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Are you sure you are reviewing the correct book? I abhor foul language and high sexual content, and I don't remember it being in this book.

wow!!!

A shame you won't be reading anything else by Orson Scott Card. Ender's Game is a completely different genre (sci-fi rather than fantasy), absolutely brilliant and VERY different from Enchantment.

I have to admit I agree with Shanna though - I dislike foul language and gratuitous sexual content as well, and don't remember either in this book. Odd.

Cuss words? Sexually explicit scenes? Jen, you've critiqued the wrong book, my friend!

I actually had the opportunity to take a writing workshop from this author and one of the things he said, that I'd almost forgotten, was that he has sometimes been accused of having foul language in his books.

It's not there. Orson Scott Card is simply a master at writing in such a way as to allow your mind to fill in the blanks that you know should be there. The same is true with the sexual content. If you think about the one sex scene in the book, it was told very distantly, with just a few sentences about gentle touches and the like. I was actually pretty surprised how well done it was and even though I am perfectly willing to read sexually explicit scenes, I appreciated the way he wrote this one. He neither skipped the romantic climax nor drew a pornographic picture for me. My mind was able to fill in the rest.

I don't think this is the same book as the one you've read. There was no cursing in the book at all (unless you count magical curses, which were written as nothing more than, "she put a curse on the credit card she gave her," etc. The nudity on the crossings over were symbolic, not sexual. The peasants on the protagonists' wedding night were shouting lewd jokes, but the writer had the decency not to put specifics down to paper.

In short, you're critiquing the wrong book, lady.

I read this book years ago, when I was about 13. It was the first book I ever read with a sex scene, which shocked and horrified me--particularly disappointing because it was written by a Mormon author who I'd assumed would be clean. I guess I'd probably be able to look past that now and enjoy the story more, but I don't remember the plot and characters being good enough to make me want to reread it. Ender's Game is entirely different. You definitely should't judge it by this book. It has no cursing and no sex, but a loveable main character, tough thoughts to chew on, and a clever ending. Ender's Shadow and Earthborn are great too.

For a bit of moral support here, apparently I read the same book you did. Wonder how to get my hands on the rated G version, but at the same time, the story wasn't good enough to worry. Swearing, yes. Scenes and references, yes. If some see that as mild, it's nothing I would recommend to anyone less than 18.

If some see that as mild, it's nothing I would recommend to anyone less than 18.
Mild enough that it didn't even register with me as being inappropriate for people younger than that. But then, I read "Clan of the Cave Bears" and "Valley of the Horses" at age 14 ;)

Not seeing the inappropriate here at all. I was raised in a very conservative home, if I'm missing the objectionable content, there isn't much there. I admit, this is not a children's book, but neither is it marketed as such anywhere I'm aware of.

A bit harsh I think. I would agree with you about a bit too much genitalia talk for my liking, but I thought the love scene was done rather well. I say love scene instead of sex because I thought it was pretty perfect. Two virgins who wait until they are married and have established a relationship of love and trust give each other a wonderful gift. It is not raunchy in any sort of way and very important to the story. Don't be so quick to write somebody off. Ender's game was good and I don't remember any 'questionable' material in that.

I'm a little confused about why a "sex scene" (though hardly a scene since it wasn't described in detail) between two married people would be shocking or disgusting? I also don't remember any bad language in this one at all. I mean, Card does occasionally have a foul mouth in some of his books, but usually he has the decency to curse in Russian or Poturgese.

Wow, I didn't realize there were all these comments out there about what I said. Seems a little harsh to be sarcastically calling me "friend" and "lady" ... and I don't believe we actually know each other. Let's not be rude just because we are not speaking face to face.

Obviously, we are all entitled to our own opinions. YOU and I. I still stand by everything I said in my review. I did read Ender's game and I didn't like it much either. I will not apologize for being offended by curse words and nudity. I did not call it shocking or disgusting. Just because sex between married people is ok, doesn't mean I want to read about it.

