A Brief Eternity by Paul BeaumontMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
BOOK DESCRIPTION: One glorious spring day in London, Jesus Christ rudely interrupts the morning rush hour by returning to Earth. The Second Coming has begun and Jerry, hitherto oblivious to Jesus and all of his friends, finds himself transported to Heaven to live a new life in Paradise. And that's when his troubles really begin...
Witty, provocative, subversive and surprising, A Brief Eternity examines mankind's fondest wishes for love, redemption, happiness, immortality and, paradoxically, for death. Along the way it provides answers to the most important questions about the afterlife: what's the food like; who cleans the toilets; and how will the Islamic suicide bombers react when they realise they're all condemned to Hell, forever?
A Brief Eternity is best read soon, while there's still time. Just in case...
MY REVIEW: Because of my lifetime conditioning in relation to the Christian Jesus there were times when I felt very uncomfortable, particularly when the author had him swearing using very coarse language - but then the point of the book is to make the reader uncomfortable! This novel is wickedly incisive in its satirical critique of Christian fundamentalist, literalistic readings of the Hebrew and Christian bibles on salvation, heaven, hell and other related matters. Parts of it are laugh-out-loud funny and Beaumont presents genuine surprises in the plot. The writing is mature and easy to read - I couldn’t put it down. The ending of the book is brilliant! For those willing to read with an open mind and not easily offended, there is much to think about.
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment