cover image Somewhat Saved

Somewhat Saved

Pat G'Orge-Walker, . . Dafina, $22 (295pp) ISBN 978-0-7582-1889-6

In the latest loving church spoof from G'Orge-Walker (Sister Betty! God's Calling You, Again! ), Sister Betty and her fellow evangelists get shipped off to Las Vegas to attend the evangelical Mothers Conference. After Betty and her two nemeses, Mother Sasha Pray Onn and Mother Bea Blister (about whom the Reverend Bling thinks to himself “Doggone Alzheimer's gonna make those two old crones destroy my place of business ”), arrive with much hullabaloo, Bea spots someone she recognizes but can't place. The narrative then shifts to Zipporah, a beautiful homeless woman, and G'Orge-Walker expertly balances touching emotion with the ladies' antics as Zipporah gets a job that eventually leads her to the ladies and learns some things about herself in the process. Bickering, gambling and comeuppance are all on the agenda as the crew, far from the Pelzer, S.C., parish whence they came, negotiate Sin City. (Apr.)