'Every Bush Is Burning' by Brandon Clements

What a unique book.

From a literary standpoint, this is an amazingly written book. The author uses a style I've not seen before: he is writing a letter to an anonymous person he has yet to meet in a coffee shop. And he pulls it off brilliantly. This book was very difficult to put down. The main character's life has fallen apart around him, and he takes us back through the adventure of how it all happened with amazing self-analysis. I've never read a book that so vividly captures the essence of the question 'what are we here for' and the seemingly meaninglessness of existence. As he muses back over how he got to this broken point in life, he taps into the deep soul dissatisfaction that a life without meaning brings, if we are honest with ourselves and stop playing with our gadgets and chasing the 'next best thing' long enough to examine ourselves. But what's the answer?

In steps 'Yeshua', a homeless man (or is he?) he meets in front of a church. Yeshua starts to challenge all his formerly held beliefs about God, the church, Jesus, heaven, and our very reason for being here. I won't go any further, before I spoil the plot.

Because I've been down this path the character is taking, I identified and empathized with him immediately. But by the same token, because I've taken this journey, it made the book slightly tedious at times. However, I would recommend this book for both the non-Christian, new Christian, and old Christian (is that a term?). It will challenge the thinking of every group in different ways.

There are some amazing twists and turns that will catch you off guard, and even though I guessed at what was going on, I was never sure until the end. I will say this: you must read the entire book to get the full effect. I will admit that at times, not being sure of where the author was going and due to the very unorthodox nature, I was tempted to put the book down. I'm extremely glad I finished it!

Four stars, because this was a highly intelligent, thought provoking page turner, but would not fall under 'a book I'll love forever' category, which are the only ones I rate five stars. Warning: some language that may turn off some Christians, but fit with the character's gritty, raw, personality.