The Messiah of Morris Avenue Audiobook By Tony Hendra cover art

The Messiah of Morris Avenue

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The Messiah of Morris Avenue

By: Tony Hendra
Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
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In The Messiah of Morris Avenue, Tony Hendra—the acclaimed satirist and New York Times bestselling author of Father Joe—poses the question: would we recognize the messiah if he appeared today? And delivers, in the words of Frank McCourt, “just what the country needs now—a good dose of merriment in the face of crawthumping righteousness.”

In the not so distant future, the tide of righteousness—in the form of executions, barking evangelists, tank-like SUVs, and a movie industry run entirely by the Christian right—has swept the nation. Aside from the non-white, the non-Christian, and the non-wealthy, all are believers.

Among the skeptics is a washed-up journalist named Johnny Greco, who hears of a media-shy young man known as “Jay” roaming through ghettos, healing the sick, and tossing off miracles. Soft-spoken and shabbily dressed, Jay is an unlikely savior for this anxious and intolerant America.

But as he makes his rounds, gathers followers, and makes furious enemies among the righteous powers that be, Johnny finds it harder and harder to doubt him.

©2006 Tony Hendra (P)2006 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC Christian Fiction Dystopian Fiction Genre Fiction Science Fiction Witty Heartfelt

Critic reviews

"Hendra writes a heart-wrenching Passion story." (Publishers Weekly)

"This is satire with a thoughtful heart, comedy with a serious message." (Booklist)
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This book really gets at the heart of what may happen, better yet what really is happening in our beloved country. It is more than just a social satire or political narrative about modern religion and the associated politics. It may one day be deemed as prophecy. Take a good listen to this incredible story. It might make you take a good look inside yourself. This book is well worth the time and money.

Really Great Story

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This was a great book, if you don't like books with racially biased undertones I say approach with caution. For example The Messiah of this book is Latino, battling against a group who believes Jesus to have blonde hair and blue eyes, almost entirely rejects him as the second coming of Jesus. Without spoiling too much of the book, he is at a point told that if he was Jesus, he would've been hunted regardless just for not looking the way they expect him to.

The author has a deep understanding of Jesus and his portrayal is spot on. Onto the narration, it is well done, but I'm not sure at times whether the narration completely captures the mannerism of all the characters (mainly the female characters). Otherwise I enjoyed this audiobook and would recommend at least giving it a chance to formulate your own opinion.

Great Read

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This starts off as cute, fairly light social and religious satire, but becomes quite dark in the final third of the listen. It contains more theological and spiritual reflection than most audiobooks on those subjects. Unfortunately the novel is more relevant than when it was published.

It's not flawless satire, but the author deserves much more exposure for this novel for taking on (and so well) Empire Christianity.

This is definitely not for the "Left Behind" fan (since Jay refers to the rapture as the "crapture"), but it would be a healthy challenge to anybody who tends toward that kind of religious fiction.

If it were to be made into a film, Jon Stewart would be a great Johnny Greco, and Stephen Colbert, the Rev. Jimmy.

an anecdote for sentimental spirituality

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would definitely recommend this audiobook to a friend. The performance was consistent and well-paired to the novel. While the author's version of a future hijacked by religious doctrine is well thought-out and a terrifying but fascinating thing to imagine.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Definitely Pastor Bob, it's like Buddy Christ from Dogma but with speaking power.

Have you listened to any of John Bedford Lloyd’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have never heard any other performances by the narrator so I cannot compare.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

When all religion breaks loose, the messiah's return will not be televised.

Creative (creation?) dystopian novel

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