Fr. Thomas Matt's Four Decades in Genesis is a story of both murder and redemption. It spans the years of 1967 to 2006. Placed in those four decades are excerpts from the first book of the Bible, and it bridges the story of creation to the death of Joseph. The actual murder is graphically depicted in this novel, and it may be considered by some to be too gruesome. The only consolation is the murder only occupies a couple of pages. I purposely wrote it this way because in the book, the reader will discover how I was able to know what actually happened and, more importantly, why it needed to be vividly described. The murder is central to this novel because it produced so many long-term consequences to the people it affected. Redemption has multiple levels. Forgiveness is one level, and recovery is another. The reader will easily see how both play out over time. Another facet embodies the insidious nature of chemical dependency and the miraculous powers of recovery from this disease. The power can be best described as a movement from abject hopelessness to spiritual serenity. Without hope, how can any human being discover their destiny in life?
