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The Jesus Nut
The irreverent story of three mismatched pilgrims--a reviled professor, a delusional homeless man, and a strip-club-loving priest--who pursue the century's greatest religious relic and, in the end, find themselves.
Funny and poignant, it's about friendship, faith, risk, redemption, kindness, hypocrisy, and rain.
Release date June 1, 2021 (Atmosphere Press).
Funny and poignant, it's about friendship, faith, risk, redemption, kindness, hypocrisy, and rain.
Release date June 1, 2021 (Atmosphere Press).
- GenresFiction
282 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2021
5 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
John Prather
4 books15 followersDiverse, literate, quirky, curious, passionate, thoughtful, balding, John is a former teacher and licensed attorney, now retired to the beach in California. He graduated from Arizona State University (BA in Journalism), University of Texas (MA in Radio-TV-Film), Arizona State University again (MBA), and the University of Arizona (JD). John has run competitively on three continents and has broken his nose 15 times. His favorite color is orange. Married in 1998, with a son born in 2002 who is both smarter and more stubborn than he is.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 3, 2021
The Jesus Nut is religious satire at its best. But don't worry. The author is not poking fun of Christianity, but rather the hypocrites that exploit organized religion for selfish reasons. The main characters are interesting and distinctly appealing in their own ways. The writing is crisp. Have faith that this book will deliver a fun read.
July 2, 2021
This book really has a little of everything. It is a faith based story, but in a different way. It brings together faith with so much more. It hits on some very important topics and points out some issues that often slide. I think it was very well written and easy to follow. I like the way the author and his story did not take themselves too seriously, it made for a book full of laughs and wisdom.
June 23, 2021
This was such a clever piece of writing. It really did make me laugh at many moments, it made me take a deeper look into several of the aspects it highlighted as well. It really does give the reader so much insight while also bringing on the laughs.
June 18, 2021
I loved this book and couldn't put it down. It had a very clever story line that leads to an unexpected conclusion. The imagery and ability to question or belief systems created by the author throughout the book was tremendous.
June 15, 2021
I never know what to expect with these kind of books. I love reading them when they are done right and this one really is.
It's satire in the best way. It doesn't take itself too seriously. It pokes fun at those who are uninformed and hypocritical.
On top of that, it really manages to shine light on important topics and even gives insight and value. It's a very well-written book that I think is done right.
It's satire in the best way. It doesn't take itself too seriously. It pokes fun at those who are uninformed and hypocritical.
On top of that, it really manages to shine light on important topics and even gives insight and value. It's a very well-written book that I think is done right.
June 18, 2021
Wonderful! So clever and so well written. Sometimes laugh-out-loud funny; sometimes incredibly moving. Timely and important and thought-provoking. Tough to put it down. I highly recommend it.
June 14, 2021
Do you like snark and wit with your read? Books that don't take themselves too seriously? I think this is a great read for people who can have an open mind. It's funny and that is an understatement.
While satire and the word Jesus can lead you to believe its for those who aren't Christians, that couldn't be more wrong.
It's a great ride that really makes you think, laugh, and appreciate the words.
While satire and the word Jesus can lead you to believe its for those who aren't Christians, that couldn't be more wrong.
It's a great ride that really makes you think, laugh, and appreciate the words.
June 2, 2021
A sceptical professor, a homeless veteran and a sin-filled priest find themselves in New York on the hunt for a religious relic. This story makes you question, relate and laugh out loud! The characters draw you in, with relatable scenarios and bring ideas to the forefront that question realities. Well written.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
March 28, 2022
The title of this novel has three possible interpretations. It could refer to an over-zealous evangelical proselytizer. For aviation cognoscenti it may conjure up a piece of hardware that keeps a helicopter's rotor from disengaging from the machine during flight. Finally, as a piece of slang, it could refer to a part of Jesus' anatomy.
John Prather's story captures all three meanings, but -- improbably -- its primary focus is on the third. Here, in brief, is how that works. Dr. Haley Berkshire is an unaccomplished professor in an undistinguished religious studies department. Advised by her department chair to beef up her research resume, she assembles a group of students who are assigned to track down a lost book of the Bible by using their internet research skills. They succeed in discovering The Gospel According to Trevor, which mentions a hitherto undescribed event during the cruxification, when Jesus was not only pierced by a spear, but was also relieved of one of his testicles. That important relic becomes the object of Dr. Berkshire's quest (never mind how it could have survived a couple of millennia without chemical preservation). For reasons that are unexplained, she concludes that it is located in New York City, which becomes her sabbatical travel destination.
