or :"Anne Rice Returns to Catholicism, Writes Book on Jesus at Age 7. Expect a Goth Freak-Out in 5...4...3..."
[via Metafilter] Call me an intellectual snob if you must, but I've made it a point to give Anne Rice's novels a wide berth. It's not that I've got anything against a good vampire story, it's just that many of the grown-ups I've encountered who have a large collection of her books would be lucky to get a two-digit score on an IQ test. My feelings on the matter are best summed up in a Simpsons gag in which Otto the pot-addled bus driver, who is staying over at the Simpsons' house, asks Marge for something to read: "Hey, Mrs. Simpson -- you got anything written from the vampire's point of view?"
I find it mildly amusing that Ms. Rice's upcoming novel, the first in a series, is taking an interesting direction that some of her legions of goth fans may find distressing:
In two weeks, Anne Rice, the chronicler of vampires, witches and—under the pseudonym A. N. Roquelaure—of soft-core S&M encounters, will publish "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt," a novel about the 7-year-old Jesus, narrated by Christ himself. "I promised," she says, "that from now on I would write only for the Lord." It's the most startling public turnaround since Bob Dylan's "Slow Train Coming" announced that he'd been born again.Even more strange: Kirkus Reviews gave it a star and calls it:
a triumph of tone -- her prose lean, lyrical, vivid -- and character. As he ponders his staggering responsibility, the boy [Yeshua -- the Hebrew name we know as "Jesus" -- Joey] is fully believable -- and yet there's something in his supernatural empathy and blazing intelligence that conveys the wondrousness of a boy like no other.
My curiosity is piqued now. I may have to purchase a copy.
I'll also have to keep an eye on LiveJournal for the next little
while. The goth freak-outs over the development should be amusing.
It may be time for some folks to re-read The Mopey Goth Handbook of Despair.
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