Aaron: The Unworthy Servant of the Way?
Author’s second novel is featured in 2010 New York Library Association Book Exhibit
Bloomington, IN (Vocus) October 26, 2010
Aaron Finkelstein turned to his friend’s cultic religious group for fellowship and a spiritual experience. That he found, but his pursuit of a personal relationship with God became a trek through a maze of legalism and confusion of doctrine. He discovered that though this cult is stricter than mainline Christianity as it insists on a homeless, penniless, and celibate ministry, some indecent and illegal practices are overlooked when convenient. Has he truly found the right Way? Readers are about to find out in author Bob Williston’s The Unworthy Servant.
Aaron is a young man from a Los Angeles beach community with prospects of a career as a high school history teacher. After an unusual awakening one night, however, he feels driven to inquire into the religious association of Nico, his best friend from high school and college days. And thus begins his adventure, or misadventure, through the inner circles of the new religious group commonly referred to as the Way. Throughout the story, Aaron will meet interesting characters who would prove that the Way may not all what it seems to be or preach. There’s Chester, the servant from South America whose gospel impressed Aaron sufficiently for him to consider investing his life savings in the Way and pursuing a life of preaching instead of teaching; Trent, a young preacher who has been raised in the Way and befriended Aaron at his first retreat and who is a closet gay; Floyd, the aloof and stodgy gentleman in his nineties who has directed the affairs of the Way for decades. Along the way, Aaron also meets Ted, the kindly preacher companion who is well versed in servant etiquette but performs poorly as a tutor of scripture and doctrine; Bart, the egotistical and controlling hellfire and brimstone servant with whom Aaron has wrestled mentally and emotionally for a year; Norman, Aaron’s first preacher protégé who frustrates his tolerance. There’s also Victor, the crafty millionaire and prominent Way member who shows no compunction in using his wealth to manipulate everyone to his advantage; Marty, the unruly college student who could never resist the urge to investigate what’s meant to remain hidden; Clay, the criminal defense attorney the servants hate to need but for some reason could not disown completely.
Being a Jew who also had been parented by a Muslim, Aaron has surprisingly less shared background with other Way members than many would expect. He turns out to be a novelty, a curiosity, and a celebrity as a convert to the Way. But it soon becomes apparent that as an individual and a preacher he is a bit of a maverick—and somewhat more charismatic than the hierarchy appreciates. Because he would not denounce anything he had inherited of value from his previous life, he has to be gotten rid of. But even that proves somewhat more of a problem than they are used to handling. The Unworthy Servant is sure to rivet readers from beginning to end.
This book will be featured in the New York Library Association Book Exhibit in Saratoga Springs, NY on November 2-5, 2010. For more information on this book, log on to Xlibris. com.
About the Author
Bob Williston was raised in Miramichi, New Brunswick, and is a graduate of the University of New Brunswick. He has studied the cultic practices of new religious groups, has published articles on spiritual and emotional abuse, and writes from personal insight into the social structures and interpersonal dynamics of such groups. This is his second novel about the Way. He is presently working on a third novel about the same religious group. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with his family and teaches Character Education at a middle school for troubled adolescents.
The Unworthy Servant * by Bob Williston
Publication Date: June 11, 2008
Trade Paperback; $23.99; 405 pages; 978-1-4363-3611-6
Trade Hardback; $34.99; 405 pages; 978-1-4363-3612-3
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