Meanwhile, Jesse Morales, a homeless veteran, who apparently suffered a war wound that downsized the contents of his scrotum, believes himself to be the Second Coming of Jesus. He happens to read an account of Dr. Berkshire's research in a discarded newspaper, thereby confirming his belief in his true identity, and he then decides, for the thinnest of reasons, that he can find his missing piece in Central Park. Accordingly, he sets out from California by train-hopping and hitchhiking..
A third character, Father Brian O’Shea, who has a fondness for visiting strip clubs at diocese expense, reads about the sacred object in Catholic Digest. He convinces 19 year-old Simone, his favorite stripper, to accompany him by car to New York in search of the divine testicle. (No reason is given for his thinking that it might be found there, but the road trip does afford him ample opportunities to confront invitations to sin.)
Coincidentally, during this time a large evangelical conference is taking place in Philadelphia, and each of the three characters, enroute to New York, decides (independently) to attend. A mêlée breaks out at the gathering, and the three end up being thrown together in the aftermath. Discovering that they share a common objective, they decide to travel together to New York. There they meet an oracle (a former advertising man) whose mysterious pronouncements guide their search.
The remainder of the novel follows the trio's collective quest for the missing sacred object, leading to a climax that seems even more preposterous than the rest of the tale. Overall, however, the story is a mildly entertaining satire of both academia and religion. The only thing missing is an angelic squirrel that might liberate the holy nut from its tomb.
Amazingly, this is not the first book to take a relic attributed to Jesus as its theme. The Santissimo Prepuzio, purportedly a piece of the circumcised infant's holy foreskin was long kept in the Vatican until it was plundered in the 16th century, eventually making its way to Calcata, Italy, where it was kept in a shoebox by a local priest until it mysteriously disappeared in 1983. This unlikely but true story is documented in David Farley's An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town. Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.
John Prather's story captures all three meanings, but -- improbably -- its primary focus is on the third. Here, in brief, is how that works. Dr. Haley Berkshire is an unaccomplished professor in an undistinguished religious studies department. Advised by her department chair to beef up her research resume, she assembles a group of students who are assigned to track down a lost book of the Bible by using their internet research skills. They succeed in discovering The Gospel According to Trevor, which mentions a hitherto undescribed event during the cruxification, when Jesus was not only pierced by a spear, but was also relieved of one of his testicles. That important relic becomes the object of Dr. Berkshire's quest (never mind how it could have survived a couple of millennia without chemical preservation). For reasons that are unexplained, she concludes that it is located in New York City, which becomes her sabbatical travel destination.
Meanwhile, Jesse Morales, a homeless veteran, who apparently suffered a war wound that downsized the contents of his scrotum, believes himself to be the Second Coming of Jesus. He happens to read an account of Dr. Berkshire's research in a discarded newspaper, thereby confirming his belief in his true identity, and he then decides, for the thinnest of reasons, that he can find his missing piece in Central Park. Accordingly, he sets out from California by train-hopping and hitchhiking..
A third character, Father Brian O’Shea, who has a fondness for visiting strip clubs at diocese expense, reads about the sacred object in Catholic Digest. He convinces 19 year-old Simone, his favorite stripper, to accompany him by car to New York in search of the divine testicle. (No reason is given for his thinking that it might be found there, but the road trip does afford him ample opportunities to confront invitations to sin.)
Coincidentally, during this time a large evangelical conference is taking place in Philadelphia, and each of the three characters, enroute to New York, decides (independently) to attend. A mêlée breaks out at the gathering, and the three end up being thrown together in the aftermath. Discovering that they share a common objective, they decide to travel together to New York. There they meet an oracle (a former advertising man) whose mysterious pronouncements guide their search.
The remainder of the novel follows the trio's collective quest for the missing sacred object, leading to a climax that seems even more preposterous than the rest of the tale. Overall, however, the story is a mildly entertaining satire of both academia and religion. The only thing missing is an angelic squirrel that might liberate the holy nut from its tomb.
Amazingly, this is not the first book to take a relic attributed to Jesus as its theme. The Santissimo Prepuzio, purportedly a piece of the circumcised infant's holy foreskin was long kept in the Vatican until it was plundered in the 16th century, eventually making its way to Calcata, Italy, where it was kept in a shoebox by a local priest until it mysteriously disappeared in 1983. This unlikely but true story is documented in David Farley's An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town. Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.
