It's 2012 and Jesus Christ returns to earth,
to a "fair little city," where he is completely ignored, dismissed
and scoffed at as "another mentally ill street preacher." But one day
on the Crystal Creek golf course, when Jesus, wearing "a grayish robe tied
by a thick rope around the waist...his hair...long and swept across his
shoulders with each practice swing" strikes up a conversation with Neil, a
middle-aged man in familial and financial crises, things take a dramatic turn.
Jesus is desperate to make his presence known. He enlists Neil's help, as He decides
to seek media attention in a secular world driven and preoccupied by
technology, materialism and self-indulgence. The two hatch a plan to rob a bank
in order to benefit their mutually desired goals.
The hilariously flawed execution of
their plan snowballs in The Book of Neil,
a smart, amusing story about faith and the nature of belief in the modern
world. Author Frank
Turner Hollon (Blood
and Circumstance, Austin
and Emily) narrates Jesus' return to earth via the points-of-view of
those whose lives He touches, an array of believers and doubters: Neil,
suffering pre and post-robbery panic; the skeptical police chief in town; a bank
teller who feels a sudden "peace come over her" during the robbery; a
New York Times reporter eager to
launch the story of the "Jesus-Bandit"; and even the President of the
United States.
Unexpected twists and turns shape The
Book of Neil. At the end, on the rapid
approach to a chilling climax, the engrossing, satirical aspects of this novel suddenly emerge in a whole new light, and Hollon's literary craftsmanship leaps from mere entertainment into a much
deeper, thought-provoking epiphany.
Publication Date: November
16, 2012
Please note: This review is a
reprint and is being posted (in a slightly different form) with the permission
of Shelf
Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness:
Reader's Edition (12/11/12), click HERE.
different
character’ point of view. Not only Neil, but Edwin (the police