This novel is one of the genre called "Christian Fiction", which has around for a long time-but has recently enjoyed an upsurge in popularity and sales, largely do to the Left Behindseries, by Tim La Haye and Jerry Jenkins.
Peretti, however, was in print well before Left Behind made its debut. Starting withThis Present Darkness, Peretti has been a prolific and respected author within the Christian community, and has also been noticed by the mainstream fiction market.
Prophet is set in 1991, and takes place in an unnamed northern California city, with its focus on John Barrett, Jr., a news anchorman on one of three networks, and the people in his life, professional and personal. When we first meet John, we find him a successful man in his forties, divorced, the father of one son, whom he hardly ever sees. Although he has been brought up in a Pentecostal church, and lives what most would think of s a moral lifestyle, he no longer attends services, or even thinks about God or religion.
His memory is jogged when his father, a longtime pro-lifer, gets some unasked-for publicity (as does John) when he appears on screen, denouncing abortion, during the present mayor's kickoff rally for re-election. It seems that his immediate superior has insisted that the elder Barrett be featured on screen. John, embarrassed by his father's behavior, visits him at the plumbing supply company he owns. later, he feels that he has come down too hard on the older man, and plans to apologize; but he never gets the chance-"Dad" Barrett, who is loved by customers, employees, family, and just about anyone else he has met, face-to-face, is found dead-in suspicious circumstances.
John almost immediately begins to notice changes in himself. For example,he takes his son to lunch, and is able to almost read the thoughts of the young woman who waits on them. She gives them a name of a former classmate, who died from a botched abortion. So, John-aided by Leslie Albright,a reporter for his newscast, his son Carl, who has been staying with his grandmother since the funeral of the senior Barrett, the dead girl's parents, and others, as the story progresses, and they proceed to investigate several mysterious deaths-including his father's.
The details and final outcome would not only 'spoil' the story for potential readers, but would take forever to relate. However, some of the changes that take place, plus the major issue involved, are quite appropriate for discussion here. John gets a clearer picture of where he is going, and what God wants of him, as does Carl; after having been estranged, they are reconciled with each other, become closer to John's mother/Carl's grandmother, and, sometimes through visions and dreams, get a clearer view of much of the world's misplaced values, which do not make them judgmental, but compassionate.
The main theme has often been seen as anti-abortion. But, as I read it, I saw the issue of abortion used as more of a symptom of what's wrong with the world, rather than a major evil, in itself.
For example, the people we find running an abortion clinic are portrayed as profit driven, hurried,and lacking in compassion. A van is even sent weekly to three different schools-they actively lookfor business! The school nurses know about this-and encourage it. There is neither pre-or post-abortion counseling. Doctors are paid, in cash, for each abortion they perform, making it profitable to cut corners...even if it harms the women involved. One young woman even tells of receiving a positive result, that later turned out to be negative-and only her lack of funds at the time kept her from going through with the unnecessary surgery!
So, it seems that abortion, as the author portrays it, has become another profit-driven business. Come to think of it, the title could be a play on words-"Prophet"..."profit". In fact, one of John's visions, which takes place in a shopping mall, is one of people being sucked down a dark hole-but all the while, they seem not to notice it! Instead, they run to the stores that carry clothes, recordings, electronic equipment, etc. They are so busy pursuing the things that they find absolutely "necessary" that they don't notice the world around them is in the midst of self-destruction!
So, as I see it... the author uses a controversial subject that many Christians seem to find themselves involved in, in an allegorical sense, getting his point across to those who haven't made up their mind about abortion, as well as those who have. In fact, Leslie, the reporter helping John, is pro-choice in the beginning, and, although she undergoes a spiritual awakening,she never says outright that she has changed her mind. Some others working at the station seem to go through similar, but less dramatic changes.
The question of reforming the "industry" of abortion never comes into play...more because the fact that the major point lies elsewhere, than for any other reason. Probably, the question of abortion takes center-stage because it deals directly with human life...and the author wants to empathize this fact, because if human life is held in such low regard, then what else even has a chance, in our present society? Some may say that an anti-abortion book would be more likely to find favor with Christian publishers and audiences-but in this case, it's a winner, both ways.
No, I'm not giving away the book's ending-except to say that it doesn't end wrapped up neatly. The "bad guys" aren't justly punished (although many are on their way to being so treated), nor are the "heroes" all rewarded as they deserve. But then, such a finish isn't necessary. A reader who has read it with any thought has already decided what, and who, is right or wrong-and that's what's important. Plus, things like this are seldom neatly tied up in real life.
The book is verywell-written; it's quite a page-turner, as would befit a detective novel-or even a thriller! Even though it is marketed to the Christian community, it would probably do all right on its own. A novel of suspense, a detective story, and an allegory containing elements of the spiritual and supernatural...all written by one who is definitely not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. A winner all around!
A thriller that penetrates to the very heart of a vast struggle that threatens to tear our society apart. Successful news anchorman John Barrett is ca...More at Barnes & Noble.com
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