Updated review/rating.
The more I think about this book, the less I like it and what I think it has to say. At first I thought it was just a little corny and overly dramatic and that's why it wasn't really working for me, but upon further reflection I think it's a bit more than that.
On one hand, I liked what the author has to say about the nature of humanity and how we can't be defined by one single characteristic - selflessness, kindness, bravery, etc. We can be all of these things at once or exhibit different qualities depending on our surroundings and circumstances. Or that bravery and selflessness are one and the same. I could go on and on. This is good stuff.
What I don't like, however, is the obvious contempt for the pursuit of knowledge. Erudite, the faction that values learning above all else, are the clear villains in this story. I know someone had to be the villain here, but when I also know that the author is an Evangelical Christian I begin to feel that this wasn't an accidental choice.
Basically, and this is a big time spoiler so watch out, we have a war in which the intellectual, faithless elite attempt to brutally exterminate the pure, self-sacrificing faction (Abnegation - also the only faction that seems to have held on to any kind of religion).
So, yeah, I'm just not buying the Tea Party message she's selling here. Not only do I find this kind of thinking backwards and dangerous, but by making the erudite so wholly evil (so dedicated to knowledge that they have completely lost their humanity) she has negated the one aspect of this book that made it compelling to me - that humans are complex and multi-faceted.
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