A review by joreadsbooks
In the Hands of an Angry G-d by Claude Hamesh

emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 Content warning: explicit sex, religious guilt, sexualization of religion, ritual animal sacrifice, blood, humiliation, teratophilia, fantasy genitals

This is a quick read that’s essentially, as Hamesh puts it in the notes, “canon divergent fanfiction” of the Torah. It centers Aharon, guilty of idolatry, and the way G-d takes him on his burning desire for absolution.

It’s a really hot seventy or so pages with such lyrical prose, it really feels like it comes out of a religious text. The way Hamesh delineates between the voice talking in Aharon’s head versus speaking out loud really worked for me. There’s also a very clear reverence and love for the theology and, if I can say it, the source material. The characterization of both Aharon and his guilt proved really compelling, and I found myself completely absorbed in the time spent reading it.

Lyrical, reverent, and sexy, definitely recommend giving this novella a gander.