Chasing the Divine in the Holy Land

December 15, 2012
For Presbyterian minister Everhart, making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land involves staged interaction for the sake of an obscure documentary filmmaker; an outrageous litany of gastronomical complaints from fellow pilgrims; much haggling over souvenir purchases; and comparisons of sacred and historical objects to modern itemsas in ancient pews that resemble IKEA furniture. A Palestinian tour guide by the name of Jihad spews contempt for Israelis and Americans and causes a fellow Christian pilgrim to cry. Everhart's tour seems less transformational pilgrimage and more a children's pop-up tour of the Holy Land, peppered with complaints. She admittedly fails to grasp the complexities of the religious and political turmoil of the region, but, to her credit, she provides candid and detailed observations of her own experience. And although many readers will see her as an ugly American, Everhart does emerge with her faith intact and grateful for completing her journey. For larger collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)