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Nazareth, North Dakota

3.61 of 5 stars 3.61 · rating details · 46 ratings · 13 reviews

This gem of a novel—a splendid recasting and modern retelling of the story of the young messiah—is a fast, quirky, dirt-kicking ride through the Badlands of North Dakota from the early 1980s to the present, complete with feathered locks, KISS cover bands, and fire-and-brimstone preachers. It's an adventurous, irresistible tale about everything from a 31-year-old fugitive m...more

Paperback, 212 pages

Published April 15th 2011 by Atticus Books (first published April 8th 2011)

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Jul 13, 2012 Mike Ingram rated it 2 of 5 stars

This one just didn't do it for me. A promising premise--about a possible Messiah living in present-day North Dakota--but the book didn't deliver, unfortunately. Part of it was a problem of pacing: for such a short book, the narrative tries to cover a pretty large swatch of time (15 years, give or take) and to take in a huge cast of characters. This could work, I think, if the book were presenting something like an oral history--so much of the New Testament story, after all, is shaped by what oth...more This one just didn't do it for me. A promising premise--about a possible Messiah living in present-day North Dakota--but the book didn't deliver, unfortunately. Part of it was a problem of pacing: for such a short book, the narrative tries to cover a pretty large swatch of time (15 years, give or take) and to take in a huge cast of characters. This could work, I think, if the book were presenting something like an oral history--so much of the New Testament story, after all, is shaped by what others say about Jesus--but large portions of the book really don't have anything to do with its central Messiah-like character, or they have to do with him only tangentially. The first 28 pages or so are really solid (they were originally published as a stand-alone story, and feel like one) but then the pace quickens to breakneck speed, and we never spend enough time with any of the characters to really get much beyond a basic, one-dimensional understanding of them.

I like the idea of a modern retelling of that New Testament story, but only if it's going to deepen or complicate the original, update it in some interesting way. Here, the links to the original were obvious enough, but felt rather shallow. Like, I get it that the guy baptizing people in the river is John the Baptist, but I don't get any real sense of what it means that he's baptizing people in a river (which, in modern Christianity, isn't really any great act of rebellion, so would presumably have a different meaning in the 21st century than it did in the 1st? Yet the book seems to want it to mean exactly the same thing). Or, at one point we see the Jesus-like character arguing/debating with a university professor in front of a room full of students, but we don't find out what they're debating, which seems like it would be the important part?

Zurhellen nailed those first 28 pages, so it was just disappointing that the rest of the book felt rushed, and wasn't up to the level of its opening chapters.

Some more here: Book Fight Podcast Episode 10: Nazareth, North Dakota

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Oct 25, 2011 Särah Nour rated it 2 of 5 stars

A blend of realism, fantasy and Biblical elements, Tommy Zurhellen’s Nazareth, North Dakota is just as its title implies: the placing of the world’s center of Christian pilgrimage—and the childhood home of Jesus—into a run-of-the-mill U.S. state. While happenings of Biblical proportion ought to ensue, this underwhelming attempt at retelling the story of the Messiah falls flat.

Nazareth, North Dakota chronicles several decades in the lives of a group of people living in this fictional town, each o...more A blend of realism, fantasy and Biblical elements, Tommy Zurhellen’s Nazareth, North Dakota is just as its title implies: the placing of the world’s center of Christian pilgrimage—and the childhood home of Jesus—into a run-of-the-mill U.S. state. While happenings of Biblical proportion ought to ensue, this underwhelming attempt at retelling the story of the Messiah falls flat.

Nazareth, North Dakota chronicles several decades in the lives of a group of people living in this fictional town, each of who represent a Biblical figure. There’s Roxy, an alcoholic in her thirties who represents Mary; she takes in a baby named Sam, left on her doorstep at a seedy motel—who, despite his scarce appearance throughout the novel, is supposedly the new Messiah. Roxy meets a kind carpenter, Joe (obviously Mary’s husband Joseph) who she marries. Sam’s cousin Jan (John the Baptist) grows up to be a controversial preacher who foretells the Second Coming. The Mary Magdalene of this menagerie is a high school outcast, Daylene Hooker, who has a crush on Sam.

While the prospect of modernizing Biblical stories certainly has potential, sadly few of these characters evolve beyond their God-given roles. Most of them simply appear, then leave, serving little to no purpose in the story. For example, there’s Severo Rodriguez, the bitter, malevolent sheriff who represents Herod the Great. At first he seems to be shaping up to be a formidable villain, as he abuses his power, bullies his subordinates and vows to track down and apprehend Roxy and her mysterious new child. Disappointingly, the story fast-forwards into the future, when Severo has died and his son, Anton, has taken over the force. While Anton himself is an interesting character, I couldn’t help feeling that Severo’s potential as a villain was wasted.

While Nazareth, North Dakota is split up into chapters, they read more like a set of anticlimactic short stories with little to no sense of unity among them. While it can be understood that the last chapter’s cliffhanger ending is meant to set up for the upcoming sequel, Apostle Islands, that does not explain the various loose threads left untied throughout the whole novel. One gets the feeling it’s more of an episodic showcase of modernized Biblical figures rather than a novel with a plot.

