Book Review: Salvation Boulevard

Just before New Year's, taking a breather from the political exhaust-a-thon and my book launch, I turned to Larry Beinhart's novel, Salvation Boulevard, which Larry had graciously sent over. Glad I did. Larry, a regular on Huffington Post, though best known as the guy who created Wag the Dog, knows how to do two things: entertain, and make us think.

Salvation Boulevard is a riveting theological-political thriller, but at its core is the story of a man coming to terms with his own beliefs. A private investigator, a born-again Christian, finds himself trying to clear an innocent man, a Muslim, and becomes entangled with some nasty characters, including a hypocritical megachurch minister, contending with a lynch mob mentality, and seeing his marriage torn apart over faith versus fact.

Beinhart, a serious and smart guy, had done extensive research into the paradoxes at the heart of Christian fundamentalism. He blends his intellectual explorations well with a timely look at the loss of civil liberties since 9/11, a brief flash of Jim Thompson-style brutality, a lot of car chases and plot twists, and just the right amount of interpersonal drama and sex.

Though Beinhart's humanist sentiments are evident -- he may not appeal to the sorts who like the apocalyptic Left Behind series -- he doesn't preach, and he doesn't make his characters cardboard cutouts.

Salvation Boulevard is the sort of book that tears at you in two directions--you're tempted to keep on moving through the fast paced narrative, but you also want to stop and ponder the philosophical issues Beinhart raises. And that dualism is what makes a book work.

Award-winning investigative journalist Russ Baker is author of Family of Secrets: the Bush Dynasty, the Powerful Forces That Put it in the White House, and What Their Influence Means for America. Book info at www.familyofsecrets.com.

Comments

[gillymoon]

We read 'Salvation Boulevard' in our book club and what started out as a typical conversation about plot and characters, structure and story erupted into all the deeper issues of faith, belief and religion. The book was fair to all parties... to people searching for some kind of truth and understanding about the world as we know it and what we insist on believing it should be. Including the various Gods. Everyone had something to say with passion and conviction. It's a great way to open up those issues. If you have a book club, it's perfect.

[Thoroughbred]

"you're tempted to keep on moving through the fast paced narrative, but you also want to stop and ponder the philosophical issues Beinhart raises. "

Well put. It's a book that deserves to be read twice. There are elements of this book that play out like an action movie, car chases, guns, secrets. (In fact, there would be great potential for a film adaptation). It's tempting to move quickly through the pages to find out what happens next. But after the initial reading, there's reason to return to the text with a contemplative mind. Beinhart's novel also touches on god and state, groupthink, and self-determination.

[expatstudent]

"Though Beinhart's humanist sentiments are evident -- he may not appeal to the sorts who like the apocalyptic Left Behind series -- he doesn't preach, and he doesn't make his characters cardboard cutouts."

This is a great setup for a book that I might now try to read. But do you know how many Christians there are that do NOT subscribe to the fundamentalist, left-Behind series style of theology? MILLIONS. Not all Christians ignore humanism or uplift the "thorn in my flesh" interpretation of Paul over the "blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth" Jesus.

Just want that said. It seems to be either Da Vinci Code or Left Behind with the church in media these days. Thanks.