A 5-star review of The Reluctant Jesus by Duncan Whitehead.

Okay, so you’re Jesus returned, but you don’t know it until you’re 33. And the Second Coming plays out in NYC with a talking cat that steals the show. God love it. The human condition requires humor. People take their religions so seriously these days and God has been laughing at us for a while now.

Whitehead shines in his epic tale well-told, almost a hero’s journey of funny stuff: dialog, scenes, settings, plus sparkling wit. Trust the British; they invented divorce and Episcopalians. Duncan gets it right in this Swiftian devotional: some parts subtle, sarcastic, ironic, and satirical.

Hold onto your rosary, mama, our Duncan is writing for the big guy in the sky, the grand audience of ONE. He puts a giggle in the hellfire and damnation that others are slinging hereabouts. The angels will gawp in wonder as I do a reading on Cloud Five at twilight tonight.