Purple Jesus: A Novel

By: Ron Cooper

Narrated by: Charles Bice

Purvis Driggers is a South Carolina Low Country loser. With little judgment and even less chance for a decent life beyond his parents house, home town, and whatever part-time work he can scrounge up, he s sure he's figured a way out: rob an old man of the rumored millions hidden in his house. But all he finds is the old man dead and the money, if there was any, already gone. Purvis is drawn to the sound of music across the creek. There, he discovers a beautiful woman in a white gown being baptized in the water. Surely Martha, beautiful Martha, will give Purvis the escape he imagines. With the Martha boat come to his rescue, Purvis decides, he ll never have to worry about drowning.

But Martha Umphlett is trapped, too. Married and just as quickly divorced, Martha s been condemned to return to the home she d once escaped. Made to take care of her obese mother, and forced to participate in a baptism she has no interest in whatsoever, Martha, in her own way, is every bit as desperate as Purvis, but far more capable and a good deal more dangerous.

Their paths cross with that of Brother Andrew, a monk at a nearby monastery whose call more and more is not to God, but to nature, and more importantly, to somewhere else. He wanders the swamp to watch birds, practice archery, and meditate, but it becomes clearer and clearer to him that the answers he seeks are not to be found in his monastery, his vow of silence, or the life he has thus far known. But maybe the answer is in the girl he, too, sees being baptized across the creek. Perhaps Martha will make Andrew happy.

Infatuated with Martha, and certain she's the answer to his dreams, Purvis sets out to do whatever is necessary to prove his love, all the while terrified that the FBI will pin the old man's murder on him.

This darkly humorous story wends its way through a web of murder and dismemberment, a twisted love triangle, and a woodland monster known as the Hairy Man.

©2010 Ron Cooper (P)2014 Bancroft Press

Fun Ride

A crazy, fun confluence of colorful characters. Even if you see the ending coming, it was worth the wild ride.
Fantastic voice artist!

Still Pondering It...

Purple Jesus is a uniquely written tale told from the perspective of three people - Purvis, Martha, and Brother Andrew.

The style of the writing was pretty clever, and I found it different to anything I'd read prior. Each main character had a distinct style and voice, and the narrative would cut from one to the other, sometimes repeating series of events, sometimes just overlapping at the end of the prior to the next character's narrative. I found it flowed very well.

Purvis was a character I really found myself liking. I'd put him as "uneducated" rather than an idiot, like he was continually getting involved in deeper thought, or attempting profound discussions, but just didn't have the "book smarts" or audience for the articulation. I really found him endearing.

The story itself is like a small crazed slice of life of these people and where their lives overlapped, and changed.

The narrator did a fantastic job on all the accents (and there were a LOT). It was always easy to identify characters. I'd like to hear more by this narrator, and by the author!

Purple Jesus

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Nicer characters,a different story?I really don't know.

What was most disappointing about Ron Cooper’s story?

That I had to just finally give up on it.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Charles Bice?

The narrator was fine.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Anxiety

Any additional comments?

I'm just sorry I couldn't finish this book....

Great Performance in South Carolina Lowlands Tale

Any additional comments?

I listened to the Audible version of Purple Jesus by Ron Cooper narrated by Charles Bice. Charles did an admirable job narrating, providing unique voices for all of the characters, and his dialect seemed genuine. The book is touted as a comedy, but I didn't find anything amusing with it. The two main characters are Purvis and Martha who are extremely poor in South Carolina's low country. While their story was Ok, I really didn't enjoy the parts with Brother in it, which seemed out of place and distracted from the main story. In short, Purple Jesus was uninspired and forgettable.