Damascus Gate (novel)
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Literature |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Founder | Robert Stone |
| Products | Book |
Damascus Gate is a 1998 novel authored by American writer Robert Stone, set against the backdrop of 1990s Jerusalem. The book was shortlisted for the prestigious National Book Award.
Plot summary
The narrative centers on Christopher Lucas, an American freelance journalist delving into the religious and political unrest in Israel. During his investigation, Lucas discovers a conspiracy aimed at demolishing the Dome of the Rock to facilitate the construction of the Third Temple. Among other significant American figures are Sonia Barnes, a Jewish-Sufi mystic and Lucas’s love interest; Adam De Kuff, a mentally unstable individual from a distinguished New Orleans family who proclaims himself the Messiah; and Raziel Melker, a heroin-dependent son of a senator, who is devoted to De Kuff with unclear intentions.
The novel incorporates a diverse cast including rabbis, imams, priests, missionaries, settlers, and activists. Importantly, none of the principal characters are Israeli or Palestinian, highlighting an outsider’s viewpoint on Jerusalem’s conflicts.
Inspiration
Christopher Lucas serves as a semi-autobiographical figure mirroring Stone’s own journalistic career. Both share intricate paternal backgrounds and were educated in Catholic schools. Stone’s mother once suggested that his father might have been Jewish, paralleling Lucas’s mixed religious lineage.
Scholars have drawn comparisons between relationships in the novel and historical religious personages: Adam De Kuff and Raziel Melker evoke figures such as Jesus and Paul the Apostle, or 17th-century Sabbatean leaders Sabbatai Zevi and Nathan of Gaza. Stone’s introduction affirms the deliberate allusion to this narrative of a false messiah.
Influence and significance
Damascus Gate garnered predominantly favorable critiques for its meticulously woven suspenseful storyline and multifaceted character portrayals. Bill Ott praised it as "the best novel of the year" and "a compelling novel of ideas, securely grounded in the stones of Jerusalem." Sybil Steinberg described it as "bold and bracing, ambitious and inspired," while Kirkus Reviews lauded its emotional depth and tension, calling it Stone’s most daring and arguably finest work.
Some reviewers noted shortcomings. Hillel Halkin condemned it as "a rip-off of a country and a tradition that deserve better," while Robert S. Frederickson observed that Stone’s prose reflected a fragmented reality steeped in existential anxiety. Jonathan Rosen characterized it as "an American religious fantasy."
Nonetheless, the majority of critics offered praise. Michiko Kakutani emphasized the latter half as "masterly, thrilling, coiled and somehow both inevitable and surprising." Lawrence Rungren referred to it as a "powerful literary thriller" and "a vivid, multilayered tale of the darkness that too often bedevils humanity's search for the light." John Garvey highlighted Stone’s examination of nihilism versus authentic faith, recommending the book as both intellectually stimulating and an engaging thriller.
Market impact
Stone received an advance of $600,000 in 1992 for Damascus Gate. Following its release in 1998, an extensive national tour bolstered robust sales, with nearly 112,000 hardcover copies sold. The paperback rights were sold at auction to Simon & Schuster for $357,500, while the novel also secured a $100,000 contract for inclusion in the Book-of-the-Month Club.
Additional resources
- Gregory Stephenson: A Study of Robert Stone, Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2002, pp. 155–193.
- William Heath: Dialogues with Robert Stone, Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2016, pp. 168–176.
External links
- Publisher's official page for Damascus Gate
- Robert Stone Discusses Damascus Gate, Robert Birnbaum, Identity Theory, April 20, 2009.