Thomas — L. Stafford Betty

            The queen of the great Chola Empire has taken the tall, light-skinned saint from the mysterious West for her guru and, as if predestined by some primordial karma that must play itself out, she falls in love with him.  But Thomas--or  "Doubting Thomas," as he is known to his fellow Christians half a world away--is in love with God.  Or is he?  Cut off for seven years from everything that nourishes his inner vision, he sees his old world of solid certainties wobble.  The Doubter doubts again.  In the meantime Kumaran, a low-caste Tamil-speaking poet who has accompanied Thomas on his missionary travels, succumbs to a different kind of karma.  As a result, Thomas confronts, not martyrdom for preaching the new faith, but "execution for adultery."  Torn between his love for God and the queen, he tries to bring order to his soul.  Meanwhile, in the breast of the queen, a plan so momentous takes shape that it will determine the course of an empire.  Behind the scenes, as always, is Kumaran.  He too loves Thomas, but loves jealously; he too plays a part in the evolution of empire.  But unlike Thomas and the queen, he must live with the appalling consequences of his deeds.  What begins as Thomas' story ends as Kumaran's.
            Stafford Betty unforgettably evokes ancient South India's villages, cities, palaces, wars,  famines, suttees, tribes, castes, gods, beasts, her mountainous jungles and fishing coasts and rich rice plains, her steamy climate, and her traditions about St. Thomas that are still a vital part of Christian life in Kerala today.  He recreates the opulent life of the court in fabled Puhar, long ago swallowed by the sea, and describes the historic Battle of Venni in horrifying detail.  He imaginatively presents through flashbacks the critical events in the story of Jesus and Thomas in faraway Judaea.  He gives valuable insight into Hinduism's historic resistance to Christianity.  He even sets the table for a reconciliation of sorts between the two faiths.  Though an American, he is intimately acquainted with South Indian history and culture.  He has created a modern Indian epic.