| What
Readers are Saying about The Prize-Winning Story , by Ken
Yoder Reed
“In
this layered and ambitious Chaucer riff, Reed (Both My Sons)
dares to set a pilgrims’ story-telling contest in
the most heated of contemporary religious milieus: He’s
imagined a squad of American fans of a Christian radio show
called “For Zion’s Sake” touring Israel
on the day of Donald Trump’s election. The tour leader,
an end-times minded radio host named Vladdy, agrees to the
idea of a contest, first proposed by Israel’s Major
Eli Bloom, “Israel’s top expert on terrorism,”
a guest lecturer celebrated by Vladdy for offering “None
of this politically correct ‘Islam is the religion
of peace’ stuff.” Vladdy’s enthusiasm
for Jewishness is undercut by his cluelessness.
No
satiric novel about the Middle East could please all readers,
of course, but Reed’s approach is smart and sensitive,
even as he gleefully satirizes the relationship between
American evangelicals and Israeli hardliners. His prose
is sharp, even cutting at times, but there’s nothing
parodic about many of his pilgrims’ stories, which
take faith seriously.”
Publisher’s Weekly
“The
story-telling contest at the heart of The Prize-winning
Story is a terrific technique to pull together the whole
narrative. We meet a wide variety of zealous Christian Zionist
partisans, serious Bible students, sober-minded scientists,
End-Times enthusiasts and saved sinners seeking healing
and restoration on board Pastor Vladdy’s bus as it
crosses Israel.
My
wife Judith and I have spent the majority of our lives teaching
and writing on the central importance of the Land and people
of Israel (ancient and modern) to the believing Christian
community. We find ourselves as a combination of several
characters in Pastor Vladdy’s Fifteenth Pilgrimage
to the Holy Land!”
Paul
W. Rood, Director, William E. Blackstone Center and Professor,
Biola University, La Mirada, California
“Tour
the land of Israel in a strikingly novel manner with believable
characters listening in on lively historical, archaeological
and biblical commentary. This intriguing travelogue will
compel every Christian reader to seriously rethink why support
of Israel is no optional matter. A creative, brilliantly
told story that allows the land and people of Israel to
speak personally to the hearts of expectant Christians.”
Marvin
R. Wilson, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Department of Biblical
Studies, Gordon College; Author, Our Father Abraham—Jewish
Roots of the Christian Faith
“As
a tour leader many times to the Holy Lands, I personally
witnessed pilgrims experiencing much of what the characters
do in Reed’s novel. I recall one person we met telling
me, ‘if you are here so you can be a friend with the
Arabs, then you can no longer be a friend to your Jewish
neighbours at home. Go, I don’t want to talk with
you. There is already too much hatred in our land.’
I wish The Prize-winning Story’ had been published
earlier so I could have recommended it to tour members traveling
with me. I encourage everyone to read it in preparation
for a trip to the Holy Lands.”
Wilmer
Martin, Emeritus Owner & Tour Director TourMagination;
Emeritus President & CEO, Habitat for Humanity Canada
“The
Prize-winning Story is a must-read for anyone who loves
the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has a love for the
Jewish people and for the land of Israel, and also for those
who want to learn more about Israel and Jewish heritage.
I absolutely loved the book for the truth it embodies and
the interesting characters whom the author describes with
understanding and quite a bit of humor. I cannot recommend
The Prize-Winning Story highly enough."
Sue
Garland, NetGalley Reviewer and Editor, Christian Novel
Review |