May 16, 2022
I was given this book - thank God I was as I might not have found it otherwise. I may have a new favorite author. The writing style reminded me of Christopher Moore and Tom Robbins - sharp satire, emotionally-charged topics, and fascinating characters mix to tell a story that feels simultaneously totally possible and completely nonsensical. Prather's wordplay and style was easy to follow and flowed easily but also felt intelligent and sophisticated.
The gist of the story is that Dr. Berkshire, who is well and truly done with religion in all forms but makes her living studying and teaching it, discovers a previously unknown book of the Bible which sends her on a quest to NYC. Her research gets a lot of press due to its topic and is read by Jessie, a homeless vet with mental and physical scars from fighting in the Middle East, and by Father O'Shea, a much-loved Catholic priest who struggles mightily with his lusty desires. They each decide to take a trip to NYC to follow a path laid out by the Book of Trevor to find a priceless relic. The three find each other at a fundamentalist Christian rally where they, each in their own way, humiliate and infuriate the millionaire men-of-God who boot them from the ruined event. After making their way to NYC to search for the relic as a team, they engage in an inarguably insane act of ... bravery? desperation? ... to find what they are looking for. And funnily enough, while it was not what they expected, they do find what they needed.
The three main characters are introduced separately in a way that keeps the book engaging while laying the foundation. My initial reaction to each character was that they were straightforward wackos, each with their own odd main trait. As the story progresses, they become more and more relatable. The character development of these three is so well done that my impression of (and feelings about) each changed several times throughout the book.
There are several minor characters in the story that are amazingly well-developed for the short parts they play in the narrative. The gay, Black couple farming peanuts in Georgia was a stopover for the main character Jessie, so we only spent a couple of chapters with them. The 19-year-old stripper getting her psych degree who agrees to take a cross-country road trip with a middle-aged priest was only the focus of a few chapters as well, but she was well-developed (a-hem, yes that was a bad pun) and moved the story in a way that helped us understand Father O'Shea on a deeper level than we could have without her. Phineas, the retired ad-exec with dementia who they believe to be their oracle amused me tremendously and pushed the story forward in a surprising way.
The title is one of the must fun things about this book. After my first reading, I found 3 explanations for it. Then as I reflected and re-read (yes, I re-read a lot of it), I found more!
This is a really fun book. It is easy to read but is full of commentary on difficult topics. It is clever and at many points laugh-out-loud funny. It's absurd. It's deep. It's biting but compassionate. I cannot wait for the next book from John Prather!
The gist of the story is that Dr. Berkshire, who is well and truly done with religion in all forms but makes her living studying and teaching it, discovers a previously unknown book of the Bible which sends her on a quest to NYC. Her research gets a lot of press due to its topic and is read by Jessie, a homeless vet with mental and physical scars from fighting in the Middle East, and by Father O'Shea, a much-loved Catholic priest who struggles mightily with his lusty desires. They each decide to take a trip to NYC to follow a path laid out by the Book of Trevor to find a priceless relic. The three find each other at a fundamentalist Christian rally where they, each in their own way, humiliate and infuriate the millionaire men-of-God who boot them from the ruined event. After making their way to NYC to search for the relic as a team, they engage in an inarguably insane act of ... bravery? desperation? ... to find what they are looking for. And funnily enough, while it was not what they expected, they do find what they needed.
The three main characters are introduced separately in a way that keeps the book engaging while laying the foundation. My initial reaction to each character was that they were straightforward wackos, each with their own odd main trait. As the story progresses, they become more and more relatable. The character development of these three is so well done that my impression of (and feelings about) each changed several times throughout the book.
There are several minor characters in the story that are amazingly well-developed for the short parts they play in the narrative. The gay, Black couple farming peanuts in Georgia was a stopover for the main character Jessie, so we only spent a couple of chapters with them. The 19-year-old stripper getting her psych degree who agrees to take a cross-country road trip with a middle-aged priest was only the focus of a few chapters as well, but she was well-developed (a-hem, yes that was a bad pun) and moved the story in a way that helped us understand Father O'Shea on a deeper level than we could have without her. Phineas, the retired ad-exec with dementia who they believe to be their oracle amused me tremendously and pushed the story forward in a surprising way.