Marni, thanks for the moral support. And we don't even know each other. Anyone else care to stand up for me? The socially acceptable sex, nudity and cursing is not acceptable with me. I am the first to admit I am a sensitive reader. And proud of it.

Jen I completely agree with you. I have been trying to read this book for almost two months now because my book club is reading it. I agree that any excuse to use a curse word is taken full advantage of... don't get me wrong, I read many books that curse much more and have much more heated scenes, but I feel that it is unneccesary in the context of this book.
I also agree with you that your opinion is your opinion and it shouldn't be bashed by others... I am proud of you for giving your honest opinion of this book. Just as I am happy for those who have loved this book and rated it 5 stars... several people in my book club did and I love them just the same as I did before! ;)

Happy Reading!!
~Julie

I'll back you up too (for the most part). I liked the story, but even though it was several years ago I still remember being bothered by the language and sex. I prefer books without either, but there are some with both that I feel are great books and the sex or language served a purpose that was relevant to the book and what it was telling/teaching, but it was just weird in this book. From what I remember it wasn't even the sex scene that bothered me most, it was the witch lady talking about what she heard.

I can see both sides here. I can see how this might offend a sensitive reader, and yet, I have started (and abandoned) so many modern books that are MUCH more graphic. I personally like Enchantment, but I can see your perspective, Jen, and I think the reason the commenters got riled up is that the book is actually much milder than so many modern novels these days. Just my two cents on how I felt about it.

Karren wrote: "I can see both sides here. I can see how this might offend a sensitive reader, and yet, I have started (and abandoned) so many modern books that are MUCH more graphic. I personally like Enchantment..."

Karren, I agree with you. And maybe that's why so many people aren't bothered by it ... this book may be mild by modern standards. But for me, it is still offensive & the unecessary nudity & sexual comments seem juvenile. Isn't this a great website where we can share our opinions and let others share theirs!? Thanks for your comment.

Mary Anne wrote: "I'll back you up too (for the most part). I liked the story, but even though it was several years ago I still remember being bothered by the language and sex. I prefer books without either, but t..."

thanks Mary Anne... I guess not everyone agrees with me, which is fine. But I appreciate a forum where I can share my opinion as freely as everyone else!

Good for you Jen, for standing up for your principles. I agree that people like different things in books, and some people are offended by things others aren't. As a prominent LDS author, I happen to agree that Card has a responsibility he's not living up to. He's using his talent to entertain and give the public what they want instead of uplifting and strengthening the spiritually weak. I couldn't get through it.

I mean to say since Card is a prominent author. (I'm certainly not one.)

Wow, Jen, your moral review has just made me want to read the book even more. Thank you for picking my curiosity. I look forward to reading this forbidden piece of fruit. As for nudity, who cares? We were born that way, created in the image of God.

P.S. You might as well not read your scriptures, as they are full of incest, murder, immorality, and so forth. I'm actually not trying to be smarmy or smart alecy with that comment, but I honestly think Card is pretty tame compared to the subject matter in the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

I liked Ender's Game but since Card is against same sex marriage I refuse to buy any of his books.

*I* am a sensitive reader.

If sex is in a book it had better have a reason to be there, and I still don't want the details.

That said, I would like to argue that what this reviewer, Jen, calls unnecessary sex is not only very very necessary, but a wink in a long hard three hour stare of a story.

Characters that don't need to be in a story get cut by the publisher, stories that don't have a theme or a point are generally better dished out in our non-news. And stories that lack a reason to be written are just words on paper, or some other form of base gratification.

So, I dislike that creeped out feeling I get when I think a publisher is trying to deliver some kind of pheromonal gratification in lieu of story.

But in Enchantment, There is one scene with only implied sex - months after they've been married (or centuries, depending).

There is no swearing. I'm certain of it. Unless as one reader pointed out, you count *the word* 'lewd', or *the word* 'curse'. And I have yet to see anyone cite a page with a swear word. That's an invitation.

