Jesus Boy

Preston L. Allen

Summary

“A consummate tragicomedy of African American family secrets and sorrows, and of faith under duress . . . a shout-hallelujah tale of transgression and grace.” —Booklist Sixteen-year-old Elwyn Parker is a member of the austere community of Christian believers at the Church of Our Blessed Redeemer Who Walked Upon the Waters, a devout and sincere piano prodigy who learns too late that the saintly girl he has had a crush on all his life is inexplicably pregnant and soon to be wed. Then the beautiful forty-two-year-old widow, Sister Morrisohn, in the midst of the confused emotions of her grieving, ends up in Elwyn's arms.  Despite the problems posed by their age difference and the strict prohibitions of their strong religious beliefs, Elwyn and Sister Morrisohn's love is true, and as it grows among the ascetics, abstainers, and holy ghost rollers of their church, it exposes with wit, poignancy, and insight the dark secrets and ancient crimes of the pious. In Jesus Boy, “by turns solemn and funny” (The New York Times), Elwyn learns through tragedy and epiphany that the holy are no different from the rest of us.  “Heartfelt and occasionally hilarious, Jesus Boy is a tender masterpiece.” —Dennis Lehane, New York Times–bestselling author of Mystic River and Since We Fell

Available since: 04/01/2010.

Print length: 369 pages.

Other books that might interest you

If I Loved You Less: A modern...

Aamna Qureshi

A joyful romantic comedy retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma!
“This book is perfect. IF I LOVED YOU LESS is a deeply romantic, laugh-out-loud love story with sizzling tension and beautiful descriptions that made me wish I was in Long Island in the winter. The world Qureshi has written is a comforting, magical little bubble full of characters with such depth and love for each other, and I want to burrow into the pages like a bookmark and never leave. A thousand stars." – Sarah Hogle, author of YOU DESERVE EACH OTHER
I know what you’re thinking: poor little rich girl, she has everything, what else could she possibly need? Well, I’m looking for the great love of my life, thank you very much.
For Long Island native Humaira Mirza, it’s always been about love – and she has the matchmaking track record to prove it. Having successfully found ‘the one’ for both her aunt and her sister, the twenty-three-year-old is ready to claim a bit of romance for herself.
The perfect candidate? The gorgeous Rizwan Ali. But as Humaira employs her unique skills to obtain the perfect match with Rizwan, she’s forced to endure the disapproval of family friend Fawad Sheikh who she’s known forever. Fawad and Humaira have long traded barbs but as her romantic meddling leads to unintentional misadventures, she realises something shocking – is she starting to care what Fawad thinks?Readers are loving If I Loved You Less
'I felt all the feelings. I learned things. I loved the characters. This was an excellent retelling of Emma' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'THE MUSLIM ROMANCE I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!!!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'This book is a love letter to love’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'This book had me tearing up’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'oh she really ate w this one, the easiest five stars i've ever given.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I really think the setting and culture worked fabulously. Everything just seemed seamless.'⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
In this top-tier American fiction, Qureshi masterfully weaves a wholesome and humorous tale that leaves readers yearning for more. The clean, crisp narrative and the vibrant Asian cultural elements make this book a must-read for all romance enthusiasts.
For fans of Aparna Verma (The Boy with Fire), Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner), Lauren Asher (Love Redesigned), Ana Huang (The Striker), and Donna Tartt (The Goldfinch).
HarperCollins 2024

Show book

The Book of Idle Pleasures

Tom Hodgkinson, Dan Kieran

From a founder and editor of The Idler, a gentle guide to goofing off—and finding stolen moments of contentment amid the madness of the world. 
 
In this inspiring book, expert Idlers Tom Hodgkinson and Dan Kieran stand up for the simple pleasures in life . . . by lying down for a nap. With its tongue firmly in its cheek, The Book of Idle Pleasures renounces our world of ever-growing consumer overload in favor of the timelessly true adage that the best things in life really are free. 
 
In its reflections on 100 simple pastimes—among them slouching, skipping stones, staring out the window, doodling, looking at maps, learning the names of trees, and, natch, taking a nap—The Book of Idle Pleasures is a charming celebration of simple pleasures for the sake of pleasure itself, making it a soothing antidote for our nonstop culture and an ideal restorative against the costly confusion of our daily existence. 
 