While this novel was not satisfactory, I’m not ruling out reading the sequel, as it could possibly provide the answers that this one lacks. At best, Nazareth, North Dakota is well written and has its moments; just don’t expect any neat wrap-ups.(less)

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May 02, 2011 Joe rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 09, 2012 John Damaso rated it 3 of 5 stars

If you like being rewarded for knowing your New Testament characters, then this point-by-point messianic allegory is for you. Though much like The Bible, often times your favorite character goes away while author Zurhellen pursues a different story, point-of-view and authorial voice. It's more fun to think of this novel as an original work, not a retelling of the story of a young, rising Jesus, and the circus, elephant, river-dunking, and trailer-torching will seem more interesting with that min...more

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Oct 03, 2011 Mark Staniforth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Nazareth, North Dakota is a fictional place, as far as I can make out, unless it's so small it's dropped off the Google map entirely. But it wouldn't be in the least bit surprising if it did exist: the US is studded with Bible-named towns - Bethlehem, Tenn; Galilee, Miss; and real-life Nazareths from Kentucky to Texas: each one a testament (pardon the pun) to the historic significance of religion in American life.
Tommy Zurhellen's Nazareth, North Dakota, is a place quite unlike anywhere else, re...more Nazareth, North Dakota is a fictional place, as far as I can make out, unless it's so small it's dropped off the Google map entirely. But it wouldn't be in the least bit surprising if it did exist: the US is studded with Bible-named towns - Bethlehem, Tenn; Galilee, Miss; and real-life Nazareths from Kentucky to Texas: each one a testament (pardon the pun) to the historic significance of religion in American life.
Tommy Zurhellen's Nazareth, North Dakota, is a place quite unlike anywhere else, real or not. Hunkered in a dust-bowl on the brink of the Badlands, it's a place of frayed family values and corrupt local politics; fugitive moms, daredevil stunt-bikers and a couple of wayward cousins, either one of whom may or may not be the Son of God.
Zurhellen's extraordinary, sprawling novel has been described as an allegory of the New Testament; the whole thing ripped up and re-deposited in America's third least populous state over three decades starting in the 1980s. But that hardly does it justice: his book is far too inventive to be any more than loosely frameworked by scripture; and it's by no means any kind of attempt to spread the word: the two most overtly religious characters are both wandering preachers, one of whom quit his family to leave Gideon bibles in love motels.
Nor is Jan, one of the potential Saviours, shut away in theology classes through his youth. He works shifts at the meat counter of the SuperValu, where he eases boredom by shaping the ground beef into models of the Starship Enterprise. 'Brothers', says one pastor to a bunch of others increasingly concerned at their rapidly dwindling flocks, 'we all say we're men of God. We say our job is to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah on earth. But what if the Messiah did come from a little town in North Dakota? Would we even know it?'
Zurhellen's Nazareth is a place whose way of life is underpinned by futile aspirations of wholesomeness - of schoolgirls on charity cupcake stands 'with pastel print dresses blowing in the warm September breeze like flags at a theme park', and set in a deep-rooted conviction that that wholesomeness will be achieved via religious means: statistics put North Dakota as America's most religious state, with just three per cent of non-believers.
There's a kidnapped baby, a horribly corrupt old Sheriff, the world's oldest man, a young girl whom it turns out will do just about anything to get herself saved -'everyone knew the Sheriff's stepdaughter had a reputation for being a free spirit, but not this free, especially on a Sunday' - and, as if this crazy fire-and-brimstone tale was not enough, an escaped circus elephant thudding the Plains.
Raucously engaging from first to last, Nazareth, North Dakota delves into the superstitions of the State's earliest settlers, and raises important contemporary questions about what some might figure is the over-importance of religion in US life today. But it's also a much simpler story about love and loss and the importance of choosing your own path, no matter what life throws at you.
Zurhellen's admirable attempt to remain largely faithful to the framework, at least, of the New Testament, allows him to create a series of fragmented stories, and resist the temptation to wrap the whole lot up with a nice bow on top. The last page leaves a whole lot open: Zurhellen is already working on a sequel, Apostle Islands, due in the summer of 2012. If it's anything like Nazareth, North Dakota, it will be another crazy, sprawling, irresistible treat, and another sure-fire contender for book of the year.
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Apr 10, 2011 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I think it takes a lot of skill to rewrite a famous story well, retaining enough elements to keep the story familiar while burying recognizable threads to such a degree that the end product feels fresh and creative. Tommy Zurhellen has that skill. I have a feeling Nazareth, North Dakota reads differently depending on your knowledge of the stories from which it draws. My general familiarity certainly led to some moments of recognition, but my lack of specific knowledge led, I’m sure, to my missin...more

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Mar 27, 2011 Marc rated it 4 of 5 stars

Highly inventive and humane re-imagining of the New Testament. Read my full review here:

http://smallpressreviews.wordpress.com/2011/03/27/nazareth-north-dakota/

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Mar 23, 2013 Andrew Neal rated it 3 of 5 stars

Why is it that I can accept a retelling of the New Testament set in North Dakota but I can't get over the fact that the author had two characters talking about going to see "Indiana Jones" the year before it was released? Grrrr.

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Dec 08, 2012 Josiah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, fiction-american, christian

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 31, 2012 Ilona Mustafin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book and finished it quite quickly. Nazareth has good heroes and great deeds. A somewhat spiritual novel.

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Dec 11, 2012 Sonja rated it 5 of 5 stars

Cannot wait to read the sequel. Engaging and fun to make the connections between the Bible story and the novel.

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Nov 26, 2012 Andrea rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Fantastic re-telling of the New Testament. I loved this book! It made me every literature-loving nerve inside me geek out! The characters were deep and well-written, and the story was subtle enough that you couldn't be completely sure of everything at first. Any book that makes me think and causing my brain to actually strain itself gets my instant vote, especially when it ties up so neatly into a great ancient story told in modern times.

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Nov 02, 2011 Mike Nyerges rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A story as pure fun as this is a danger. The restless western voices that push this new testament story forward may force you to drop everything, like it did me. Tommy Zurhellen ends the story by landing it in the Badlands for 40 days and 40 nights, and so Nazareth, North Dakota, ends with the author planning a sequel.

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