The Messiah of Morris Avenue: A Novel
Tony Hendra
Language: English
Pages: 245
ISBN: 0312425392
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
The acclaimed satirist and 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 of Tony Hendra's novel, 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 antsy 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.
Sorry I Barfed on Your Bed (and Other Heartwarming Letters from Kitty)
State-approved license. Messiahs are not exempt.” More approving titters from the peanut gallery. “What ought to be on trial here is that law,” Jay said. The judge said, “Let me explain something, your Almightiness. While you’ve been up in heaven for the last two thousand years, we’ve developed a little system down here on earth called tripartite government. There’s an executive, a legislative, and a judiciary. We are currently in the judiciary, where we do not pass laws, we enforce them!”.
Mostly clicks and grunts, so we’ll call them Click and Grunt. From the love between Click and Grunt flowed all the tribes and races and nations and peoples and faiths and classes and colors and sizes and sexes of man- and womankind. Just as the Bible says, we are all one family that has endured from generation unto generation. Only the Bible didn’t get the number of generations right; since our first parents had their first child, there’ve been around twenty-five hundred generations. But the.
Your notebook or twinkling up your nostrils from that cup of coffee. We’re much less mysterious than the men of God want people to believe. That’s how they get power, right? God is so awesome you need a specialist to speak to him. Only we specialists have the guts to get close enough. Do not try this at home! “True, we’re the architect of all existence, but we’re also its super. We have to worry about the tiny stuff as well. Why is that microbe dying before it should in the intestine of a sheep.
“Charles Brown, forty-two years old: felony fraud, one conviction; interstate flight, one conviction; sale of narcotics, three convictions.” The screen wiped to a Philadelphia PD mug shot of Angela. Of Angela, Evan said, “Angela Wilkins, twenty-nine years old: public prostitution, eleven convictions; possession of narcotics, three convictions. Here’s a look at what Miss Wilkins does for a living.” Although it was breakfast time and this was a prayer club, the screen cut to a quick montage—but.
Was a moment of utter silence. Rodrigo said, “Did it come out?” “Not yet,” said Jay, “but it’s coming! Get outa there, cheese!” Another moment of silence; then Jay opened his eyes and took away his hands. I was close enough to see that Rodrigo was blinking rapidly. And smiling. But most people couldn’t see those details. I wished we’d had the overhead screens on, but Jay had forbidden it. Rodrigo looked around. Was he scanning or just trying to find his mom? She came from the side of the stage.