Mission to America
Encyclopedia
Mission to America is a novel by American novelist Walter Kirn
.
The novel
is narrated by Mason LaVerle, a member of a tiny religious sect in rural Bluff, Montana
, called the Aboriginal Fulfilled Apostles, whose complicated views involve a kind of highly incorporative theology
and a strict dietary regimen that facilitates healthy gastrointestinal activity. Concerned about the AFAs' dwindling numbers and attempting to capitalize on a recent spate of unexpected national attention, LaVerle and a partner, Elder Stark, set out on a mission to bring converts to the faith. Neither has been outside of Bluff before, and the pair quickly find themselves fending off the onslaught of corrupting influences they encounter in modern America, most prominently junk food and sex. After a series of misadventures, the duo ends up in Snowshoe, Colorado
, a ski resort populated by a horrifying cast of the decadent rich and their hangers-on, where LaVerle finds romance with a former internet nude model and Stark becomes a toadying guru for an eccentric billionaire. As Stark gets sucked into the orbit of this bizarre community, LaVerle fights to save him and his dying faith, while battling his own temptations.
Walter Kirn
Walter Kirn is an American novelist, literary critic, and essayist. His latest book is the 2009 memoir Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever.-Overview:...
.
The novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
is narrated by Mason LaVerle, a member of a tiny religious sect in rural Bluff, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, called the Aboriginal Fulfilled Apostles, whose complicated views involve a kind of highly incorporative theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and a strict dietary regimen that facilitates healthy gastrointestinal activity. Concerned about the AFAs' dwindling numbers and attempting to capitalize on a recent spate of unexpected national attention, LaVerle and a partner, Elder Stark, set out on a mission to bring converts to the faith. Neither has been outside of Bluff before, and the pair quickly find themselves fending off the onslaught of corrupting influences they encounter in modern America, most prominently junk food and sex. After a series of misadventures, the duo ends up in Snowshoe, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, a ski resort populated by a horrifying cast of the decadent rich and their hangers-on, where LaVerle finds romance with a former internet nude model and Stark becomes a toadying guru for an eccentric billionaire. As Stark gets sucked into the orbit of this bizarre community, LaVerle fights to save him and his dying faith, while battling his own temptations.
External links
- NYTBR review of Mission to America verified 2007-01-02.