Messiah of Morris Avenue, TheAuthor: Hendra, TonyGenre: Humor Publisher: Henry Holt and Company Released: 2006 |
A Review by Kim Lumpkin
05/11/2006
Basically, just as the musical Godspell set the story of Jesus in the age of flower power, Messiah takes the Gospel story and places it into a hypothetical world in the not-too-distant future. The narrator of the story is a jaded journalist named Johnny Greco, who we meet as he covers the Academy Awards, hosted by the Reverend James Zebediah Sabbath. The narration cleverly shifts between Greco's "live" coverage of the event and his wry commentary as he describes how the religious right, led by Sabbath, "took over" Hollywood, including the changing of the famous sign to read "HOLYWOOD":
Of all the depredations – or, depending on your point of view, improvements – the Reverend had inflicted n the movie capital over the last few years – control of budgets, final review of scripts, and veto of studio heads, to all of which it had eventually succumbed – the sanctification of the Hollywood sign was where it dug in its heels. Only by a dint of massive bribery had the Reverend's patsies on the LA city council prevailed. With days to spare, the offending L had been hauled down and, it was rumored, sold for a fortune to a movie producer in Bombay.
While the Reverend and the fundamentalism he represents are the main villains in this story, Hendra doesn't spare liberals, either. After the Reverend and his followers turn "Holywood's" fortunes around, the liberal elite who once opposed everything he stood for now "sat up straighter in their seats, hoping to be recognized" when he called out their names – "men and women who once raised countless millions to put this man out of business or made impassioned speeches to huge rallies, denouncing him as a heartless monster."
Enter Jose "Jay" Kennedy, a young man from a poor Guatemalan immigrant family who begins to attract attention with the miracles he performs. It doesn't take long for Greco to figure out that Jay isn't your garden variety fake messiah (he doesn't seem to even want any publicity, for one thing), and he becomes increasingly interested in helping Jay spread the word of simple faith that is such a contrast to what religion has become. Yet he hardly becomes a mindless servant, and even goes against Jay's wishes in his desire to tell as many people as possible about the new messiah. Jay insists that his message is meant to be shared face-to-face, not on television or over the Internet, a message that Greco, as a reporter and believer in the power of the media, has a difficult time accepting.
There are no real surprises as Jay's story moves towards its inevitable conclusion, but the characters, over-the-top as some of them are, keep things interesting. The descriptions of Jay and the effect he has on Greco are particularly poignant. The Messiah of Morris Avenue may be a little too extreme to be taken seriously as a cautionary tale, but Hendra's gentle humor makes it worth a read for anyone who enjoys a fresh, often funny take on the most well-known story in the world.
© Copyright ToxicUniverse.com 05/11/2006
