The Bard of Bethlehem
David James Trapp
PublishAmerica, 2006
Into What Sort Of World Was Jesus Born?
In his second novel, San Francisco-based author David James Trapp illustrates everyday life among both the poor and the powerful at the time of Caesar Augustus' census. The plot moves from the city of Tarsus (as in "Saul of-") across the sea to Jerusalem then ultimately to the town of Bethlehem.
Like the Biblical epics of cinema, The Bard of Bethlehem has a cast of thousands: readers meet Romans, Celts, Egyptians, Greeks, Jews, Persians. The novel features a list of The Principal Characters on page 5 to help readers keep track of the names. Most important: the eponymous bard is a humble Celtic musician named Terentius. (Yes, Celts did dwell in ancient Turkey.) Brother to a slave and a friend of the Roman governor, Terentius walks all quarters of the port city. Terentius leads the story from the imperial palace to fishermen's tenement, from the deep woods where the Celts hold outlawed Druidic rituals to the Jewish district where he tutors a young cantor and in turn learns the psalms of another famous harpist, King David.
In Chapter Three, Terentius falls for a fiery nineteen-year-old hottie named Bridicia. They wed in Chapter Five, arousing the wrath of their powerful fellow Celt, Corvus. When his advances were rejected years ago, this murderous Druid priest laid the curse of infertility upon the attractive fish peddler, and now pursues vengeance against Terentius and Bridicia for crossing him. A new governor, race riots and sundry bandits also soon endanger the pair. These are chaotic, dangerous days when a mysterious new star burns in the heavens. It's soon clear that Tarsus, with its crucifixions, corruption, tensions and tortures is a brutal place they must escape. But will people be more hospitable in Herod's domain?
The Bard of Bethlehem is a solid tale with character, flavor and conflict. Its research kicks the butt of material that has been seen from mainstream publishing houses. Let this be clear: The Bard of Bethlehem is not Atlanta Nights, the PublishAmerica hoax novel.
Like many print-on-demand books, The Bard of Bethlehem contains typos. Terentius prays: "Let my Bridicia bare our children" (page 55). And "skull" is consistently misspelled "scull." Editorially, I feel a little more polish should have gone into the dialogue and exposition: at times the tale's natural flow was replaced by a distinct Ben Hur feeling of lines delivered. Regardless, the manuscript is cleaner than most and PublishAmerica have produced a book with cover, layout, typeset and quality that look and feel professional to me.
One word choice was surprising: every few pages, The Bard of Bethlehem chucks in a four-letter term starting with F. No, it is not the silly euphemism "Farm" but a word decidedly startling in a novel aimed at the Biblical audience. On reflection, though, this shocker does belong. Life in this place and this time was harsh and rough. While Jesus may have never said it Himself in the Gospels, no doubt the F word did reach his own ears regularly. The Bard of Bethlehem is a book which is guaranteed to help any reader better understand the holy land in the days before it was The Holy Land.
Critical Mick says: the baddies are bad, the goody is good and the love interest is a redhead. Great stuff all! Better yet, the research is accurate and in-depth. The novel is especially worthy for not copping out to sentimentality or beating readers over the head with any prearranged moral. Trapp's effects are more subtle, his attentions sharper. The Bard of Bethlehem is a fine achievement.
"Farm" is the four-letter F word featured in a rebellious parody hidden somewhere on the criticalmick.com site!
Read Critical Mick's interview with David James Trapp!
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