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The Risen Dust

Reviewed by Terry Hinks.

The Risen Dust is a collection of powerful stories and poems, focussing on the characters caught up in the story of Jesus’ passion, the stations of the cross, the seven last words and the events surrounding his resurrection and beyond. This is no comfortable retelling of the Easter story, but a deep and passionate rendering of the story in modern language, idiom and thought in a series of distinct and fragmentary monologues, stories and poems. Those of a delicate disposition, a traditional viewpoint or a fixed orthodoxy had better turn away!  

There is much with Rachel Mann’s story telling that will infuriate, puzzle and disturb. I felt at times that there was too much anger, too much ‘agenda’, too much imaginative reworking, but perhaps that is needed to confront us with the brutality of the cross and the wonder of God’s love in Christ. Certainly there is ‘stuff’ in this collection that will challenge and intrigue all of us as ministers and congregations. And for people who like programmes like Rev, there are things to amuse as well. For instance, the story Another Sunday morning contains a character called Kathleen, voted ‘Person most likely to publicly trample on the feelings of others’ in last year’s ‘Church Personality of the Year’ awards. The mind boggles!