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Elle began writing novel-length romances in junior high. She continued scribbling wild tales on her wide-ruled notepads till those pesky college and career things got in the way. Finally, after earning her Ph.D. in Sociology, Elle gave herself permission to get a life. Now, she spends just about all her waking hours doing one or more of the following: teaching, writing, volunteering, and tending to the whims of her kitty masters.
Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite
Tithes, or the “unworkables”, are the ones considered physically or mentally incapacitated. Twenty-year-old Joshua Barstow, who was raised by the town’s holy women, is one of them. Every seven years, seven Tithes from each of the ten towns must go to the underground bunker in the Mojave desert, where they will wait for Elovah’s angels to come for them. Tithes are offerings to please Elovah so She would spare the people from Her judgment. The angels would come to take one Tithe every night without warning. An angel came for Josh, but mysteriously left her be.
The Tithe by Elle Hill provides a great insight regarding the level of religious influence on society. It also focuses on the ordeals that each person faces in order to satisfy a religious doctrine and the society as a whole. Hill dabbles expertly on the issue of extremism, which is undeniably thought-provoking. Nevertheless the book is by no means preachy. The scope of the story is far wider than that. It is also about friendship, where bonds between the Tithes are developed, love, the intriguing facet of the mysterious angels and why Josh wasn’t taken by one of them. I’m most amused with the outlandish criteria of an “unworkable”. For instance, Lynna and two other boys are chosen as Tithes because they are overweight, and one man is chosen because he has cancer.
The Tithe builds to an intriguing story arc in ways that are not at all predictable from its opening. Josh is an intelligent and witty protagonist; it’s not hard to find her likeable. All in all, a remarkable read, one that is able to succeed as an emotionally rich story and a dark tale of faith.
