Messiahs by John Hogue

Messiahs by John Hogue

2021 Big Other Book Award Fiction Finalist

A fiercely ecstatic tale of betrayal and self-sacrifice

Messiahs centers on two nameless lovers, a woman of east Asian descent and a former state prisoner, a black man who volunteered incarceration on behalf of his falsely convicted nephew, yet was exonerated after more than two years on death row. In this dystopian America, one can assume a relative's capital sentence as an act of holy reform--the proxy initiative, patterned after the Passion.

The lovers begin their affair by exchanging letters, and after his release, they withdraw to a remote cabin during a torrential winter, haunted by their respective past tragedies. Savagely ostracized by her family for years, the woman is asked by her mother to take the proxy initiative for her brother--creating a conflict she cannot bear to share with her lover. Comprised of ten poetic paragraphs, Messiahs' rigorous style and sustained intensity equals agony and ecstasy.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13
Title	Messiahs
Author	John Hogue
Condition	Unavailable
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Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.