Well kids, this week’s installment is at the end of the week instead of the beginning because my body decided that having a food allergy attack so I had to be doped up on Benadryl was a good way to keep me away from this barely readable novel. As I keep mentioning by calling our hero lawyer variations on, “Author Avatar Peter,” the character is a pretty obvious self-insert author avatar, down to the character matching an idealized depiction of his physical characteristics, and while Farris has mixed some things up so it’s not a one-to-one match, he’s not a good enough writer that it’s not obvious that he sees the character as an especially heroic version of himself. It’s time to soldier on, because as unreadable as this book is, it’s a glimpse into the mind of Michael Farris and this stuff needs to be documented so it’s out there.
Category Archives: Ryn Reads Guilt By Association
Guilt By Association: The series returns
It’s time to dust the series off because in the intervening two years the changes in the political climate and Michael Farris’s recent hire as president of Alliance Defending Freedom makes this especially relevant. When I started writing this series in 2015, it was an experiment in the serial book review format, and the book was only relevant to a small niche of people researching the religious right and the Christian homeschool movement. Today, Michael Farris is no longer the fringe religious right figure who I used to describe as the most influential man in the religious right that no one ever heard of […]
Guilt By Association: Plot Twist!
Chapter Six take two | Main | Recap Alright, my pretties. I had to take a bit of a break because this book was driving me batty, but now I’m back and ready to go so let’s jump right in to chapter seven. Rhonda is pacing the clinic hallways nervously while waiting for the results of […]
Guilt By Association: You got served
Chapter Six take one | Main | Chapter Seven Last time we ended with me urging Suzie to run as far and as fast as she could away from the rest of our Merry Band of Protesters before they destroyed her life. This being a novel written by Michael Farris instead of me, of course that […]
Guilt By Association: Here comes the lawsuit
Interlude | Main | Chapter Six take two Hello my pretties, are you ready to find out what happens next with our Merry Band of Protesters? I can’t wait! Remember last time we were left with Vince, who really needs to grow a mustache so he can start twirling it, and Rhonda meeting with the clinic owners […]
Guilt By Association: Kathryn gets meta
Chapter 5 part deux | Main | Chapter Six part one Sorry, no animated GIFs for this one. I want to take a moment to step back from reading the book to discuss a few things. This review series isn’t going as I expected, which I suppose is what happens when you set out to review a […]
Guilt by Association: Now illustrated with Freddie Prinze Jr. GIFs
Chapter 5 take one | Main | Interlude — Well kiddies, because I know you’re all dying to find out what happens next, I’ve decided to venture back in to be belly of the beast and power the rest of my way through chapter 5. I think I’m going to mix things up a bit since […]
Guilt By Association: Let’s build a strawman
Chapter Four | Main | Chapter Five and a half I think I’ve figured out why this book is bugging me so much. I spent the better part of the ‘90s—the decade when this was written—on the front lines of the pro-life movement. I know what that the movement was like in that time period because […]
Guilt By Association: Our Merry Band of Protesters demonstrates that they’re The World’s Most Naive Activists
Chapter Three | Main | Chapter Five — Welp, I made the mistake of trying to knock out a few days worth of posts in one day, and after taking a break to watch Agents of Shield (if you’re not watching it yet, seriously do, it’s getting really good), I decided to power on to chapter […]
Guilt By Association: Volvo-driving Doctor Rhonda’s backstory
Chapter Two | Main | Chapter Four — Well kiddies, today we get to meet the Volvo-driving Dr. Rhonda Marsano, abortionist at the wordily named Whatcom Women’s Center For Choice. I can’t wait! Hmm, this doesn’t bode well for our Volvo-driving doctor, Farris is humanizing her. I mean, it could be possible that he suddenly learned […]