Everyone knows the story of the Three Wise Men who followed the Star and found the Baby Jesus lying in his manger in Bethlehem. But what if I told you that the “wise men” were nothing more than escaped convicted criminals who had stolen their priestly robes from unsuspecting victims and while fleeing Herod’s army, stumbled into a stable in Bethlehem in hopes of ditching their pursuers? And what if the leader of this gang of thieves and murders was someone both vile and virtuous, bloodthirsty and deeply sentimental, and as bitingly sarcastic as he is sincere? How did one of the most wanted men in Ancient Judea end up helping the Messiah and his earthly parents, Mary and Joseph, flee both the tyranny of Rome and Herod across the burning desert to safety in Egypt?
In Seth Grahame-Smith‘s Unholy Night, such a story is imagined in brilliant detail. This book is at times hilarious and rife with irreverence, reminding me of Christopher Moore’s Lamb, and at other times a deeply complex look at a flawed human being. A chorus of voices, from Mary and Joseph to Herod and Pontius Pilate, share in telling this mesmerizing tale, but it’s Balthazar’s voice that rises above them all and brings them together into a richly textured narrative about human weakness and the ultimate healing power of hope and forgiveness.
- Posted by Cori