, the follow up to her debut Another Life which I’ve heard great things about. It tells the stories of Jen, Zelda and Isobel. All three women are ruled by a stout belief in a religion where they are expected to do as they are told, and to be submissive to men. Acting outside of God’s wishes, according to the interpretation of the Bible, will not be tolerated. Each of the women face being disworshipped & ousted by their congregation, not because of the truth, but because they are not believed. Not believed by the elders who are, of course, men. This beautiful tale of love, loss and sacrifice will break your heart...With echoes of David Nicholls' One Day and Sally Rooney's novels, it perfectly captures the agony of falling in love and the razor-sharp reality of pain and loss' DAILY MAIL Not one of these women deserved to be treated the way they were. And yet, where is the sisterhood when the rest of the women in the cult sneer and ignore them? One woman is punished for being the one who suffers SA, yet, because she cannot provide two witnesses to the accusation, she is the one not believed.

In a Nutshell: A powerful story about three women whose lives have been influenced by their religious group. The theme was great; the writing approach could have been better. But it’s still an interesting book. All three women are connected in some way to an extremist religious cult. Will they be able to put themselves first and break free of the stranglehold the men in their lives wield over them in the name of God? You can tell Jodie has lived this. You can see her heart and soul and passion that comes through with every single word. I often found myself reading it through tears, for the happiness as well as the sadness and anger. It’s about finding yourself, finding faith in yourself, finding your own happiness, your own love, your own family, and your own future. Zelda Bloom is a creature of sin and abjection according to the brotherhood she was born into, a people whose cruelty continues to haunt her after all these years of successfully having run away from it – until. She measures out what her designs and photographs reveal about herself, while there is so much of the past she cannot dare but conceal.

Oh, Sister by Jodie Chapman in this week’s Win a copy of Oh, Sister by Jodie Chapman in this week’s

Isobel has spent her life learning to be a daughter, a wife, a mother but never learning to be herself because it didn't matter. Now without a husband, who could she possibly hope to be?Isobel has spent her entire married life being the perfect wife. But now her husband wants to leave her, and she has no idea who she is without him. Oh Sister centres on three women, Zelda, Jen and Isobel, all of whom are “sisters” in a religious community (:cult) The Disciples of the Last Days, but have been disfellowed for different reasons for having gone against the rules. As with most (all?) organised religions, The Disciples require women to be devoted to God, subservient to their elders and brothers who run the cult, and do a steady trade in hypocrisy.

Oh, Sister - Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency Oh, Sister - Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency

The world in this tale is rife with sexism, religious zealotry, hatred - it feels like a dystopian fairy-tale but is a reality for too many - and could be for anyone all too easily. And knowing this makes the utter realism of this story so compelling and vivid.

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You change every single day, but you don't see it. Little by little. Until one day, you're completely transformed." I've read a number of books about religious "cults" as some call them, and so far, I've enjoyed nearly all of them. You would think they would be a bit samey, and I suppose there are similar themes, but the authors all of their own personal experience and therefore they can put part of themselves in their books, giving each one the edge. All in all, I appreciate the novel’s attempts to highlight how much brainwashing occurs in cultish groups and how such religious leaders enforce misogynist practices and discrimination in the name of God. I wish the writing had been more streamlined so as to enhance the impact of the story. Nevertheless, it offers a hard-hitting look at a topic not commonly covered in general fiction. I loved it, and Jodie Chapman did it again, exactly like when she wrote Another Life and destroyed me. Isobel and Jen have spent their entire lives following the rules - of their marriages, and their religion.