Purple

by John Saad

It is the Eve of the Glorious Feast of the Resurrection. A broken and embittered fellow wheels himself from the streets of Melbourne and into the Holy Church, determined to throw himself at the steps of the sanctuary. But this broken and embittered fellow is left entirely undone, for he comes face-to-face with Truth and Beauty herself.

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This book is a novelette. A novelette is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than a novel, but longer than most short stories.

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About the
John Saad is an Australian-Egyptian member of the Coptic Orthodox Christian Faith. He has a background in Education and Theology, and is currently teaching high-school English and Religious Education at an independent faith-based school in Victoria.

128 pages, Paperback

Published January 29, 2025

Reviews

[Raphael Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are very few reasons that could lead me to ever pick up a new book while I'm already in the middle of one, but the publication of my good friend John's debut novella is certainly one of them.

This story took me on the most beautiful trip through grief and despair, up to the lofty heights of Christ's resurrection. The interweaving of biblical, liturgical, and familiar [to those who are local to Melbourne] references to create an entirely unique narrative was a joy to experience, and the Beauty of the protagonist's transformation is stellar.

The prose is gripping, the emotion is inescapable, and the author leaves you meditating on your own inwardly state of depravity, not with despair but, with hopeful expectation.

Loved it.

[Jolie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw, emotional and beautiful. This book refreshed my eyes and my soul to the beauty that is the traditions I so often have taken for granted. Overall it was well written and the story was well thought out. I hope to read more by John saad.

[RITA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely astonishing. Please, publish some more.

[John Saad]

Yes, i read my own book.

I forgot most of its contents, so it was a strange experience reading it as a reader and not an editor

"It felt as though a minuscule prick, perched right at the edge of my chest and facing inward, was puncturing my beating heart with every iteration, injuring it ever so slightly with each beat, so that my heart could only flutter all the more rapidly, wounding itself further and further, endlessly, endlessly, until it seemed it might tear itself apart…!"

God, I was not doing great when I wrote this line 😭

[muka · Rating 5 out of 5]

“And then I was sure of it. That, all along, even from my dingy little corner at the bottom of the street, they had not, after all, left me down there and ascended up here…no, not once.”

what a beautiful story packed with so much imagery. i pray that we can always see the face of Christ in all those that we pass

[Gabriel Safar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean its not bad.. can't complain honestly.