The Gospel of the Knife
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
The Nix family is contacted by a mysterious benefactor who wants to send Chris to an exclusive private school, no expense spared. Mr. Jay Dumont claims that Chris's grandfather saved his life during WWI, and though Grandpa Uvdall is dead, the debt remains to be paid. But as Chris will discover, there is a great deal more to it than that. He will have to accept and understand the Powers that have surrounded his family all his life, and learn to use his own magical gifts, if he is to survive Dumont's plan.
As he did with Dogland, Will Shetterly has used a deceptively simple tale to explore some very deep issues. The Gospel of the Knife explores questions of faith and responsibility, and the always complex relationship between man and God and the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Shetterly's sequel to Dogland (1997) finds Christopher Nix, a troubled adolescent, struggling through the cultural turmoil of 1969 Florida. While running from a trio of hippie-hating bullies, Chris manages to ride his bike across a murky pond while a pursuer sinks, but he later finds a hidden branch under the water and tells himself it must have supported him. Running away from home after a fight with his father, Chris winds up romantically and then literally entangled with CC, a wild young woman trying to escape her aunt's obsession with Jesus. Then his life changes radically when a rich stranger offers to fund his education at a fancy prep school. Chris soon learns the reason for the generosity, and the small miracles that appear to follow him wherever he goes: he's actually one of the elohim, a divine being in human guise. Shetterly seems to want to make some sort of point about adolescence and faith, but like the pond, his intent is often occluded, and not every reader will be able to make it to the far side.