The title is one of the must fun things about this book. After my first reading, I found 3 explanations for it. Then as I reflected and re-read (yes, I re-read a lot of it), I found more!
This is a really fun book. It is easy to read but is full of commentary on difficult topics. It is clever and at many points laugh-out-loud funny. It's absurd. It's deep. It's biting but compassionate. I cannot wait for the next book from John Prather!
January 4, 2022
This was simply a wonderful read. If you are a fan of Kurt Vonnegut or John Kennedy Toole, you'll enjoy this book as well. The three main characters are each compelling in their own way, and each feels fully realized, and plays their own part in helping to establish the author's message. Switching across their perspectives from chapter to chapter was successful in making the story feel fresh, and I was excited to see how the previous stories would continue upon completion of each chapter. While each character is personally flawed in a variety of ways, Prather evinces such genuine empathy for them (and most other characters in the book) that it further reinforces the central message of agape love. While the story is genuinely funny throughout, it is also emotionally impactful; I have found myself thinking about these characters and their journeys well after I finished reading the book (in a single sitting – a testament to how well-written it is).
A book entitled "The Jesus Nut" might make some readers hesitant, either because they are non-religious and believe the book might have a preachy Christian perspective, or because they are religious and believe the book may be unfairly dismissive of believers. Both of these concerns would be mistaken. To the extent that it is pro-religious, it is so in a manner that would be consistent with any secular humanist tradition. To the extent that it is critical of Christianity, it identifies worthy targets of scorn but, more importantly, it focuses more on providing an example of what religious practice can and should be.
Especially given how dark these days seem to be, reading this book brought me comfort, both from laughter and the reminder that we can take solace in what we can do to make the world better and also to make ourselves happy.
A book entitled "The Jesus Nut" might make some readers hesitant, either because they are non-religious and believe the book might have a preachy Christian perspective, or because they are religious and believe the book may be unfairly dismissive of believers. Both of these concerns would be mistaken. To the extent that it is pro-religious, it is so in a manner that would be consistent with any secular humanist tradition. To the extent that it is critical of Christianity, it identifies worthy targets of scorn but, more importantly, it focuses more on providing an example of what religious practice can and should be.
Especially given how dark these days seem to be, reading this book brought me comfort, both from laughter and the reminder that we can take solace in what we can do to make the world better and also to make ourselves happy.
February 19, 2022
This book never bored me, that's for certain. I was expecting something with more laugh-a-minute comedy like "Biff" by Christopher Moore, but this was a more thoughtful kind of satire. Still funny, and there were LOL moments, but for a story that seems ridiculous on the outside, there is a deeper something to it. You have to be willing to take your Christianity lightly to enjoy this, as it pokes at a lot of things that people might hold dear.
A quick read, it never bogged down, so that's also a plus. And my understanding is that people in a certain profession might understand the twist at the end right from the start, so that might spoil it a little for them - I didn't have that problem, so it was almost a literal deus ex machina.
A quick read, it never bogged down, so that's also a plus. And my understanding is that people in a certain profession might understand the twist at the end right from the start, so that might spoil it a little for them - I didn't have that problem, so it was almost a literal deus ex machina.
February 24, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Jesus Nut; I was hooked from the very first page. I felt as though I were alongside the characters on their exciting, humorous journey of discovery and transformation. Woven within a suspenseful drama are delightful surprises, cleverly stitched with irony that is super witty and poignant. In a compelling way, The Jesus Nut points out the absurdity of things taken too far when faith is followed blindly regardless of logic and reason; more importantly, basic human decency and loving support go a long way in reaching one's fulfillment in life. What an interesting read!
November 1, 2021
I actually read The Jesus Nut for the 2nd time. I loved it just as much as the first time! It's a great story about 3 very different people, a preacher, a professor and a homeless veteran, thrown together but all searching for something different. It will make you laugh and cry and praise God! I absolutely loved it!
July 26, 2022
Our stumbling but sincerely searching humanity is addressed with humor and empathy in this very well written, character driven, thought provoking and very entertaining little book. It is delightful in every way, and highly recommended.
December 12, 2021
Great, fun read that takes on a timely and serious topic with humor and true humanistic sincerity.
I loved the characters, quirky but totally relatable.
I loved the characters, quirky but totally relatable.
February 9, 2023
Very irreverent, very funny - It's a fun read.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews