Book Review: Every Bush is Burning by Brandon Clements

Though I am a Christian myself, I don’t normally read Christian fiction, but I made an exception for the oddly titled indie novel Every Bush is Burning by Brandon Clements mainly because I had read on Goodreads that the author himself had described his book as “edgy,” which, in case you weren’t aware, seems to be the CBA’s code word for “real.” In other words an “edgy” Christian novel is not limited to a cast of saintly Christian characters doing saintly Christian things.

The story is told by Jack Bennett, a thirty-something journalist in the midst of an early midlife crisis, whose horrendous childhood experiences have caused him to become extremely bitter and suspicious of all things religious. In Jack’s opinion, all Christians are, at best, meddlesome hypocrites and, at worst, child molesters, a view that is strengthened when he discovers a homeless man named Yeshua (of all things) vainly trying to gain entrance into a local church one Sunday morning. In a fit of compassion Jack offers him a ride to the local coffee shop, and during the course of their conversation, he is stunned by a request Yeshua makes of him:

“Repent of cheating on your wife and beg for her forgiveness. She is the best thing you have going for you and trust me, you don’t need to screw it up any more than you already have.”

And so, you can imagine where this is going, Yeshua eventually tells Jack that he is, in fact, Jesus, sent to earth by God in order to help him through this turbulent time in his life.

Okay, so, as I said early on in this review, I don’t normally read Christian books, let alone books with fictional characters claiming to be Christ, but the fact that I did read this book at a rapid pace and with great interest in where the author was going with the story is a testament to his ability to hook the reader and then soundly reel her in.

The Good Stuff:

• The characters are sympathetic, interesting, and above all, as real as all get out.
• The plot is, for the most part, tightly woven leading to a climax that is worth the wait, but the end of the book is what strikes me as particularly true and poignant. I won’t give it away here, but just know, the resolution of this book, just like the rest of it, does not necessarily fit with the standard conventions of Christian fiction.
• The descriptions are simple but go a long way in revealing character.
• The character’s voice is strong and compelling.
• The dialogue, for the most part, is real, relevant, and revealing.

The Not-So-Good Stuff:

The construction of the book is not flawless. There are tense shifts in places that strike the writing teacher in me as unintentional, and Yeshua’s rather long-winded monologues get a bit too preachy at times.

Overall Score:  90%, A-. Every Bush is Burning is a solid, well-constructed tale that will appeal to the believer (particularly the backslidden or disillusioned) as well as the skeptical non-believer.

Bonus Points: I believe Brandon Clements deserves bonus points for the sheer brass it took to write this story that breaks so many of the tidy rules of Christian fiction.

Bottom Line: I would recommend this book to friends, students, people on the street, and I’m looking forward to reading more from this talented young author.