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2.5
This is a cute story about a father-daughter relationship after the mother has died... This is a religious/philosophical tale about the nature of faith and what lengths you should go to for the sake of your beliefs... This is a cute story about a father-daughter relationship after the mother has died... This is a religious/philosophical tale about the nature of faith and what lengths you should go to for the sake of your beliefs...This is... I don't even know. But more about that in a moment.

Purity gets an extra half star for Pearce's ability to be entertaining enough that you don't mind reading to the end even when the story kind of falls flat on its face. I found the same to be true with the only other novel of hers I have read - Sisters Red - in that the plot and especially the mystery weren't as satisfying as I had hoped for in a Red Riding Hood retelling but you could enjoy it and didn't experience any deep regret for having read it. But, having said that, I still think this may be where me and Ms Pearce part ways, I just don't have any desire right now to search out her other works.

The biggest question I have about Purity is: what the hell are you? What are you supposed to be? Where do you fit in? Are you serious or lighthearted? Because, on a serious note, the issues raised in this book about sexuality and religion are very relevant at this moment - more so in the United States than in Britain where I live. In some countries, politics and religion are so inextricably linked that questions about sexual conduct often come under political and public scrutiny: is it okay to have sex before marriage? Is it okay to have casual sex? Does god want people to be "pure"? So it wouldn't be surprising if Pearce was trying to make some kind of political or religious statement here, or alternatively just looking to explore this aspect of sex. But...

This book was very light-hearted. I get the feeling that Pearce wanted to explore a serious issue without scaring people off with too much religion and politics, but the result was a weird mixture of serious and light that really didn't work for me. She occasionally brings up deep questions about God and faith that feel out of place and, before any development is made in that direction, she quickly counteracts it with the light fluffy stuff again. This book was obviously suffering from an identity crisis that could have been solved if Pearce had stuck to one tone or the other. Personally, I think the lighter tone suits her work better and would have been more fitting with the characters, plus the religious aspect wasn't central enough in the novel to justify the occasional and random wandering off into philosophy land. If you are looking for a novel that handles the serious issue/light tone balance well, then I would recommend Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.

I would only recommend reading this if you're particularly looking for a new approach to the overdone "grief novel", it does take that kind of story in a new direction. But I wouldn't expect to find anything mind-blowingly original or thought-provoking here.