Hendra's black-comic Christian fundamentalist dystopia is read with a straight face and a glint in the eye by Lloyd. Lloyd himself sounds like one of the masculinist preachers who run America in Hendra's tale of fundamentalism run amok, his deep leading-man's voice occasionally dropping to a shivery whisper implying forthright conviction. If Lloyd's reading occasionally stays at the same level, it is apropos for Hendra's novel, in which a formerly raucous free society has been dampened by a wet blanket of religious disapproval and smiley-face family values. Lloyd must balance the opposing forces battling in Hendra's story: the spirit-sucking forces of a rigorously fundamentalist society, and the energy of a reborn Christ, now a soft-spoken Hispanic healer. Lloyd's reading makes it clear that he gets the joke and does a fair job of transmitting some of Hendra's impassioned religious conviction as well. Simultaneous release with the Henry Holt hardcover (Reviews, Jan. 16). (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
In The Messiah of Morris Avenue, Tony Hendra-the acclaimed satirist and New York Times bestselling author of Father Joe-poses the question: would we recognize the messiah if he appeared today? And delivers, in the words of Frank McCourt, “just what the country needs now-a good dose of merriment in the face of crawthumping righteousness.”
In the not so distant future, the tide of righteousness-in the form of executions, barking evangelists, tank-like SUVs, and a movie industry run entirely by the Christian right-has swept the nation. Aside from the non-white, the non-Christian, and the non-wealthy, all are believers.
Among the skeptics is a washed-up journalist named Johnny Greco, who hears of a media-shy young man known as “Jay” roaming through ghettos, healing the sick, and tossing off miracles. Soft-spoken and shabbily dressed, Jay is an unlikely savior for this anxious and intolerant America.
But as he makes his rounds, gathers followers, and makes furious enemies among the righteous powers that be, Johnny finds it harder and harder to doubt him.
In The Messiah of Morris Avenue, Tony Hendra-the acclaimed satirist and New York Times bestselling author of Father Joe-poses the question: would we recognize the messiah if he appeared today? And delivers, in the words of Frank McCourt, “just what the country needs now-a good dose of merriment in the face of crawthumping righteousness.”
In the not so distant future, the tide of righteousness-in the form of executions, barking evangelists, tank-like SUVs, and a movie industry run entirely by the Christian right-has swept the nation. Aside from the non-white, the non-Christian, and the non-wealthy, all are believers.
Among the skeptics is a washed-up journalist named Johnny Greco, who hears of a media-shy young man known as “Jay” roaming through ghettos, healing the sick, and tossing off miracles. Soft-spoken and shabbily dressed, Jay is an unlikely savior for this anxious and intolerant America.
But as he makes his rounds, gathers followers, and makes furious enemies among the righteous powers that be, Johnny finds it harder and harder to doubt him.
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The Messiah of Morris Avenue: A Novel
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The Messiah of Morris Avenue: A Novel
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Product Details
BN ID: | 2940169398625 |
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Publisher: | Macmillan Audio |
Publication date: | 04/04/2006 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
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