Greetings, once again! 👋🏽
I hope you are doing well and taking good care of yourself.
Thank you for reading another edition of The Reader’s Perspective newsletter.
Still in the spirit of Easter, today’s newsletter reviews A Righteous Man, a short story about a missionary to a village in West Africa in the nineteenth century, who suffers a crisis of faith. The cleric, Nathaniel, writes about his experiences in letters to Theresa, his wife.
“I was asked earlier today why I believe in God. And it was elemental a question, so assumed a belief, that at first I struggled for an answer. You might as well ask why I believe in gravity or the movement of celestial bodies. When the sun is out, do you not believe in the heat you feel?”
This story about deliverance, friendship, and evolution is the fifth book of six in the Tresspass collection, a series of wild and unsettling stories ranging from horror to magical realism.
Nathaniel is at first, amazed at this new place to which he has been sent as a messenger of God to preach to the people and establish a church. He feels incredibly blessed to be there but things start to get awry rather quickly.
As he gets acquainted with his new surroundings and the people of the village, he soon realizes that nothing is truly as it seemed initially. He is soon frustrated as he discovers that he can hardly communicate with them, let alone preach to them as only a handful understand English. He identifies a young boy who translates for him, but he fears that the essence of his teaching is sometimes lost on them.
“How easily can one understand the greatness and omnibenevolence of our God if one’s crops have failed or if one’s child has perished from sickness? Isn’t it hypocrisy to try introducing alien fruit to a spirit caged in a body with more immediate needs? I am preaching to a drowning man from the safety of my boat.”
When slavers came and pounced on the villagers, he felt helpless. All the cleric’s efforts are floored by the realities the members of his congregation are now presented with. He takes ill shortly after witnessing a procession of slaves. As he lay in bed, his translator, Solomon brings news of things happening in the village—including the mauling of one of the hyena men.
“That I am like the father, very much a mystery to himself, who screams at his child, “I love you,” not realizing that the medium has corrupted the message?”
Nathaniel is afraid that the devil is at work. After his strange illness abates, he experiences a significant spiritual upheaval as he begins to question his purpose and even his humanity. He seems to become one with the people and animals in the village. In the end, however, he feels God’s love.
Although this book is less than 30 pages long, it leaves you with so much to unpack. Also, it’s not written in simple language so beware.
Have you read this book? What did you think about it? Leave a comment, maybe? If you read this book after reading this review, do come back and share 😊