Eli Harpo's Adventure to the Afterlife

I told my husband about this book about halfway through, and he suggested Woody Harrelson as the televangelist, Gideon…and now I cannot “unsee” this! This book would make a great movie, and I hope someone picks it up for this purpose. It could easily be a dark comedy. Meanwhile, it’s a great story that will make you laugh, cry, and even cringe as you ponder all you’ve ever been taught about several social and religious practices. I highly recommend this novel.

Surface ideas that never seem to hit the mark. Characters you don’t care about because there isn’t enough information TO care about them. The only thing that kept me reading was the refer to my hometown. From an avid book reader- this one is a true disappointment. Apologies to Mr. Schlick.

In ‘Eli Harpo’s Adventure to the Afterlife,’ titular character Eli Harpo struggles to come to terms with the fame he garnered in childhood as a disgraced Christian celebrity. Now an adult with a husband and child of his own, Eli finds himself the subject of his husband’s documentary. As a child, Eli became famous for visiting Heaven during emergency heart surgery when he was four years old. Throughout the book, we learn more about Eli’s journey to fame, his relationships with his religious family members, including his terminally ill mother, and his discomfort with the Heaven story he’s pushed to tell over and over.Ultimately, this is a story about coming to terms with religion, family, and one’s own self. The writing is beautiful, the narrative nuanced, and the plot different and interesting. I enjoyed the glimpses into Eli’s childhood, especially the predatory characterization of televangelist Charlie Gideon. I highly recommend this book!

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley.As a non-churchgoer who grew up in a very religious family, I found this book to be pretty accurate, funny, and heartwarming all at the same time. It came across as true to life and Eli, as the main character, is impossible not to love as he comes of age with the additional hurdles of going to Heaven at age 4 and losing his mother to cancer.

Eli is four and has open heart surgery.He dies (doe he?) and then comes back from Heaven to tell the story with his father's encouragement.But... did it really happen as he has been told and recalls?This is not only about life and after; but growing up in a family that will not allow different.Eli has no idea how to explain to his father that his love will not be accepted nor tolerated after all these years.Is this what Jesus would say?You decide.I enjoyed this interesting, heartwarming story of family, differences and love..