Him

Ryman (The Warrior Who Carried Life) does a remarkable job of telling anew the story of Jesus of Nazareth. The tale starts familiarly enough with Maryam announcing that she is with child “in an unusual way.” She’s married off to Yosef and the pair are exiled from Jerusalem. Ryman follows Maryam through her child’s life, much of which is familiar. Ryman’s Yehush, however, differs radically from the Jesus of the Gospels in two important respects. First, and more immediately startling, this Yehush was assigned female at birth, but begins identifying as a boy and calling himself Yehush after their older playmate by that same name dies. What follows may resonate with parents of trans children as Maryam comes to terms with the change. The second difference is that Ryman imagines the vastness of a Creator who willed into being not just a single planet but the entire spacetime continuum and the multiverse beyond. His Yehush attempts to simultaneously embody God and convey his and God’s broad view of time and space to the people of first-century Judea. Ryman does an impressive job portraying his protagonist’s arduous and complicated existence. Readers willing to have their preconceptions challenged will find much to savor and ponder in this unique work. (Dec.)