Fiction Book Review: Let Them Look West

Contemporary vision of what real Christian leadership could accomplish

The Story

“To seek morality in an immoral world is a provocation. All we can do is endeavor to live righteously, and as I have said before, there is victory in the striving.”

Rob was taken aback by the words and felt thrown a little off balance by the force and conviction behind them, but he would not let Alexander end with that. “And what of Mount Calvary? What of the camps and mobilization of the State Corps, the brawls with the State University? How is that not an active form of provocation? Is it not enough to live a life of quiet devotion?”

“Much is expected by those given providence. It is not enough to bury the talent and keep it safe. One must always do more in the name of God.” The governor sighed. “You must accept that we are very different kinds of people.”

Ideological struggle is undeniably the prime focus of our culture right now, but what is fascinating about this book is that it avoids the pitfalls of many books that have a Political or Religious theme. Marty Phillips doesn’t bash you over the head with his own ideas or ideology to where you feel like you’re reading a tract or a rant. The story is incredibly timely, but if you took this book back to any time in America in the last 60 years, it would stand on its own as a hit that people would resonate with.

The struggle of the spiritual versus the secular is as old as this nation, and we find ourselves in a contemporary America where an Evangelical Christian named James Alexander has been re-elected as the Governor of Wyoming. The story is told from the point-of-view of Rob Coen, unambitious go-along-to-get-along reporter for '“The Times” in New York City.

Alexander leads a furious revival of the faithful in Wyoming by bringing the states assets to bear, constructing a massive manmade monument with state funds and massive donations, Mount Calvary. The “Wyoming Project” is largely panned by the usual suspects in coastal media, but fosters enthusiasm from Americans who find contemporary life to be too materialistic and vain, at the head of a massive state agency modeled after the Conservation Corps of old. This has aroused the anger of the Federal Government, who litigiously fight back against the state.

“When a massive enterprise shows the initial signs of failure or collapse, those at the top become far more paranoid, reactive, and sensitive to betrayal. When a member of the enterprise shows a vote of no confidence, then they must be punished and brought to heel quickly in order to prevent the spread of designs for self-preservation. If there is even a whiff of every man for himself, then the collapse accelerates uncontrollably. This is how cartels operate and how massive, interdependent financial and government institutions do as well. You see, this currency is not an explicit provocation, but if seen as an act of self-preservation, a vote of no confidence, then it will elicit harsh retaliation.”

What do you think the feds will do?” Rob asked.

“I have some ideas, but I don’t know for sure,” the governor admitted. “They know everything already. We will know in the days after today’s press release.”

Against all odds he causes a massive migration to his state outpacing growth in all others, as the faithful from all over the nation come to Wyoming making pilgrimages to Mount Calvary or on a one way trip to settle there and revolt against the lifestyles of modernity. Rob is on a mission to “unmask the hypocrisy” of the movement and prove the whole thing to be a sham.

But the cynical journalist will get a lot more than he bargained for, and a crash course in intrigue and perspectives that he couldn’t begin to anticipate.

The Characters

The biggest strength in the writing of this book is how refreshingly believable and fleshed out the characters are. In genres such as this, the opposing ideology is frequently demonized and caricatured, while the authors ideology is a model of perfection. This book dashes those stereotypes on the rocks, and every character feels very real, as if this were a nonfiction book depicting real world events. The author shows a mastery of empathy, understanding, and even the mechanics of statecraft used to convey the events of the story.

While Rob is everything we expect him to be, we ride around inside his head for the length of the book and glean an understanding of how these cynical people are made. Governor Alexander is not a perfect paragon, but a very believable interpretation of a rational man who feels driven to do great things after being born again and retreating from life in New York high finance and coming home. The sparring between the two during the interview is fascinating.

The various supporting characters range from the Governors idealistic niece, his paranoid political fixer, and Alexanders unpalatable uncle who is volatile and full of fire and brimstone, they are all immensely believable. You will come to understand their motivations and conclusions through their conversations with Rob as he unravels what really makes the Wyoming Project tick.

“Been meaning to ask you about that. Why the monument?”

Alexander glanced back with a slight almost sheepish smile. “It was my intent from the beginning to make this state into a shelter for decent folks who feared God and respected hard work. I wanted to physically anchor that idea in this place. Mount Calvary is the nail sunken in the wall, holding fast a complaint against the world and what it has become. Monuments are more powerful than the materials and men that make them. They inscribe ideas on generations of the hearts that see them. It claims land for a sojourning and invisible power. A monument is a prayer of a whole people.”

In Conclusion

I really enjoyed this book and I hope Marty writes more in this setting. Will more of the nation look west? Will cynical realpolitik kill the project in the crib? Will Rob be deeply impacted by his experiences with these people, or will his cynical atheism win the day? I want to find out! For readers of faith, you will enjoy the well reasoned arguments about life and scripture that take place within. It’s an enthusiastic referendum on the Christian faith that feels so real you can reach out and touch it.

Where to read this book

On a lazy Sunday after church lets out, or on a quiet night of contemplation.

Where to buy this book

Let Them Look West can be found on Amazon, or also directly from the website for Antelope Hill, who published this book as part of their new “Jackalope Hill” Fiction stamp. Antelope Hill are the same fine gentlemen who brought you “What Kind of Man Will I Be?”, the children’s book for young boys that I also reviewed recently. They are wonderful people doing wonderful things and absolutely deserve your support.

Buy Let Them Look West on Amazon

Buy Let Them Look West on Antelope Hill