Review: The right title for a creative story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 1, 2011
Anyone familiar with Christian doctrines and tenets will see where this story is going early on.  Also, if you know even a little about Messianic Judaism, Aaron's story and actions will be clear in the latter part.It becomes clear what is going to be the foundation of this novella when the narrator first helps Becky, the skinny, dirty little girl who digs in the mud for food, mainly worms and sometimes slugs. Her source of water is mainly sucking it out of the mud.  All of the inhabitants of the place where the children wake up in their houses are naked and can't remember what has happened to them.  Slowly throughout the story, memories come back to them and they realize what has happened.  At first there is no food, no water and no clothing, and the houses aren't furnished and they must sleep on the hard floors.  The narrator figures out that by praying and praying hard, he begins to get a trickle of water from the taps in his house, and eventually a piece of fruit shows up in a basket in the kitchen.  The first piece he eats, the second he gives to little Becky, who hasn't had real food in a long time.  He invites Becky to come to his house and runs enough water in the bathtub for her to bathe, since she is a mess of mud and matted hair.As he continues to pray for help for these other children, he receives help in more abundance. The narrator knows that the more he helps others, the more will be given to him  to help other children.  Many of the children don't like the way they look now, being dirty and skinny, but since our narrator likes to draw, he does portraits of them that show them in a new light, and as he sees them, not necessarily the way they see themselves.  His drawings help them to like themselves better.The story is rather complicated after a while, but the one thing it does stress is the power of forgiveness and helping to save others from their own self-loathing.  The n-word is used,  not derisively but to show what another boy has done and said in his life and that he can be forgiven.  Aaron the Jew can forgive the Neo-Nazi's hatred. There is much interaction among characters that allow for understanding, forgiveness and love.There is much more in this story and there is a nice little twist at the end.  I enjoyed the story and it gives much to think about.  As another reviewer said, it made me more conscious of how I am living out my beliefs and trying to be a better person.  It is strictly religious in tone and story and for readers who don't like the genre, it might prove too much to read all at once.  If you're open to such things, it is a very good allegory.