Book Review: Jesus Swept

In his first published novel, Jesus Swept, Chapel Hill, NC author, James Protzman has managed to condense all the wisdom of the ancients into three simple phrases,”Do Good, Be Nice, Have Fun.”

I didn’t realize it until after I finished reading this story, but those six words sum up the philosophy I’ve been living most of my life. It’s reassuring to have one’s own sense of life confirmed in the pages of a novel. Especially one written by an author living less than an hour from one’s home.

Jesus Swept is a short, swift moving novel, written in alliterative prose, and revolves around a mysterious silver bracelet bearing the above inscription in an ancient Aramaic script.

The story begins with a short history of the title character, Gary Gray, aka Jesus, a young man raised by his recently deceased adoptive parents; an alcoholic, snake handling lay preacher and his artistic and abused wife. Gary’s adoptive mother had a talent for making and selling beautiful brooms, but her success brought her much misery at the hand’s of the snake handler.

When a house fire took his parent’s lives, Gary/Jesus inherited an old Airstream travel trailer and a small collection of hand crafted brooms, which he and his “disciples” put to use, sweeping sidewalks and raising money to build a church.

At the beginning of the story, the bracelet belongs to Jesus and is lost in the ocean, only to be found by Liz, a professional fund-raiser employed by Duke University. Soon, Liz encounters the other two main characters, Hook and Sinker, twin siblings who also inherited a decrepit travel trailer from a deceased, alcoholic parent. For most of the book, these characters and their associates are in various states of seeking the bracelet, its meaning, or both for reasons right and wrong.

This is not a novel for the squeamish or prudish reader. There’s a lot of drug abuse and heavy drinking, plenty of foul language (“Blessed are they who don’t say fucking all the time,” says Jesus, more than once.), and a few homo erotic scenes that made me squirm in discomfort, but that’s just the point!

Real life is often shocking, gritty, and even down right ugly; that’s exactly what makes this story come alive. There is love and hate, treachery and deceit, malice and compassion, greed and charity, and even a healthy dose of redemption to be found within these pages.

“Do good, be nice, have fun. These are the threads of a life fully filled.” For me, there’s a lot more to this story than just the superficial plot and a cast of memorable characters. It’s the summation of what I’ve known in my heart, and lived with my soul for most of the past many years.

Life is too short, and too precious to waste trying to force people into a societal box of our own design. Live and let live. Do the best you know how to do, at everything you attempt. Be nice, or at least be decent and humane; practice compassion and charity as often as your resources and ability allow; and above all, have fun – play hard, love deeply and often, and enjoy the time you have with the one’s you’re with. Tomorrow you may never have the opportunity again.

Protzman is correct, these are indeed the threads of a life fully filled.