Jesus browses for a print book when he spies Sandbox Buddha and, intrigued by the title (professional jealousy), he clicks on it and discovers it's the personal testimony of one Howard Powell, husband, father, community college professor...and modern-day John the Baptist. Seems Powell believes he's been called to proclaim the coming of the next messiah. Does he chalk it up to a mid-life crisis? Will he forsake the wife and kids to accept the calling? How exactly does he go about spreading the word? Knowing something of the cost of discipleship, Jesus is hooked. Like Christopher Moore's Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, Sandbox Buddha is a funny, irreverent and libidinous yet always heartfelt look at the consequences of faith. Set in the contemporary American South, the novel opens with trick-or-treat, where at the house of an old flame, Powell is belt whipped in front of his children. This incident launches a holiday season of wanton behaviors and ambiguous events, including Powell's affair with a lesbian couple also taking karate, whose apartment is the site of the dream that might confirm his calling. After a monstrous priapismic episode at the nondenominational colossus he attends, plus a visit from the spirit of the biblical Baptizer, Powell finally sets out as a gi wearing, city park preaching, and dog rescuing prophet. Sandbox by sandbox, he moves haphazardly toward the Big Baptism, the apparent point of his call. Sandbox Buddha is Powell's testimony of his often Poe-esque transformation from well-meaning family man to provocative proclaimer with an offbeat message.