Each time the characters cross over the bridge, they are nude on the other side - which is both a literary device (symbolic of rebirth) and a plot device (shapes the action the characters can take and shows marked cultural differences, the conquest of which is the *entire point* of the story - Ironic isn't it? - that getting over cultural barriers is the moral).

In no way is the sex that is never described obscene. I know plenty of mormons who wouldn't bat an eye at it...yet, I do know others who think Amalie is an inappropriate movie because the boy works in a dirty video store - which is also important, as it shows how shy Amelie is - and it also barely registers.

So bottom line is, Enchantment is a love story about two people so destined to be together that nothing Ivan does can change it. Their fate gets carved in cosmic cement. They are married in spirit years before they are actually married (or negative centuries, if you like). And they have undescribed sex, once, long after they are actually married - not an accident that this is the turning point for our hero. What little sex occurs - is absolutely necessary.

One final note to the poor reviewer who found that all these people had descended on her review: There are very few reasons to argue with someone else's opinion, but knowing these might explain why. If the person's opinion is uninformed (i.e., they haven't actually read the book), or if there is a factual inaccuracy (which I think there may be here), then it is common to find yourself in the fray.

This is because the way the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ site is laid out, there is a tremendous overlap between the author space, the book space, the individual reviewers space, and other reviewers of the same book. Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ is unique in that way, and I feel bad if the strong disagreements are upsetting - but I don't think any of it is personal. People are just correcting what they see as an inaccuracy on shared space.

Well said, Planchette!

Thanks for this review. You kept me from letting my kids hear this in the car. My boys are younger, and I was thinking that the Ender's Game was fine for listening, why not this? I would have been upset with the language and sexual content for my 7, 10, and 13 year old boys.

I literally finished this book less than an hour ago, and I'm starting to wish I read whatever version this reviewer read, because it certainly would have been more interesting! I have no reason to defend this book, as it isn't a favorite and I'll likely never read it again, but there's being a "sensitive reader" and there's being unrealistic. I found nothing gratuitous in this book; if there is a cuss word here and there (which, honestly, I don't recall), then it's because that is how (most average) people speak. The discussion of nudity is negligible. There is no graphic description of a character's arousal or genitalia, or sexual activities. In fact, I believe the word "sex" is never mentioned; the act is never named. It is merely implied by the writer to be inferred by the reader.

In general, I don't care if someone likes a book or not, unless the reason they give is unsupportable. And, I find this reasoning to be unsupportable. And, unless an author is writing a book that is specifically categorized in a religious genre, his or her religion shouldn't be a factor. A writer's number one job is to tell a good story. Whether this fits that particular assessment is left up to the individual. But, if the author is so concerned with spreading a "message" that it becomes heavy-handed, then he has failed.

I have no issue with someone being offended by something that doesn't offend me. However, I do think that in mentioning your offense, there should be a modicum of accuracy. This review read more like someone had accidentally picked up Fifty Shades of Grey rather than Enchantment.

Christine wrote: "I actually had the opportunity to take a writing workshop from this author and one of the things he said, that I'd almost forgotten, was that he has sometimes been accused of having foul language in his books. It's not there..."
I'll accept the fact that Card uses expletives in his writing. It's what the reading public has come to expect, so why would he adhere to his much-touted family values when he could, instead, entertain the jaded masses? What I cannot accept is him (or his fans) denying this fact. I recently finished Shadow of the Hegemon in which appeared expletives such as b***ard, b**ch, h*ll, d*mn, and sh** to name a few. Yes, they're "lesser" curses but just because Card doesn't use the F word in his writing, does NOT mean they're free of foul language. If Card wants to play the victim of religious zealotry, that's fine, but don't expect anyone to believe you when you say "it isn't there."
I had a friend that went to one of the same writing workshops. He said Card was so infatuated with himself that it's a wonder anyone fit in the same room with his head.
That being said, I'm still reading his books, so I guess that says a lot about my own hypocrisy.

