Messiah: A Novel

by Andrei Codrescu

When two extraordinary young women--Felicity, a Creole orphan, and Andrea, an escapee from a Serbian POW camp--meet in New Orleans in December 1999, they realize that together they are destined to embody the Messiah as Armageddon rages across the World. 50,000 first printing. Tour.

Genres: Fiction, Romanian Literature, Horror

368 pages, Hardcover

First published February 19, 1999

About the author

Andrei Codrescu is a poet, novelist, essayist, and NPR commentator. His many books include Whatever Gets You through the Night, The Postmodern Dada Guide, and The Poetry Lesson. He was Mac Curdy Distinguished Professor of English at Louisiana State University from 1984 until his retirement in 2009.

Reviews

[Elena Papadopol · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5 stelute 😊

Ma asteptam la ceva mai wow, insa au fost destule momente de enervare si prea multe scene, descrieri si dialoguri foarte cliseice si previzibile.

Pe toata durata lecturii am simtit ca urmaresc un serial de genul American Horror Story, cu ceva elemente de umor si absurd din American Gods si Good Omens, dar nu foarte reusit 😅.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Y2K.

Individual years don't often get their own abbreviations, especially not ones as stark as that, but the Year 2000 was a major milestone in many respects. It may be hard to believe now, especially for younger readers, but in the late 1990s, the looming rollover from 1999 to 2000 A.D., that odometer effect—when all the digits would change—had a lot of people worried. And with good reason, some of 'em; there really were some computer programs which, if they had been left uncorrected, would have failed in various interesting ways. Other people worried about the imminent arrival of supernatural beings who, despite their great power, were apparently expected to be as fascinated by that odometer as any mere humans, while still others worried about the kind of people who see any celebration or distraction as opportunities for action.

As it turned out, none of the things people were really worried about actually happened then. But we didn't know that going in.

Most of us didn't, anyway. Andrei Codrescu, on the other hand, sailed serenely over those troubled pre-Millennial waters as if—though I'm sure he'd reject the comparison—he'd had an inside line to God's plans. Sometimes Codrescu's prophetic imaginings did, in fact, cut too closely to the truth for comfort... as in this pre-Katrina passage:

New Orleans was a bowl, hugged tightly by the Mississippi River. The levees that kept the river out were no match for a hurricane or a great flood. Felicity imagined herself floating like a gardenia in a porcelain bowl. It was only a matter of time before the people and buildings were washed away. (p.18)

Or this even more chilling paragraph...

But they also saw the smaller triumphs. The World Trade Center towers folded into each other like an accordion, done at last. The town of the capitalists, the disbelievers, the Marxists, and the Jews crumbled into dust and was blown over the marshes out into the Atlantic. (p.327)

Not, perhaps, as prophetic as it might seem at first—there had already been one attack on those twin towers, after all—but one has to wonder what channels Codrescu had opened in order to receive that kind of transmission.


Alluring, complex, and decadent as New Orleans itself, Messiah follows two women—Felicity, a hard-nosed and multiply-pierced private investigator (self-described "girl dick") in New Orleans, and Andrea, an ethereal Bosnian refugee in Jerusalem—as the end of 1999 approaches and all manner of events converge. Angels and devils abound; history's Great Minds wait impatiently for incarnation; Felicity's quest for an orgasm seems destined for failure; and the televangelist Jerry "Elvis" Mullins is raking in the dough as he readies his followers to receive his own personal timetable for Armageddon. Codrescu's success here is in creating suspense, even long after our millennial jitters have passed. It's really not easy to tell what's going to happen next... he keeps coming up with surprises. Magic is afoot... Codrescu is not going for strict realism here, so much as a chiaroscuro impression of the impending End Times.

Nostradamus looked baffled. "Is this the End of the World, or not? Is it over? I don't get it." (p.364)

The world exists to confound prophets, it seems. And maybe that's what we all need, anyway. As Andrea herself says, not all that far along in Messiah,

God, keep that gate shut a little longer, Andrea prayed silently to she knew not which God; I am too young for the End. (p.136)

As are we all...

Messiah is by no means all apocalyptic gloom and doom, though. Codrescu's louche prose is full of odd but felicitous phrases, a consequence of his having learned English later in life, and inspired typos such as "Texarcana" (p.241) appear (most of the time) to be intentional. We'll just agree to ignore the extraneous @-sign amid the title on the dust jacket, though, shall we? It doesn't appear on the book itself, so I'm sure it was just an eager marketeer's insertion anyway.

There is trenchant social commentary:

"Television is a portal through which people pass into the afterlife, while still alive. Already, people are nothing but heads and fingers connected to the evil neural World Web. Their bodies are gone." (p.314)

And then there are passages that are actively funny; the sly digs at fellow New Orleanian author "Annette Risotto," for example, or this bit:

Tourists had to be the lowest form of life, unconsciousness incarnate, impediments to learning, carriers of infectious superficiality. Tourists had been strictly forbidden in heaven since its inception. That was the true reason for Adam and Eve's expulsion from Paradise: gee-goshing when they should have been studying. But these days, who knows? Anything was possible. Tourists in heaven! (p.298)

It's probably best to remain a tourist in Codrescu's fin de siècle New Orleans, though. While she welcomes you with open arms, New Orleans does not take kindly to strangers presuming that they know too much. Her judgments upon such behavior can be harsh. But if you enter into Messiah gently, respectfully, then you may be led to a salvific moment along with Andrea and Felicity. And that, my dears, could be a very good thing.

