M L Bettino

The Jesus Barn M L Bettino

1960 - a father discovers his daughter dead in his barn from a heroin overdose. Her newborn baby clings to life beside her. His wife dies shortly afterwards from cancer. He commissions a local vaquero to paint the crucified Jesus on the inside wall of his barn as a personal reproach against wallowing in his own suffering. 1975 - the child, now a high school junior, hangs himself in the same barn after being raped by his water polo coach. Twins, Seraphim and Cherub, members of his garage band, set out to expose the rapist through a series of pranks. These escalate into violence as others, including the grandfather, are drawn in. Teodore Fragio, high school teacher, recovering from a violent attack on his family from a victim of war crimes from the past, puts himself in the middle of the conflict between coach and students. His failures as a father, a husband, a music critic, and a man of faith only exacerbate things. This is a story of childish adventure, adult human folly, revenge and redemption.