An entertaining comedy of errors that should especially appeal to Christian readers.
A local preacher’s simple decision turns an entire small town against him in this novel.
Everyone in Aucoin, Louisiana, thinks that Brad Johnson was born to be the preacher of Lee Community Church. Lately though, Brad’s life at church has become monotonous; he’s been longing to go on a vacation with his wife, Allison, and get away from “the sheer agony of trying to change the order of the worship service.” Behind a lot of that angst is the gruff and very traditional deacon named Earl Bishop. Like the church’s other deacons, Earl has become concerned about the amount of money the Christian congregation is bringing in and he blames Brad’s lackluster sermons. When Brad finds a $100 bill on the floor of his office, he never intends to steal from his own struggling church, but only a few hours later he finds himself needing to spend the money in an emergency at a gas station—a move that will set off Earl and the town’s gossip mill. By the end of a single day, the whole town believes that Brad has been driving through New Orleans with women passed out in the back of his car, doing drugs in his front yard, gambling with church money, and cheating on his wife with gas station clerk Sally Mae Watson—only some of which is true. For his novel, Frady (co-author: Staccato, 2011) sets up an impressive domino effect of mistakes and assumptions; he makes it enjoyable to see so much trouble stem from such a small decision. He also offers plenty of humor, pitting the sweet Brad against infuriating townspeople and putting him completely out of his element. (“I didn’t even know there were different kinds of lottery tickets,” Brad exclaims to a crowd at a gas station while trying his hand at a new vice.) At times, the author goes a bit too far with the frustrating small-town mentality—from the beginning, it’s hard to understand why Brad would put up with his deacons in the first place—but funny, fast-paced dialogue overall makes for rapid jokes and mostly lovable characters.
An entertaining comedy of errors that should especially appeal to Christian readers.Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5127-9582-0
Page Count: 274
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
These letters from some important executive Down Below, to one of the junior devils here on earth, whose job is to corrupt mortals, are witty and written in a breezy style seldom found in religious literature. The author quotes Luther, who said: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." This the author does most successfully, for by presenting some of our modern and not-so-modern beliefs as emanating from the devil's headquarters, he succeeds in making his reader feel like an ass for ever having believed in such ideas. This kind of presentation gives the author a tremendous advantage over the reader, however, for the more timid reader may feel a sense of guilt after putting down this book. It is a clever book, and for the clever reader, rather than the too-earnest soul.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1942
ISBN: 0060652934
Page Count: 53
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1943
Hoffman (The Red Garden, 2011, etc.) births literature from tragedy: the destruction of Jerusalem's Temple, the siege of Masada and the loss of Zion.
This is a feminist tale, a story of strong, intelligent women wedded to destiny by love and sacrifice. Told in four parts, the first comes from Yael, daughter of Yosef bar Elhanan, a Sicarii Zealot assassin, rejected by her father because of her mother's death in childbirth. It is 70 CE, and the Temple is destroyed. Yael, her father, and another Sicarii assassin, Jachim ben Simon, and his family flee Jerusalem. Hoffman's research renders the ancient world real as the group treks into Judea's desert, where they encounter Essenes, search for sustenance and burn under the sun. There too Jachim and Yael begin a tragic love affair. At Masada, Yael is sent to work in the dovecote, gathering eggs and fertilizer. She meets Shirah, her daughters, and Revka, who narrates part two. Revka's husband was killed when Romans sacked their village. Later, her daughter was murdered. At Masada, caring for grandsons turned mute by tragedy, Revka worries over her scholarly son-in-law, Yoav, now consumed by vengeance. Aziza, daughter of Shirah, carries the story onward. Born out of wedlock, Aziza grew up in Moab, among the people of the blue tunic. Her passion and curse is that she was raised as a warrior by her foster father. In part four, Shirah tells of her Alexandrian youth, the cherished daughter of a consort of the high priests. Shirah is a keshaphim, a woman of amulets, spells and medicine, and a woman connected to Shechinah, the feminine aspect of God. The women are irretrievably bound to Eleazar ben Ya'ir, Masada's charismatic leader; Amram, Yael's brother; and Yoav, Aziza's companion and protector in battle. The plot is intriguingly complex, with only a single element unresolved. An enthralling tale rendered with consummate literary skill.
Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4516-1747-4
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
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