The Notorious Dream of Jesús Lázaro

A Novel

Fiction - General
302 Pages
Reviewed on 07/31/2015
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Author Biography

Terence Clarke lives in San Francisco. He is the co-founder and director of publishing at Astor & Lenox. His previous books include the novels The King of Rumah Nadai, My Father In The Night, A Kiss for Señor Guevara, and The Notorious Dream of Jesús Lázaro. He has written three story collections...The Day Nothing Happened, Little Bridget and The Flames of Hell, and New York. Clarke's new novel, The Splendid City, with the great Chilean poet Pablo Neruda as its central character, will be published in early 2019.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Tracy Slowiak for Readers' Favorite

Sweeping. Beautiful. Striking. I could go on, but one word descriptions of a book, especially one as wonderful as The Notorious Dream of Jesús Lázaro, would not suffice. This masterful work by author Terence Clarke follows the titular artist, Jesús Lázaro, on his journey to complete his master work, murals that he feels called to complete on the exterior of the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco. The Archbishop that oversees the Cathedral, Ruben Mullins, and the Pope himself, refuse to allow Jesús his desire. But when a miraculous and painful sign from God is visited upon the Archbishop himself, he realizes that he must allow the murals to be painted, however unconventional they may be. The decision leads to chaos in the streets of San Francisco, concern from the echelons of the Vatican, and perhaps attention from God Himself.

Sometimes, as a reviewer, one feels that they may not be able to do a book justice in the short amount of time one has to write a review. This is one of those times. Terence Clarke’s novel, The Notorious Dream of Jesús Lázaro, follows an artist in the creation of his life’s masterpiece. Mr. Clarke, in writing this saga, has completed his own literary masterpiece. I simply cannot recommend this book more highly. It would appeal to any lover of fiction, the art world, or simply great writing. I loved, loved, loved this book and I cannot wait to read more of Terence Clarke’s work.