Praise for Tom Hodgkinson’s How to Be Idle 
 
“A true literary gem . . . irresistible.” —USA Today 
 
“A joyful tribute to how we could live . . . lovelyto be savored.” —Providence Journal

Show book

Even More Pretty Good Jokes

Garrison Keillor

Even more of a good thing: the latest collection of knee-slappers, toe-tappers, and groaners from A Prairie Home Companion Joke Shows. Did you hear the one about the paranoid dyslexic? He always thought he was following someone. . . . Why did ancient Romans close down the Coliseum? The lions were eating up the prophets. . . . Jokes are made for sharing, and everyone loves to laugh. This nonstop collection gathers the best jokes from four Joke Shows including the two most recent (3/8/2008 and 11/1/08), all recorded before live audiences at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. Performers include show regulars—Garrison Keillor, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Tom Keith—along with special guests. There’s music from the Guy’s All-Star Show Band, a Guy Noir sketch, a Ketchup sketch, and an unforgettable performance of “The Sound of Chickens,” a song that bears an uncanny resemblance to the Simon & Garfunkel classic “The Sound of Silence.” Except it really is about chickens, and while “The Sound of Silence” is dead serious, this version is just plain silly. (“And in the naked light I saw/Ten thousand chickens maybe more….”) So it’s everything fans want and expect: good jokes, good music, and a pretty darned good time.

Show book

The Antiques - A Novel

Kris D'Agostino

On the night of a massive hurricane, three estranged siblings learn that their father is dying. For the first time in years, they convene at their childhood home in Upstate New York, where the storm has downed power lines, flooded houses, and destroyed the family's antique store. 
 
 
 
The Westfalls are no strangers to dysfunction. But never have their lives felt so out of control. Armie is living in their parents’ basement. In Manhattan, Josef, a sex-addicted techie, is struggling to repair his broken relationship with his daughters. Their sister, Charlie, who works in Hollywood as a publicist for a wayward young actress, just learned that her son has been expelled from preschool. Amid the storm, they come together to plan their father's memorial service, only to learn his dying wish—they must sell his priceless Magritte painting. As their failures are laid bare, they discover that hope often lurks in the darkest of places. And so, too, can hilarity. 
 
 
 
A rollicking tableau of life in all its messy complexity, The Antiques is a heartbreaking, nimble, laugh-out-loud funny send-up of modern family life.

Show book

The Underachieving Ovary - A...

JT Lawrence

"Hilarious & Heartbreaking" ✮✮✮✮✮Will there be light at the end of the birth canal?  
Does the word ‘endometriosis’ make you want to stick a fork in your eye? No?  
Then perhaps this book isn’t for you. It’s funny, and (sometimes alarmingly) frank. It contains an impressive array of synonyms for ‘vagina’ and it’s certainly NSFW. 
It’s about having a devil womb and a hot knife lodged in a shoulder. It’s about becoming blackly bitter and twisted in infertility, and then slowly finding a way to untwist. 
It’s part memoir, part dark comedy, wrapped up loosely as a journal full of TMI and quirk. 
Let me put it this way: If Helen Fielding and Marian Keyes were to go through IVF, and use Caitlin Moran as a surrogate, this book would be their baby. 
'The Underachieving Ovary' is an honest and satisfying must-read for anyone battling endometriosis or infertility. Start reading it today. 
What readers are saying: 
"It's real, and raw, and remarkable, with laugh-out-loud, choke-on-your-tea moments." -- Melissa Delport 
"This book is just so brilliantly written. So funny. So sad ... a page-turner of a suspense story: I am in awe. Should this not be an Oprah choice?" -- Erica Platter 
Ready to spit tea out of your nose? Start reading now.

Show book

Ronald Reagan My Father - Stories

Brian Joseph Davis

Short stories from an author with “a roomy imagination, big appetite for the absurd, healthy sense of humor, [and] heightened sense for the telling detail” (Telegraph-Journal).   The elderly take to the streets at night for illegal and cathartic electric scooter racing. A copy editor suffers brain damage from West Nile virus and is suddenly filled with cannibalistic violence and award-winning minimalist poetry. Mayor McCheese visits a sexually repressed British couple in the early 1970s and touches their lives forever. A Texas doctor transplants the mind of a meth-addicted convict into the body of a suburban web developer.   Startlingly original, marked by vivid characters and a rich pop-culture sensibility, the short fiction in Ronald Reagan, My Father offer a bleakly hilarious vision that’s both human and uncanny.

Show book