The Last Man at the Inn
By: R. William Bennett / Narrated By: Dennis Kleinman
Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
Was looking for Jacob T. Marley but found something with its own quiet power instead…
And so Christmas 2020 is here, bringing with it such things as, say, a text from one’s sister saying she was finishing a re-listen of Jacob T. Marley. As this is quite possibly my all-time FAVORITE audiobook, naturally I was texting right back about needing a tissue or two. The text I received back? Tissue? Try whole BOX!
Such were the memories of that audiobook to the point where I dashed over to Audible to see if that wonderful author, R. William Bennett, had any others out there. And he does have one: The Last Man at the Inn which, as the Fates would have it, is included in the Plus Catalog… i.e.? Freeeee to check out! This is about the life of one man in the times of Jesus, and I thought it’d be a jolly addition to our Christmas audiobooks, and a fine Listen for the Season.
Uhm, wellllll?
Okay okay okay! I’ll totally own that I was sooo disappointed as it was nooooo Jacob T. Marley, and it took me quite some time to get over that. From the beginning, there’s rather a distance written in between us and our hero, Simon, a Jewish spice trader who in the beginning finds himself in Bethlehem and trying to find a place for the evening. All is packed, no room at any inn due to people traveling for the census taking place. Simon finds the last spot available, and right behind him comes a couple and a donkey, and she is quiiiiite with child. They’re turned away, and so Simon turns his head away also. See? Not much feeling to be had for Simon, not much feeling he has for others.
But he can’t sleep and so goes out walking that night, soon finding himself viewing a peaceful scene with all looking at a shining new family, a baby in the manger. The rumor is out, prophecy: The savior of the Jews is to be born, and Simon wonders if that’s what he just saw, but soon he shrugs it off, and he gets on with life.
Life, as it happens, soon intersects with the life of this young Jesus as he grows up and begins growing a following through his teachings. Things are tense, things are touchy. And Simon doesn’t know where he stands with all of this. Some people are taking the teachings to heart, some people are thinking such talk is treasonous and bound to bring nothing but trouble from the Romans. It’s not until 30 years in when Simon’s eldest son witnesses the baptism of Jesus by John, when his son is mesmerized and wants to hear more, when his son leaves the father to follow Jesus, that Simon truly begins searching his heart, sifting through his thoughts to make sense of this new philosophy about life. Give the shirt off your back to help someone else? Pretty blasted radical!
What I DID like about the book was how it showed how we all struggle, how we all are challenged, how we all need whatever time it takes, whatever lessons required, to grow spiritually. Simon’s is a slow road, but when he does start realizing that the teachings SOMEtimes say give up all your possessions so that you might follow Me, really what Jesus wants is for people to live bold lives of compassion. Soon Simon is joyfully embracing this and wanting to hear Jesus speak, traveling with his entire family after a Sunday when Jesus was reported to have been welcomed into the city by oodles of people waving palms (Ooooo—we all know what happens the next Sunday!).
The book gets its quiet power in those final pages, after following the final hours of Jesus’s life. No I didn’t sob a whole box of tissues for this Bennett book, but when Simon’s path becomes clear as he watches the bleeding and staggering Jesus struggling with the cross for crucifixion, I knew where it all was going, knew Simon’s place in history, and I saw a good and honest man, pure of thought, sure of his actions, and I did cry a bit.
It all comes together in a lovely way in the days after the death, where Simon, once the man whose doubts held his family back now becomes the leading light for living the Word of God. His sons look to him for answers, look to him for how to live their lives. I mean, what is one supposed to do when the teacher is gone? Yup, it was enough for me to hit Wikipedia about Simon as I wanted to see what is historically known. Always a good thing when an audiobook moves me to learn more…!
Okay, so a disappointment to a certain extent, but actually quite lovely. I’ve already mentioned characters living their faith in an earlier review but hey! ‘Tis the Season to live one’s Faith! And here we’re given a fine character who questions humbly and who opens his heart oh so wide.
What’s not to love in that?!
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