The Amulet of Mukuba – Episode Three

Photo by Clément Falize on Unsplash

The air was tense as we all stood in the landing. Ketty hung onto Jerome’s arm, and this time he did not bat her away.

“Chilu,” I asked again, breathlessly. I could feel anxiety building in my throat and the more I thought about it, the more nervous I became.

“Chilu, what do you mean there are evil forces amongst us?” I asked again, my voice raising with hysterics.

Jerome cleared his throat loudly. “perhaps, I may add a mirror, as reinforcements to the outside?”

“It’s of no use, Jay, we’re already marked,” Chilu said with a sigh. A dark look passed between them, and a shiver ran down my spine. I was feeling frustrated; no one was listening to me.

Ketty was quiet in a corner, biting on her lower lip, with her brow furrowed thoughtfully. Surprisingly, Jerome approached her and put his arm around her. They sat down on the couch, and began whispering to each other. I smiled quietly to myself, glad that they could find comfort in each other. I was always on the peripheral, but I never minded it, I enjoy watching people. I continued watching them, the way Ketty would carefully coddle Jerome, and how he would firmly put her back in place. I grabbed a broom to start cleaning up the shards of glass, pondering on what the rest of our trip would be. Still deep in thought, I walked outside to dispose the shards. Just as I was about to enter, I heard a growl right at the edge of the garden.

Standing at the edge of the garden, with his eyes glowing a bright ethereal blue, was the man with the obsidian skin. His gigantic dog, sat beside him, his fangs bared. My breath caught in my throat and I backed away slowly, trying to get back into the house. Somehow, I looked right into the man’s eyes and I was…transfixed.

It felt like the world was rushing past me, and as he held my gaze, I was compelled to move forwards towards him. I dropped the broom I had forgotten I was holding, and walked forwards, hoping to touch the man, wondering what would happen.

Photo by wild vibes on Unsplash

“Mwangala!” Chilu’s voice pulled me out of my reverie roughly, “Are you crazy? How could you come out here knowing what’s going on?”

I snapped and wheeled out of it and faced Chilufya aggressively. “That’s the thing, Chilu, I don’t know what’s going on!”

Chilufya dragged me into the house and all the way to his room. On the bed was a tightly bound leather journal. It looked older than rocks, the pages were frayed and bent, the leather was peeling off in several places and the writing could barely be read.

“sit down, Mwangala. This will sound weird but,” Chilufya heaved a heavy sigh, “There are vampires in Kitwe.”

I gripped my head in my hands, almost pulling my hair out.

“Chilufya, do you think I am a complete idiot?” I asked. I looked him square in the face, and his mouth twitched, as if he was about to laugh.

“I actually hold you in high esteem Mwangala, that’s why I am telling you this,” he said gravely. I could hear the hint of a laugh in his voice. “I know you think this is an elaborate prank, but I need to tell you a story.”

A Book Review: The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

Genre: historical fiction, biographical fiction.
My rating: 3/5
Summed up in a word: Daring.

Sue Monk Kidd stretches her imagination and writes a daring book that chronicles the life of Jesus Christ before he begins his ministry.

The story is actually told through the eyes of his fictional wife, Ana who fell in love with him at their very first meeting.

The telling of the story suspends traditional Christian beliefs and imagines Jesus as fully human.

” It feels important to point out that the character of Jesus in these pages provides a mere glimpse of the complexity and fullness of who he was, and that glimpse is based on my interpretation of him, which is woven into a fictional narrative.” Kidd wrote in her author’s notes.

 

The narrative of a human Jesus, as she explained, is not foreign. It is only at the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Chalcedon in which Jesus was pronounced as both fully divine and fully human. Thus, it does not make it completely illogical for Jesus to have had a wife.

Named A Most Anticipated Book of 2020 by O, The Oprah Magazine and many other notable publications, the book is a gutsy retelling that doubles as a fascinating history lesson, an undertoned feminist manifesto and a heart warming fiction, filled with both highs and lows.

While it starts as a happy enough narrative, the book has many moments of tragedy, that are well woven into the story. They highlight the sufferings of Jesus and his family, thus showing us his story in the most human way.

“It was something of a wonder to discover that the human Jesus has so many different faces and that people, even historical Jesus scholars, tend to view him through the lens of their own needs and proclivities. For some he’s a political activist. For others, a miracle worker. He’s viewed as rabbi, social prophet, religious reformer, wisdom teacher, nonviolent revolutionary, philosopher, feminist, apocalyptic preacher, and on and on,” Kidd adds to her notes.

While there is some evidence (which is hotly contested) that Jesus may have had a wife, the Vatican refutes this. There is of course no Biblical evidence that Jesus did have a wife. In fact, many of the stories depicting women in the Bible often do not get the attention they deserve. This is a main theme in the novel, as Ana (the main protagonist) seeks to document the stories of the women of the Scriptures.

Ana is described as Little Thunder, and to a larger extent she is. She is fierce, hot-headed, determined and sometimes destructive.

The book was largely enjoyable, except sometimes I laboured through passages. Ana is designed to be a spirited character, but often comes across as flawed and irrational, in my opinion.

The most interesting parts of the novel are the parts that detail Jesus’s life, and a harrowing episode involving a tongue.

My deepest regret about the book is the lack of detailing of Jesus’s miracles. I feel it would have made a better transition from his humanity to his divinity. The book ends after Jesus’s death, and Ana flees Jerusalem, for reasons I cannot disclose lest I drop spoilers.

Of course there is no mention of his resurrection or any deep details of his ministry, but that of course  is not the focus of the book.

If you’re wondering how the author works around the difficulty of women not being mentioned in his preaching? Well, read the book and find out.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, actually. It’s a light read and can be engaging. It’s an enjoyable book and had quite a few quotables.

The research in the book is meticulous, and though the author does bend some timelines to suit her narration, it stays true to historical events and accurately reflects the culture of Jewish people living under Roman rule.

Something I respected was the reverential treatment of Jesus. His story was never written in a way that could be blasphemous, but gave me a new appreciation of the Man who changed the face of religion.

There might be a few slumps, but the strength of the plot carries it forward.

All in all, it’s a great read that I enjoyed.