By Ellen Slezak
Hyperion
Hardcover and Paperback Editions

A young girl follows the progression of a Passion Play, developing a crush along the way on the boy who played Jesus the previous year. She is a plain-looking girl, but has the rare joy of feeling important while he gives her special attention.

A pregnant woman learns the importance of life during her summer of taking care of her sometimes-senile grandfather and his tomato patch.

New to town, Pete Flatte inadvertently discovers the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the death of thousands of geese. These geese are the pride of the town. There is even a festival that heralds their arrival each October...until they start mysteriously dying.

Last Year's Jesus Excerpt A light went on at Helen's then, denying him that rest, illuminating the more likely landscape of his life. The one against which he'd do battle alone, struggling not to be like his father, who quietly accepted all things wrong, or like his mother either, who ran fast and strong but in the wrong direction. He lay anchored on the cold cement for a long time, steeling himself to return to the people inside the dark house behind him who didn't know they'd locked him out, his mother who did, and the old woman across the street who was destined to die. ©2002 Ellen Slezak Published with permission from Hyperion

A widowed mother, her young daughter and their lonely friend learn different forms of sacrifice...sometimes forced, other times brought on by friendship and love.

In an attempt to improve things, CeAnn opens a Pensione offering inexpensive, quaint lodging just like that which can be found in Europe. Her efforts prove futile as she finds herself surrounded by all things run-down - alcoholism, abandoned buildings, etc. Her steadfast determination, however, refuses to allow her to be dragged down to their level.

A young girl struggles with many changes in her life...the riots, one sister going off to college and the other near death. The one constant, and almost comforting, aspect of her life is the voice of Ernie Harwell, the radio commentator for the Detroit Tigers.

This is just a sampling of the 10 stories (9 shorts and one novella) that make up Last Year's Jesus. Each story is either set in Detroit or takes place close by with characters that once lived in the city. The book brings the reality of living in a city such as Detroit to its readers. Not by telling of many tragic happenings that make up the statistics of the neighborhood, but by sharing the every day lives of every day characters.

Bookworm's Briefing
Ellen Slezak has taken an interesting approach to her writing. The reader shouldn't expect whole stories. It doesn't have the feel of a "here's the plot, here's the problem, and here's the solution" type book because that's not what it's supposed to be.

This is something that must be understood before opening the pages, or the reader will be disappointed with the "no real ending" conclusions. There are things to be learned from the characters. Although there are no "happy endings" per se, there are oftentimes revelations.

This book isn't the normal piece of fiction. In fact, it almost reads like non-fiction, like an episode of 60 minutes or Dateline where a time period, a turning point, of someone's life is shared with the world.

It's a book that touches close to home for many people, and may even open the hearts and eyes of some. The stories will pull the reader in and provide a captivating reality that holds right up to the last page.