My Friend Jesus Christ

by Lars Husum

Translated from the original Danish by Mette Petersen

When Nick is thirteen, he loses his parents in a car crash. His sister, seven years his elder, is left to look after him. As he grows up, she longs to lose this brotherly millstone around her neck, but he cannot bear the thought of losing her protection. So Nick goes to extremes to retain her care and attention, putting himself, his girlfriend and others in harm's way, striking up with a gang and administering violence to order. One day he goes so far that suicide attempt breeds suicide attempt. On the other side of tragedy, he returns to his flat to find an intruder on his sofa - a biker who proves immune to Nick's menace. The biker convinces Nick, first, that he is Jesus Christ, and, second, that he must now take charge of Nick's life. Nick is moved to return to his home village, where he sets about reconstructing himself and doing penance for his failures. He even finds love anew. But does he know what to do with it? And has he really learned anything from his sister or from his miraculous new mentor ...?

(From Publisher).

Born in West Jutland, Denmark in 1974, Lars Husum has written for the screen, directed films. My Friend Jesus Christ is his first book.