Jessie--A Novel

Killinger, a professor of religion and author of several nonfiction titles ( Jesus, the Greatest Teacher in the World ), reworks the story of Jesus in his first novel. But in this modern-day version, it's a young woman who preaches love and kindness as she wanders around America. Jessie leaves New Haven after receiving a message from Baba (her personal name for God), who tells her it is time to do Baba's will and help people in another locale. After helping a teenage runaway find a temporary new family in Washington, Jessie journeys to a small town in Tennessee, where she begins to paint historical female religious figures. Her work quickly garners media attention when the paintings prove to have miraculous healing powers. Jessie comes under attack from those who refuse to grant women a role in religion; they brand her a heretic and persecute her, with tragic consequences. Yet she continues to see beauty and good in the world and to help others. The author makes a valiant attempt to personify an important message about the need for spirituality in today's world, but his simplistic narrative style is cloying and too determinedly wholesome to appeal to readers beyond a narrowly defined religious audience. 40,000 first printing. (Oct.)