BookFrontier
Jesus Boy by Preston L. Allen

Book

Jesus Boy

Kindle Edition

Preston L. Allen

WW Norton · Ebook · April 6, 2010

Reading lane: Literary Fiction

A majestic new novel that will launch Preston L. Allen into the ranks of Junot Diaz and Toni Morrison. “Allen has created a consummate tragicomedy of African-American family secrets and sorrows, and of faith under duress and wide open to interpretation.

At a Glance

Why This Clicks

Sharp Edges

A compact, edgy read with a literary bent and a built-in collector’s appeal.

Come here for

  • short-story energy
  • literary, book-club-friendly edges

Expect

  • fandom / author-following pull
  • a sustained read with stageable feel

Book Details

Authors
Preston L. Allen
Publisher
WW Norton
Published
April 6, 2010
Format
Ebook
Theme
Literary Fiction · Faith & Fiction
Reading lane
Literary Fiction

Affinity

Publisher Categories

  • Literary Fiction

  • Faith & Fiction

  • Black Fiction

About This Book

A majestic new novel that will launch Preston L. Allen into the ranks of Junot Diaz and Toni Morrison. “Allen has created a consummate tragicomedy of African-American family secrets and sorrows, and of faith under duress and wide open to interpretation. Perfect timing and crackling dialogue, as well as heartrending pain balanced by uproarious predicaments, make for a shout-hallelujah tale of transgression and grace, a gospel of lusty and everlasting love.” —Donna Seaman, Boo...

Read full description

A majestic new novel that will launch Preston L. Allen into the ranks of Junot Diaz and Toni Morrison. “Allen has created a consummate tragicomedy of African-American family secrets and sorrows, and of faith under duress and wide open to interpretation. Perfect timing and crackling dialogue, as well as heartrending pain balanced by uproarious predicaments, make for a shout-hallelujah tale of transgression and grace, a gospel of lusty and everlasting love.” —Donna Seaman, Booklist Into an austere community of Christian believers at the Church of Our Blessed Redeemer Who Walked Upon the Waters come the star-crossed Romeo and Juliet. In the world of Jesus Boy , Romeo is sixteen-year-old Elwyn Parker, a devout and sincere piano prodigy, who learns too late that the saintly girl he has had a crush on all his life is inexplicably pregnant and soon to be wed to another. Juliet is the beautiful widow, Sister Morrisohn, age forty-two, who, in the pain and confused emotions of her grieving, ends up in Elwyn’s arms. Despite the problems posed by their age difference and the strict prohibitions of their strong religious beliefs, Elwyn and Sister Morrisohn’s love is true. As it grows among the ascetics, abstainers, and Holy Ghost rollers of their church, it exposes with wit, poignancy, and insight the dark secrets and ancient crimes of the pious. In Jesus Boy , Allen demonstrates through tragedy and epiphany that the holy are no different from the rest of us.

Similar Books