Book Review: Debut Dayspring by Anthony Oliveira | What to do

The Bible's Gospel of John contains six references to Christ, the “beloved” disciple, which highlights the disciple who was present at several key moments in Christ's last days, including the Last Supper (which the lovely disciple leans on). anti-Christ and who asks Jesus to find out who will betray him) and the crucifixion (to which Christ refers when he says to Mary: “This is your son”). Although he is never named in the Bible, and some Bible scholars disagree, this disciple is generally believed to be John (brother of James, John the Apostle, John the Evangelist, and Saint John). was the only student to die of natural causes and old age.

This beloved disciple is the central figure in Spring of the Sun, Toronto author Anthony Oliveira's surprising and revealing debut novel.

However, these are not the Bible stories we are told in Sunday school.

In The Spring of the Sun , we first meet Christ (“rough hair/crooked smile/the taste of salt on his collarbone”) in the arms of his unnamed disciple, suffering from postpartum depression. When his lover asks him for a story, Christ tells him the story of his birth:

“…OK. OK. and so. The night I was born there … there were a lot of animals. It doesn't matter why

OK.

OK. Also on the heights were pigeons, curly-horned sheep, a red-and-white cow, and a woolly and brown donkey.

around the child? were you born in

very funny»

(The book's adoption of the biblical convention of printing Christ's words in red (in italics here) is an inspired choice in such passages.)

As the story progresses, details begin to fall apart, including that it was cold in the castle “because it was Christmas” when his birthday was in the middle of spring.

Oliveira easily sets the tone for the one-page story and the next book: Dayspring is a book about love, both physical and spiritual, which, while drawn from the Bible, spans thousands of books. years of history and personal experience. A blend of poetry and prose, Dayspring moves effortlessly from Galilee to the village of Gay, from the experiences of a young fisherman to the relationship between David (later the musician who killed King Goliath) and King Saul's son Jonathan. to a boy who hid his relationship from his parents. It functions like a regular book, including works by Meister Eckhart, St. Teresa of Avila, and other Christian mystics, along with many often hidden pop culture references, such as:

“I turned and ran to the rope

and the footprints on the beach were my king's.'

It's a powerful piece of emotional and often funny storytelling.

It seems like a writer's life's work, and it can be. Accompanied by pre-release copies of the book, the letter reveals that Oliveira, who writes for Marvel Comics, holds a PhD and has won three National Magazine Awards, including in 2019 for the short story version of Dayspring, began writing the book when he was seventeen. The final version of the book includes some of these fragments, although the main part of “Day Spring” was written “suddenly, alone” during the pandemic.

Formally, combining poetry and prose, combining other materials like a collage, recalls the work of Anne Carson, and tonally, “Dayspring” reminds readers of the work of Leonard Cohen (“f**k your”). a secret chord,” the narrator says at one point), a constant account of faith versus question, love versus dogma. Spring of the Sun dances in a dynamic balance of the sacred and the profane, the transcendent and the quotidian, the divine and the distorted, until there are no distinctions left: every word is a prayer, every action is a liturgy.

Robert J. Wiersema is the author of several books, including Before I Wake and Black Feathers.