Please email your review to Judith@Ets-Hokin.org
Reviews
Plastic Jesus and Other Stories
As a devout, serious liberal Christian I was immediately put off by the notion of the Plastic Jesus. I feel the same on seeing the little statues in the windshield of a car. It trivialises and is disrespectful of the Jewish charismatic Jesus who has inspired millions of people to care for the poor, feed the hungry, heal the sick and fight for justice.
However, when I read Judith Ets-Hokin’s story about the Plastic Jesus, I saw that it was an updated parable that Jesus might have told. It is a story of looking at the exigencies of life of change, disappointment, death and new life expressed in a whole new way. Read it and find out.
The joys and sorrows of relationship are deftly explored in Edward and Stella, The Affair and The Dowry. The authors vivid imagination is wonderfully illustrated in Rose the Rose. Wacky humour sprints at us in The Hunt. Other stories take us deeper into death and karma, told with flair and intrigue.
I thoroughly enjoyed all of the stories. Some are entertaining, some are funny and all remind us the fullness of life.
- Robert Warren Cromey
Amazon Book Review
Plastic Jesus and Other Stories covers a range of genres, including fantasy, mystery, and romance in a collection of 13 stories to be consumed either straight-up or, most often, with a twist.
From the title story, where the inanimate dashboard Jesus animates his surrounding characters (and himself) in unexpected ways, to the surprise in "Chance" that awaits Charles in the aftermath of his winning the prestigious National Integrity Award, the stories each deliver their own sensibility, quirkiness, and punch.
A long-lost love is touchingly rekindled in "Edward and Stella," while a health nut about to receive special recognition doesn't realize what's about to hit her in "The Award," and life lessons are learned for more than just the participants in "The Affair." Can witchcraft actually play a role in drastically upsetting people's lives in "The New Neighbors," or are some things "...just terrible coincidences," as the witch Wyndsong proclaims?
Then, there's "Destiny," with a female entrepreneur about to sell her successful business and move on to what's next (which comes as a devastating disclosure to her family), "The Hunt," about whether the deer belong on Deer Island or not (and who gets to decide), and "The Dowry," when young love in another culture can be fatally misunderstood. Through these varied and wonderful tales we get a vision of the wonderful world of Judith Ets-Hokin.
Plastic Jesus and Other Stories
The best possible way to connect with our humanity is by listening to and reading one another’s stories.
And what a satisfying connection has been made for us with Judith Ets-Hokin’s compelling Short stories—an art form unto itself.
Each story separately captures the reader— sometimes drawing us in quickly and to the point—sometimes by building and adding layers involving us in to its final sentence.
This collection of short stories is a very fine gift to all readers and I so look forward to what this excellent writer who loves to write— brings to us next.
- Ann Curran Turner
Please email your review to Judith@Ets-Hokin.org