• About
  • Books I Declined to Review

Next book, please!

~ A book review blog

Next book, please!

Tag Archives: contempora

Nazareth, North Dakota by Tommy Zurhellen

08 Monday Sep 2014

Posted by Annette in review

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

contempora, literary fiction

In Nazareth, North Dakota Tommy Zurhellen retells the Christian gospels, changing the setting to the backwaters of this northern American state. He translates the well known biblical tale using modern characters and settings with which I immediately identified.

The chapters are given names like ‘The Annunciation’, ‘The Flight Into Egypt’ and ‘The Death of John The Baptist’ and each one reads like a short story. It would be quite possible to read any of these chapters and be satisfied with the completeness of the story therein. But when you read them together, what Zurhellen has created is an accessible literary delight. His writing is rich in metaphor and imagery and although the narrating character changes between the chapters, there is a continuity in the story arc that keeps the tale together.

I loved this book. Yes, we all know what the outcome of the story will be, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the journey. And yes, there is an elephant.

Tommy Zurhellen is working on a sequel to this book. I have one thing to say to him: hurry up!

Advertisements

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 6,075 other followers

Tags

anthology art biography contempora contemporary fiction craft & hobby creative writing crime crime fiction detective fiction drawing epic explicit horror fantasy feminism fiction gangs Glasgow graphic sex historical fiction horror how to humour inspiration literary fiction magic mindfulness murder mystery non-fiction novella painting photography police procedural psychological thriller science fiction scifi self help short stories speculative fiction steampunk Tartan Noir Thomas Hardy thriller writing
2016 NetGalley Challenge
Reviews Published
Frequently Auto-Approved

Professional Reader

200 Book Reviews

Advertisements

Blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy