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A Prophet for Our Time
Saving Erasmus
By Steven Cleaver
Paraclete Press, 2007. 182 pages.
I have heard it remarked by commentators such as Wendell Berry that small towns suffer when it comes to clergy assignments in churches. I suppose that should come as no surprise: Why settle for nickels and dimes ministering in rural areas when a clergyperson can shoot for a six-figure salary and a lot of administering in a big urban church?
In Saving Erasmus, his brief and breezy first novel, Steven Cleaver tells the story of Andrew Benoit, a recent seminary graduate facing a choice between a big-city assignment and something that feels like banishment to a small town. True to the idea of “call,” like a modern-day Jonah, Andrew finds himself in the small town of Erasmus facing a daunting first assignment: Heed your call to be a prophet and save the town immediately, for the Angel of Death is set to destroy the faithless place in one week.
Andrew knows this is the case because the Angel of Death informed him of the fact, personally, just as Andrew reached the edge of town. Once there, he finds the town, including the church, under the control of the ultra-capitalistic Mrs. Primrose Davenport, who owns everything—and everyone—except for The Instant Coffee Cup, the local coffee shop that serves only, well, instant (one can surmise that author Cleaver has seen one too many Starbucks encroach upon his New York City turf), and is overseen by one John Luther Zwingli and a group of mystics who go by names like Harpo, Lucy, and Lou Costello. His work cut out for him, Andrew attempts to warn the town and save it despite Mrs. Davenport’s efforts to maintain the status quo.
The art of Saving Erasmus is executed by way of broad emotional and comic strokes. Chock full of literary, historical, and religious allusions, the novel will appeal to readers with a quirky relationship to Christian life and history. The embedded critique of Mrs. Davenport’s manner of governance is effective and could be a helpful tool in discussions of the way the world works in relation to the biblical vision of forgiveness and jubilee. Mrs. Davenport’s transformation, however, happens off in the wings, as it were, diminishing the potential for dramatic impact.
Still, Saving Erasmus is a solid effort that brings a hip, contemporary style to a solidly informed Christian vision. Already an award-winning poet, Steven Cleaver’s first novel offers the hope of more good work to come. And that will be good news.
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