As usual, I received this book for free for the purposes of review via GoodReads giveaway. Despite that kind consideration, I will review it candidly below. Also, this book is categorized as Mormon Literature but I will review it solely on its literary merits and not its spiritual ones.

The thumbnail sketch of the story is that it’s completely not what one would expect based on the cover or the title. I ignore utterly the book blurbs provided so I readily anticipated a mystery or suspense novel of some sort. Instead, we get the story of an adolescent boy as he and his family deal with the increasing dementia of his aging grandmother and the trials and tribulations of a new school year. Our protagonist progresses forward through life as his grandmother pulls back to her childhood.

This book is rife with positive merits; the characters are true to life and the story is evocative and though provoking. The author also gives the non-Mormon a welcome look into life in this little-understood religion as well as a snapshot of adolescence in the southwest U.S. during the early 80s. He deals candidly and skillfully with tough subject matter and by the end the reader really feels invested in the characters. Clark has given us a story with substance in a wonderful and little-seen setting.

I would be remiss if I didn’t say a bit about the treatment of religion in this novel. Generally, when a book is branded as ‘religious’ in nature, I dread it from the first page. I’ve suffered through many Christian novels and in general the characters therein are plastic and beyond all credibility. If Christians were anything like the characters in these novels then I, as a non-Christian, would want little to do with them. Most Christian literature paints the faith as if life were a cartoon parody of itself. “Disco Dancer” in contrast is first and foremost a good novel. It happens to be about Mormons and it also happens to illuminate key Mormon values but that’s not the center of the story. The Mormonism that weaves its way through this book adds variety and appeal to the storyline rather than the usual cloying manner in which Christianity permeates every word of some examples of the genre. All this is done without turning the Mormon faith into a freak side-show act. It is, simply, an excellent example of how religious fiction should be done.

The only negative that comes to mind has nothing to do with writing. While the cover certainly is eye-catching, I can’t look at it without feeling that it misrepresents the contents somewhat and will dissuade readers from picking it up. It gives the book a rather grim aura when in fact the contents are anything but. It’s also unhelpful that the photo is rather out of focus in spots.

In summary, a classic case of “don’t judge a book by its cover.” This book is fascinating from its emotional storyline to its anthropological backdrop. It represents the Mormon faith in a positive and very human light while at the same time being entertaining and worthy of passing around to everyone you know when you’re finished with it. ( )