The Book of Harold

The Illegitimate Son of God

Owen Egerton

$32.99

Paperback

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English

Soft Skull Press
01 May 2012

Fiction & Literature; Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

The Book of Harold is as profound and deeply respectful a novel as it is irreverent in its wild, often hilarious take on a modern messianic movement in suburbia. The titular and sometimes exasperating hero of this masterful satire is Harold Peeks, a middle-aged suburbanite living a lonely if typical modern life in the outskirts of Houston, Texas. His world feels bland and pointless until one evening at a mundane office party he announces to his stunned co-workers that he is the Second Coming of Christ. Oddly enough, people start to believe him.

Blake Waterson, Harold's closest friend and narrator of the novel, is as skeptical as anyone of this disheveled and disconcertingly bawdy Savior and yet this would-be Judas is compelled to follow Harold on his two-hundred mile walking journey to Austin with a mismatched group of equally puzzled disciples. On the road, this motley crew of witnesses to the holy get to experience misguided converts, violent possums, and the ungrateful recipients of off-kilter healings. They also discover the inherent paradoxes, absurdities, and dangers of spirituality, as they learn that saviors may not have all the answers, and humanity is just as bizarre and beautiful as the beliefs we hold.

By: Owen Egerton
Imprint: Soft Skull Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 209mm, Width: 139mm, Spine: 17mm
Weight: 241g
ISBN: 9781593764388
ISBN 10: 1593764383
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 01 May 2012
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for The Book of Harold: The Illegitimate Son of God

Praise for The Book of Harold A lively and beautifully crafted novel about the anguish of belief. --Kirkus I love every word that Owen Egerton writes or utters and The Book of Harold bumps my admiration up to a new level. It takes a brave author to attempt satire these days. But it takes Owen Egerton to make it the wise, hilarious, finely-observed, and, ultimately, compassionate ring-tailed delight that The Book of Harold is. --Sarah Bird, author of The Gap Year Only Owen Egerton can create a new religion around a former computer salesman and make you want to up and take a pilgrimage to Austin with the rest of the Haroldians. Egerton has the gift of walking that fine line between hilarity and heart with grace. Follow. --Elizabeth Crane, author of All This Heavenly Glory An engaging exploration of everything ridiculous, horrible, and beautiful that humanity has ever been given or invented about religion, Egerton's first novelis poignant and entertaining not just for those familiar with the New Testament but for anyone who is familiar with the American lifestyle. --The Hipster Book Club Praise for Owen Egerton Encapsulated in both novel and short-story form, his biting wit and spin on the world make for intelligent humor and foreshadow a long career in the written, spoken, and comedic worlds. --The Austin Chronicle