JESUS AND JOHN
by Adam McOmber
Lethe Press. 224 pages, $15.
ADAM MCOMBER’S second novel, Jesus and John, is as readable, poetic, and thought-provoking as his first, The White Forest, along with his two well-regarded short story collections, This New and Poisonous Air and My House Gathers Desires. Once again he melds fairy tale and metaphysics in a story of imaginative depth, set in a faraway place and time—in this instance, ancient Rome and the biblical landscapes of Jerusalem and the Sea of Galilee, where McOmber introduces us to the quirks and conflicts of the soon-to-be-disciples as they come upon a strange character nearing collapse along the shoreline, ostensibly just back from his forty days in the desert. We meet the headstrong alpha male Peter, the shifty Judas, the ever-questioning Thomas, and “the one that Jesus loved,” John, famous for both his gospel and his favored place at Jesus’ side at the Last Supper and, later, at the foot of the cross and as the first disciple to enter the tomb.
____________________________________________________