[Andrew]

Hm, this is honestly the least interesting Codrescu I've read so far. I should have been warned by that '90s Goth-looking book cover, right down to the @ replacing the A -- the sort of aesthetic that should be left back in the '90s (see attached documents: VHS copy of The Crow, the discography of Enigma, black velvet Geocities backgrounds, my 6th grade Shadowrun campaign). Accordingly, Messiah feels awfully dated, even if there are some beautiful Codrescu touches. The pantheon bits are a bit obvious, and guess what, the megachurch preacher is evil. Andrei, you can do better. You have done much better.

[Charlaralotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good lord! There are 33 pages of books with "The Messiah" in the title.

Anyway, seeing as my religious background is spotty at best, and relies heavily on Monty Python and Mel Brooks parodies, I enjoyed this book. Though I'm sure many evangelicals may have problems. Loved the nunnery/orphanage in Jerusalem, with its visiting religious scholars. Loved Andrea's character, and the dissection of her charisma.

At first I enjoyed Amelia and her "uncle," but once the plotting got hot and heavy, I became disinterested in her fate.

Loved Codrescu's insights into American culture and our collective amnesia. Liked the idea of New Orleans as the center of Armageddon. By the end though, I felt like I was back in the midst of that one Walker Percy novel where the story gets really off-course, overly bizarre, and tedious in a "Hollywood blockbuster" kind of way.

Then again, I guess if you're trying to create something Armageddon-like, it's bound to come out as blockbuster-ish. Maybe someone will write a book about Armageddon where it's no big deal.

Digression:
What's up with the Rapture anyway? I hear lots of evangelicals talking about how the world will collapse when the "saved" people are flown up to heaven because the "saved" people will have left their cars in the middle of the street. Hah! I doubt they'll be taking their car keys with them. No worries. Us "unsaved" people will manage to drive the cars to the side of the street. No biggie. And lots of free cars! Go ahead and leave already, why don't you!

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Years ago, Andrei was a great commentator on NPR, loved to listen to him. So when I see this book for a dollar - cannot refuse.

I should have. Possibly the worst book I've ever tried to read. And I did try, truly read the first half, then skimmed second half. Awful.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting weaving of tales by a truly 'out there' author.

[Enigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't finished it yet, but so far I'm enjoying it immensely. More irreverent than Good Omens, sexier than American Gods, more myth-ladden than Snow Crash and more New Orleans-ian than A Confederacy of Dunces.

While based on a whole mesh of myths and folk, from the oldest time to contemporaneity - the cyberspace plays a very important role - it feels fresh and original and bursting with vitality. The atmosphere is luxuriant and the style rich without being cloying.

Plans are afoot for an apocalypse, the confused angel Zack (short from Hezekiah) has to prepare a Great Meeting of the Minds that recalls League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, in that historical figures are brought back, yet has nothing in common with it. Bisexual "girl detective" Felicity gets involved way over her head, and elsewhere, in the Holy City itself, the mysterious orphan Andrea tries to discover her way, as stories become history in their telling.

[Daryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is organized in a traditional way, with two separate storylines in alternating chapters. Unfortunately, like most books in this style, one of the storylines (Felicity’s) is far more interesting than the other one (Andrea’s), so I found myself looking forward to those chapters, and just wanting to get through the others. When the two stories connect, about 2/3 of the way through the book, it becomes more and more odd, using characters from history, as well as religious/mystical/magical characters from many different traditions. The story is terrifically strange, and Codrescu’s writing is a beautiful joy to read as one might expect from a poet and essayist of his caliber. The characters are interesting, quirky, and very individualistic, although at times, too many of them appear to keep straight (in Andrea’s story). The plot is too complex and convoluted to explain, and the ending is a bit of an anti-climatic let-down, but overall an enjoyable read.

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't get over how the jacket picture nowhere near fit the image of Andrei I had in my head based on the essays he reads on NPR.
The story will twist your brain as to how you have perceived any versions of the rapture or the coming of a messiah... it is hard to swallow and yet very revealing on so many ways about perceptions in our current culture...
I also get the feeling he tries the Eco route of obscure sources of knowledge, and doesn't quite make it.

[Frances · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started out good, but I didn't really like or I think even understand it. I'm not really sure what happened. I love alternate reality in books especially a good armegeddon book. I had high hopes for this, but I don't think it came through. Too bad.

[Polack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this contemporaneously with its publication back in 1999. I recall it as being a very enjoyable read, set in one of my favorite cities, New Orleans. Felicity's uncle, the gourmand, was an unforgettable character.

[Jerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

His essays trump his novels, but this one is quite engaging. Great ideas. Still, I kept thinking that I liked the movie Dogma better.

[Lori S · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the greatest book of all time!!!

[Memoryleak84 · Rating 5 out of 5]

fuckin great

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was hard to get through, but once I finished I could appreciate the story.