Interview with the Messiah

or :”Anne Rice Returns to Catholicism, Writes Book on Jesus at Age 7. Expect a Goth Freak-Out in 5…4…3…”

[via Metafilter] Call me an intellectual snob if you must, but I’ve made it a point to

give Anne Rice’s novels a wide berth. It’s not that I’ve got anything

against a good vampire story, it’s just that many of the grown-ups I’ve

encountered who have a large collection of her books would be lucky to

get a two-digit score on an IQ test. My feelings on the matter are best

summed up in a Simpsons gag in which Otto the pot-addled bus driver, who is staying over at the Simpsons’ house, asks Marge for something to read: “Hey, Mrs. Simpson — you got anything written from the vampire’s point of view?”

I find it mildly amusing that Ms. Rice’s upcoming novel, the first in a series, is taking an

interesting direction that some of her legions of goth fans may find

distressing:

In two weeks, Anne Rice, the chronicler of vampires, witches and—under

the pseudonym A. N. Roquelaure—of soft-core S&M encounters, will

publish “Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt,” a novel about the 7-year-old

Jesus, narrated by Christ himself. “I promised,” she says, “that from

now on I would write only for the Lord.” It’s the most startling public

turnaround since Bob Dylan’s “Slow Train Coming” announced that he’d

been born again.

Even more strange: Kirkus Reviews gave it a star and calls it:

a triumph of

tone — her prose lean, lyrical, vivid — and character. As he ponders

his staggering responsibility, the boy [Yeshua — the Hebrew name we know as “Jesus” — Joey] is fully believable — and yet

there’s something in his supernatural empathy and blazing intelligence

that conveys the wondrousness of a boy like no other.

My curiosity is piqued now. I may have to purchase a copy.

I’ll also have to keep an eye on LiveJournal for the next little

while. The goth freak-outs over the development should be amusing.

It may be time for some folks to re-read The Mopey Goth Handbook of Despair.