I'm Not from Here: A Parable

With Im Not from Here popular writer Will Willimon returns to fiction with a story of spiritual discovery set in a Southern town. Will takes us on a Don Quixote-like journey during which young Felix Goforth Luckie learns a great deal about the world about other people and about a God who shows up in the oddest places in the strangest times and among the unlikeliest people. On a quest to discover himself Felix is discovered by the grace of God. In homage to Dostoevsky Cervantes and the Bible Willimon creates a world that is thoroughly believable realistic and ordinary yet at the same time fantastic strange and funny. In Galilee Georgia young Felix finds that things are not as they first appear people are wonderfully mysterious and God is unavoidable. At times odd frequently very funny both satirical and poignant Im Not from Here is a rollicking tale a light-hearted parable with serious intent. Willimons first novel Incorporation was widely acclaimed for its satire honesty and theological depth. While this his second novel differs considerably Im Not from Here is equally surprising and entertaining showing Willimons gifts as a masterful storyteller. Even as the parables of Jesus reveal things to us that could not be seen except through fiction so this novel is not only engaging but also revealing. Willimons fiction is brilliant. Im Not from Here is a pitch-perfect rendering of a flawed community lurching toward an understanding of what it means to be fully alive in an ugly world. Willimon renders the tiniest details of the fictitious town of Galilee Georgia with spot-on Garrison Keilloresque accuracy: the six-person choir; a Schopenhauer-quoting parson; fornication against an accounts receivable filing cabinet; and a gallon jar of preserved rabbits. Im not sure if I laughed harder at the characters foibles or my own flawed theology that I recognized through this stunningly rendered parable. --Best-selling author Allegra Jordan The End of Innocence Will Willimon is a widely read author whose previous novel Incorporation was widely acclaimed. He is Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at Duke Divinity School Durham North Carolina and is a retired United Methodist bishop.