HIM - A Review

Re-telling the Christ narrative is nothing new in fiction. Norman Mailer's classic work, "The Gospel According to the Son," or Michael Moorcock's "Behold The Man" come to mind. But Geoff Ryman takes a radically different approach based on an unusual, yet trendy, premise: What if Jesus were trans?

At first, it seems ludicrous. Perhaps even gimmicky. But Geoff Ryman weaves a clever narrative that is both respectable and surprisingly plausible.

Much of the story is told through Maryam, the Savior's mother, who, just like the original story depicts, gives birth without the aid of a man. And here begins one of Ryman's more interesting plot insights: of course Maryam's fatherless child would be female, because only the mother's line could be drawn upon. It's a simple and elegant argument, albeit one that betrays a modern knowledge of genetics - something no ancient person would have had.

Maryam's child is named Avigayil, at least at first. In the course of her remarkable childhood, Avigayil becomes friends with a neighbor boy, who just happens to be named Yehoshua. When Yehoshua tragically dies of a childhood illness, Avigayil comes away from the trauma with a new revelation: her name is now Yehoshua, and insists that he (and yes, here I shift pronouns) is a boy.

Maryam's older and more liberal husband, Joseph, accepts this new identity with very little resistance. But Maryam fights this assertation tooth and toenail, almost coming to the point of physical violence. It takes Maryam many years to come to grips with her child's identity, and she probably never truly does.

As the renamed Yehoshua grows, he begins to preach. He is, after all, a miracle child, and therefore must be chosen for great things, right? There are elements of the fantastical to Yehoshua's ministry, but at no point does Ryman go overboard with miraculous stunts such as feeding 5,000 people with only a few loaves and fish, or raising his friend Lazarus from the dead. There are miracles, yes, and there is some supernaturalism, but the story remains more naturalistic than the Biblical narrative.

Of course, the story comes to the conclusion we all expect (and so there isn't the usual threat of spoilers, as other stories might have - sort of like the ending of Titanic). Yehoshua is put on trial and eventually sentenced to death, but not before he gets bounced back and forth between Caiaphas and Pontius Pilate, the latter of whom is profoundly annoyed at the whole situation. Maryam, much to her horror, sees her son repeatedly undermine his own self-defense, issuing statements about establishing the Kingdom of Heaven that are clearly treasonous. In a desperate effort to defend him, reducing the sentence to mere exile instead of death, she argues that he can't be put to death, because he's actually a woman, and thus cannot be a High Priest of the Kingdom of Heaven as he claims!

This turn of events intrigues Pilate, who orders Yehoshua to be stripped naked. And here is another one of Ryman's unique insights: Yehoshua has an oversized clitoris, large enough to look like a very tiny version of a man's penis! Upon seeing this, Pilate exclaims, "Behold the man!" thus giving that classic phrase a whole new twist. The poetry of this revised scene is breathtaking.

I've been a theologian for 41 years, now, and never have I seen a mythological rewrite quite like this. Instead of coming across as a kitschy publicity stunt, which it easily could, Ryman's story is a wonderful and (yes, I'll say it) reverent tapestry, weaving new perspectives on a remarkable figure of mythology and, just barely possibly, history.

And the ending? Is there a resurrection? The launch of a whole new religion? On that point, I must leave you wonderful readers wanting more, and not spoil everything.

Highly recommended! Give it a try. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Eric

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