Hey Jen, thanks for this review. I appreciate your willingness to go out on a limb and point out inappropriate content like this. When it comes to entertainment, I feel that the price of putting up with content that leaves you feeling dirty is much too high.

For those of you saying you won't read this because you have been warned not to do so now, I think this review is inaccurate.

I just finished this book and there were no curse words in it. Yes, an evil witch is "putting curses" on people (because it is a retelling of a fairytale, but that's what the book says: "she cursed him," but it is false and inaccurate to claim that Card uses curse words in this book in the way that we view curse words).

Moreover, the "sex" scene is described as a husband and wife finally consummating their marriage by her basically saying she had been told by other women that "it" would be painful, but he had been nothing but tender and gentle with her. That is not graphic nor offensive.

There are a few juvenile "naked" scenes (in typical Card fashion) where magic renders characters naked and the man's circumcision is mentioned and the culture in which the main character finds himself has different views on the shame of nakedness than Puritan cultures, but it's a good lesson on multiculturalism.

I'm curious if the reviewer of this book has actually read it, or whether she is just really easily offended.

If I were so inclined, I would be more offended by Card's implication that one can "wear" a religion whenever one chooses to do so at one's convenience, than by anything else in the plot.

Jen, here's an app I think you might find useful. (It allows you to take mature content out of eBooks, but it's also an awesome fan fiction tool.) Here's the link:

Wow. I was not going to read Card again (his views are unacceptable) but your review might just want to make me read this.

This book may not be the most amazing literary work ever, but I enjoyed the way Ivan and Katerina came to fall in love by being themselves and being honest. Instead of a book about a one night stand or a couple living together. It is actually nice for adults or older teens to read about healthy sex in a marriage especially when it's not graphic. Im surprised anyone thinsk Enders game is appropriate for 7-10 year olds, the violence is pretty horrific. I can't imagine letting my son read/listen to it. So far Pathfinder is the most appropriate Card I've read but a little confusing plot for younger readers. Anyway everyone has their own standards for books, which I think is fine. If you aren't ready to read this, come back to it after you're married and you'll appreciate It then. It's a good light read with an interesting cultural slant.

I'm not overly sensitive to swear words in a book, but for those who say there is none, that is not true. I'm in the middle of this book right now and have encountered b**** (twice) and a**. And seriously I could do without the excessive mention and description of circumcision and the fact that the princess will have to make babies.

Well, if anyone wants to find out for themselves what kind of profanity, bad language, etc. is featured in this book, you can quite easily do so with a quick search in the "Look Inside" feature on Amazon (just conducted a search and found several good examples of inappropriate language). Maybe the argument in this discussion is really over what is considered "bad language" and what is not.

Jennifer, you're likely right. I just re-read the kindle sample and found not a single word I found objectionable or what I would deem "foul" language. The word "penis" is used. Is that considered objectionable or foul? Perhaps the review needs to provide examples of what The reviewer would define as objectionable language. To me, foul language means using actual words that are deemed curse words, not words like "penis" or "circumcision."

Maria, I'm not talking about the reading sample. And, yes, the reading sample doesn't have anything objectionable (at least from a quick perusal).

To see what I'm talking about, you have to use the "search inside book" feature in the "look inside" of the paperback edition (not the kindle version). You can search for any term that you desire. In this book, you can find words such as d*** and other profane words.

This reviewer is insane. It's his loss if he never reads any more of Card's books. His review smacks of trolling specifically to see what kind of response he can get.

I totally agree with you. I feel exactly the same way. This was one of the few books I just couldn't stand.

