Contemporary Adult Fiction/Satire
Date Published: June 1, 2021
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
The Jesus Nut tells the parallel stories of three unlikely pilgrims—a reviled professor, a delusional homeless veteran, and a priest who loves strip clubs—searching for the greatest religious relic of the 21st century. Thrown together after a raucous showdown with evangelists, they decide to ignore their differences and work as a team in pursuit of their holy purpose. Their journey to New York City leads to a fateful encounter with a former advertising executive, whose mad ramblings suggest he might be the very oracle to help them fulfill their destiny.
A quirky, subversive novel that addresses timely issues and lampoons evangelical hypocrisy, The Jesus Nut ultimately reveals itself to be a story of second chances and agape love. Along the way, you'll meet self-righteous academics, a curious and ambitious stripper, a farmer with a remarkable peanut, a trucker fascinated by the constellations, a profane church maintenance crew, and more. Prepare for an irreverent journey which will remind you of the value of friends and the miraculous power of faith.
Dr. Haley
Berkshire was a tenured professor of Religious Studies who did not believe in
God.
Her
natural cynicism—born of a zealot mother and an alcoholic father and refined through
the belittling dictates of the nuns at Saint Mary Margaret of Grace Elementary
School in Houston, Texas—led her to reject Catholicism, as she quickly tired of
allegedly celibate old men sprinkling incense and rebranded water and singing
in off-key Latin. In high school, her contempt spread to all Judeo-Christian
faiths and their fantastic stories about spontaneously
combusting shrubbery, a 900-year-old man,
a sailor’s three-day weekend in the digestive system of a whale, a floating
zoo, and of course a carpenter’s restorative and self-levitational powers. Old
Testament or New, she decided it was all hogwash.
During
her undergraduate program in History, she rejected Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism,
and Confucianism. As a grad student in Anthropology, her disdain grew to
encompass the belief systems of Sikhs, Wiccans, Druids, Baha’is, Shintoists,
and Jains. Finally, while earning her Ph.D. in Religious Studies, she rejected
African diasporic faiths, Native American spiritual beliefs, mysticism,
shamanism, Zoroastrianism, agnosticism, atheism, and her first husband, who was
a Lutheran.
***
“In the great
metropolis of the modern world,” recited Jesse from memory, “a place both west
and east, in a gathering place used by many.”
“New York City,”
said O’Shea.
“Central Park,”
added Berkshire.
“Look to the
strategizers, who tarry at games but know much more,” Jesse continued.
“Chess and
Checkers House?” proposed O’Shea.
“I agree,” replied
Berkshire.
“Me, too,” added
Jesse, smiling.
Berkshire turned
to Jesse. “Chapter thirteen, verses five and six, word for word,” she said.
“I’m impressed.”
“We share the
same goal,” O’Shea said, “even though we have different reasons. I’m on a
spiritual pilgrimage. “You,” he added, nodding at Berkshire, “are on an academic
one. And Jesse’s quest is—”
“Anatomical?”
Berkshire interjected.
O’Shea chuckled.
“I was going to say epistemological, but yes, that too.”
Contact Links
Facebook: John Prather, Writer
Twitter: @JohnPrather3
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