Drab and uninspiring.
Jesus Christ heads to New Hampshire to assist an Army sniper home from Iraq in this earnest, sentimental debut.
How earnest and sentimental? Look no further than the name of Landis’ hero: Warren Pease. This conflicted soul (he’s nicknamed War, in case the message isn’t clear) spent his tour of duty as a precision killer of “high-value targets.” The circumstances of War’s return home aren’t made explicit until the end, but between the title and his brand-new buddy, it’s not hard to tell what’s happened. Jesus meets War on the beach and accompanies him as he visits with friends and family. Among them are Bethie, War’s longtime girlfriend; their daughter Dodie; Ryan, who stole Bethie’s heart after War went overseas; and Bethie’s father, a high-school English teacher who was a key inspiration during War’s youth. No one questions the presence of Jesus, introduced as War’s new friend Ray; Landis makes him a mix of easygoing wingman, comic relief and proof of salvation. Ray miraculously cooks multiple omelets from one egg at Bethie’s house; easily banters with bartenders and cops; and offers a sage presence as War wrestles with his lost love and memories of his time in Iraq. The only thing slightly tempering the novel’s footprints-in-the-sand piety is Landis’ deep knowledge about snipers. He has the technical lingo down, and on occasion he artfully renders the moral negotiations that War has had with himself about being a killer. The closing chapters feature a surprising amount of grit and gore, and there’s enough gallows humor and tough talk to give War’s experience an air of authenticity. Ultimately, though, the book is an unapologetic act of proselytizing, complete with wince-inducing lines like, “When it comes to Heaven, we all want to be a High-Value Target.”
Drab and uninspiring.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-58642-165-6
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Steerforth
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
These letters from some important executive Down Below, to one of the junior devils here on earth, whose job is to corrupt mortals, are witty and written in a breezy style seldom found in religious literature. The author quotes Luther, who said: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." This the author does most successfully, for by presenting some of our modern and not-so-modern beliefs as emanating from the devil's headquarters, he succeeds in making his reader feel like an ass for ever having believed in such ideas. This kind of presentation gives the author a tremendous advantage over the reader, however, for the more timid reader may feel a sense of guilt after putting down this book. It is a clever book, and for the clever reader, rather than the too-earnest soul.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1942
ISBN: 0060652934
Page Count: 53
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1943
This first novel, ostensibly about the friendship between two boys, Reuven and Danny, from the time when they are fourteen on opposing yeshiva ball clubs, is actually a gently didactic differentiation between two aspects of the Jewish faith, the Hasidic and the Orthodox. Primarily the Hasidic, the little known mystics with their beards, earlocks and stringently reclusive way of life. According to Reuven's father who is a Zionist, an activist, they are fanatics; according to Danny's, other Jews are apostates and Zionists "goyim." The schisms here are reflected through discussions, between fathers and sons, and through the separation imposed on the two boys for two years which still does not affect their lasting friendship or enduring hopes: Danny goes on to become a psychiatrist refusing his inherited position of "tzaddik"; Reuven a rabbi.... The explanation, in fact exegesis, of Jewish culture and learning, of the special dedication of the Hasidic with its emphasis on mind and soul, is done in sufficiently facile form to engage one's interest and sentiment. The publishers however see a much wider audience for The Chosen. If they "rub their tzitzis for good luck,"—perhaps—although we doubt it.
Pub Date: April 28, 1967
ISBN: 0449911543
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1967
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