I read this review when I was about 1/3 of the way in to the book, and it had me completely baffled. I kept thinking that I would wait until the end to see what the reviewer was talking about. Now that I'm finished, I can only barely see the reviewer's point, although I didn't have anything like her reaction to the story. The nudity is there, but it's not described in any meaningful way, and it certainly is not sexualized. The sex isn't even really there. Sure, it's mentioned, but it is the equivalent of a movie in which two characters kiss, then there's a fade to black, and then it's the next morning. The only curse words I can remember was the b---- word, as in "son of a b," and that happens only a handful of times. All in all, it was a very mild, PG-rated experience. (If it were filmed showing some of the nudity, it might be PG-13, but filmmakers have ways of having nude characters without showing the nudity.)

I think this would be a fine book for teenagers on up. The only reason teens might not like it would be the somewhat bland, dry moments of the book. The main character is an academic, and his focus on preserving language, while an interesting idea, played itself out in a more tedious manner than was necessary, IMO. Otherwise, though, I would have no objections to my son reading this in his early teenage years.

The first half was rather good ,but then .. cheesy love story and happy ending bad as hell. I won't be reading anything by Orson Scott Card again too.

I can't believe my review from years ago is still stirring the pot. I'll let you all debate it. I will answer a couple questions you might have: i DID ACTUALLY read the book. I have been married for 16 years, so yes, I was married when I reviewed it. Yes, I am super sensitive. I like to think it's because I am careful what I read and have not been DESENSITIZED like most of the "real world". I WILL NOT re-read it to find examples to support my opinion. That is ridiculous. That was my opinion then, and I thought maybe someone would like to hear my super-sensitive review. Take it or leave it. I was not trying to make people mad, I honestly thought someone should speak up! THANK YOU to anyone who respectfully commented, giving me the benefit of the doubt. Some of y'all are just mean.

Thanks, Jen! I really appreciate your honesty and also appreciated your review.

Thank you!! Thanks for your thoughtful comments too!!

Just curious, Is it every Mormon's job to uplift and strengthen? I'm honestly asking. Is a member of LDS not allowed to have a job that is purely entertaining and perhaps 'uplift' in other parts of his/her life? Inquiring minds, you know.

If this was marketed as a children's book, it would be extremely inappropriate. For a society where even conservative religious people can't grow up at least knowing of the existence of sex, (I was even homeschooled through highschool and never knew anyone over junior high that didn't), it's really not bad. This book acknowledges it, but not, as far as I can tell, to incite any lust. In the Bible, sex is definitely mentioned. Even when it was wrong and awful (the stories of David, Judah, Samson, and the raping of Tamar and Jacob's daughter Delilah just to mention some incidents). Not to say Card had to mention it, I think his story could have ignored it, but I don't think it was inherently wrong. I agree with whichever commenter from earlier who mentioned that it was nice to have a book speak about sex as a healthy thing within the confines of marriage. Most people in America don't even consider abstinence till marriage a feasible option, so it's nice to have a book that addresses it that way. I will say some of the bawdy jokes were unnecessary, but they weren't wildly inappropriate. As for the cursing, it was mild enough that while I might be disturbed if a book advertised as Christian had used them, they weren't at all shocking for a standard book, or for someone who interacts with non-religious people. I wouldn't use them myself, but they didn't offend me. However, I'm a Christian Jew, not a member the LDS Church, so I imagine I have a different perspective. All that to say, if you are offended by this book, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, and I'm glad you posted! I would hate for a child to read this thinking it was a kids' book, and plenty of adults, married or not, would find it beyond inappropriate. It sucks to find out in the middle of a book that you can't finish it because its immorality goes too far. Thanks for posting!

While I wasn't impressed by the book's ending, it even seemed unnecessary and could be cut entirely, overall I would not let this one book keep you away from Card, his Ender's Game is spectacular (it's about much brighter children and there's no sex!)!

Ignore this review. Utter nonsense.

Thanks for your honest review. I tried to read ender's game recently and just couldn't finish it. Will probably try again at some point since I love the movie (and the idea behind it) so much.

I am utterly gobsmacked by your review. I wouldn't tell you that you should like the book if you don't, but I haven't seen the obscenities you mention. Are we even talking about the same book?