Author: Mette Harrison
Title: The Book of Abish
By Common Consent Press, 2019. 168 pages. Book of Mormon novel.
Reviewed by Conor Hilton
Much like Mette’s previous book in this genre, The Book of Laman, The Book of Abish quietly and carefully builds to a powerful and spiritual conclusion. The background that Mette builds for Abish and the Lamanites is striking and adds character and depth to a narrative that many Mormons know well. The book is packed with women and uses that to push and stretch and complicate the male-centered Book of Mormon narrative.
The early chapters of the book effectively lay the groundwork for the spiritual powerhouse of the conclusion. The most effective moments of the book for me were where it adds color and character and interiority to existing Book of Mormon characters. Mette is gifted at humanizing her characters and their spirituality. The interactions between Ammon and Abish are productive and provocative. The questions and ideas that the text raises about what happens after the Book of Mormon narrative ends. The Book of Abish challenges us to think of new perspectives and the ways that those not often included in initial tellings may change and reinterpret our understanding of events. And it helps us see the different callings that we all have in this life, as members of the Body of Christ. Well worth your time.