“That,
gentlemen… that is why they thrive. That belief—that we live beyond the reach of darkness—is one that
vampires have worked tirelessly to instill through the centuries. I submit to
you that it is nothing less than the greatest lie ever sold to mankind.”
~President
Abraham Lincoln to his Cabinet in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
What
would’ve Abraham Lincoln’s life been like if vampires were real? Add Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter to your
summer reading list and find out.
I found
Seth Grahame-Smith’s novel to be just as critics said—witty, well-written, and
engaging. But be forewarned, Grahame-Smith’s vampires are not of the
sparkly variety. They are depraved, evil, and malevolent. But, as Abe is
told by one vampire: “Judge us not equally.” Among the evil throngs are a few that
work towards a greater good. And Abe’s fight against the darkness is greatly
enhanced when he keeps this truth in mind—both when it comes to vampires and humans.
Hence, one
of the strengths of this novel. Though it is a fantastical story, it echoes the
truth of our own world. Like all
good stories, it reveals something of what it means to be human and the
nature of the reality we live in.
I was
particularly engaged by the novel’s depiction of vampires as slave owners. In
this alternative history, vampires have fled a hostile Europe and built a haven
for themselves in the American South, using the guise of slave owners as a way
of obtaining their food and playing out their bent desires upon humanity. This
was intentional: "I see them as
sort of one and the same,” says
Grahame-Smith in an NPR interview. "Both creatures, basically
slaveholders and vampires, steal lives—take the blood of others—to enrich
themselves."
Criticisms
of the story (though more strongly aimed at the film version than the novel) wonder
if making vampires the villains skirts the real sins of the nation that
embraced slavery or the real issues of the day surrounding its existence. But this
novel isn’t The Da Vinci Code of the Civil War.
Though an impressive amount of historical information and detail weave through
it, this story is fantastical. In an
interview with Vanity Fair,
the author touches on this when asked what he thought about the idea of using
his novel as a teaching tool:
I got the same question about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. People asked me, “Do you think people should teach this instead of Price and Prejudice?” I don’t think so, because you have to appreciate the original before you can enjoy a satire of it. It’s like, let’s say I took a postcard of the Mona Lisa and drew a mustache on it. It looks kinda funny and it’s a twist on a classic, but by no means should it demean or replace the actual classic…
My hope is, if people are interested in this book, they’ll be sparked to learn more about the real Lincoln and the real struggles he dealt with in his life.
But
because it’s fantastical doesn’t mean the novel isn’t revealing some important
truths about our own world—and history. Tolkien
says the best fairy stories deal with
simple but fundamental things, “made all the more luminous by their setting.” While this novel may not be a
classic fairy tale, it does something similar. By displaying slave owners and
slavery as a vampiric endeavor, it makes luminous the horror and maliciousness
of slavery and those who perpetrated it. It makes luminous the evil it is.
And all
this made me think about how our efforts to fight problems of human suffering
today—from child slavery and sex trafficking to the plights of undocumented
immigrants and those struggling in poverty—get stalled, thwarted or
waylaid by debates mired in political and economic issues (not unlike slavery
in the 1800s). Please hear me, I’m not denying that these kinds of problems are
immense, daunting, intricate and diverse, but it frustrates me how far too many
of us—especially those of us who follow Jesus—lose sight of the reality of the
horror of human agony and suffering. One of the most powerful and horrific
moments in the novel for me wasn’t the violent acts of the vampires but a young
Lincoln’s witness of a slave auction. We must see suffering as the horror it
is. And be it systemic or by human hand, we must work as relentlessly as the ax
wielding Abe against it.
But
chances are we won’t be throwing axes at vampires, so this is where I leave the
novel’s Abe to seek out the historical Lincoln, just as Grahame-Smith intended.
While
Lincoln’s faith is debated and most agree was unconventional, I
resonate with his writings, public and private, that wrestle with God and evil.
But, somewhat oddly, it is in his criticism of the organized Christian church that I find one place to
begin in considering how to fight evil—in particular, his criticism of a religion mired in debates over doctrine and his longing to find a church centered whole-heartedly on Scripture’s
call to the greatest of all commandments: Love God and others.
For
this Love is potent and powerful, flowing from a God who is, as C.S. Lewis puts
it, good but not tame. A Love like this works relentlessly to restore, free,
and redeem creation and creatures. This kind of Love speaks for those who have
no voice and stands up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. This great
Love lays down his life for others. This is a Love that defeats the darkness.
The
novel’s Abe warns that one of the “greatest lies ever sold to mankind” is that
we, “in this great age, where science has illuminated all but a few mysteries
…. lie beyond the reach of darkness that belongs in the Old Testament.” While
the darkness in our world may not be populated with vampires, it is nonetheless
as real and perpetrates equally horrific suffering. But the Story in which we
live reminds us of a God that Loves so relentlessly that he’s worked throughout
history to free us from this darkness—and he calls us as his people to work
beside him in this wild restoration. And a people centered on the greatest commandment is a power darkness can not stand against.
For a novel about vampires and an ax-wielding president, that's a pretty good slice of God-talk brought into open spaces.
Now,
maybe I’m gleaning too much from this novel. Maybe not. You can decide for yourself
if you read it. If you do, however, a last reminder: while the book is indeed a
witty and engaging adventure, the vampires in Abe’s world commit gory and
horrific acts which he (and we readers) witness first hand.
Those
scenes are the primary reason I haven’t seen the film version (I’m a bit of a wimp
when it comes to the big screen), but Think Christian’s Todd Hertz has and
you can read his
review at Christianity Today.
And if you are looking for a way to fight the darkness in our own world, here
are a few places start: World Vision, Invisible Children, or MCC’s
Immigration Advocacy.