To the author: “Jonah” is, to its credit, largely a story about love. Professor Eldin Jackson seems to have a pretty good grasp on this topic regarding the Creator. Jonah’s character, a man who sometimes battles his temper, is realistic. Jonah is a man in search of truth, as his office features the Bible, the Tanakh, the Qur’an, the Avesta, and Tripitaka, the Bhagavad Gita and others, and he teaches religious studies. Eldin speaks of “agape” love, the unconditional love of God. However, the narrator speaks of people saying they can’t see God, Allah, Jehovah, “whatever his name is” (page 25), and this may be an area of contention for those of the Judeo-Christian faith if this manuscript is made into a film. We just wanted to note this issue. Another one of these comments is featured on page 30 about a cool angel that the Qur’an says the Creator made from fire. A quotation from the Qur’an on page 42 also talks about the bones being reassembled, like Ezekiel’s bones.
Page 36 speaks of an explosion and a man losing one leg, described as a “bloody mess.” If this manuscript were made into a film, it could not be overly graphic or gratuitous, or we would not be able to award it our Dove Seal. The story offers an analogy to Jonah and the whale, hence the title of the manuscript. It shows a changed man in Jonah by story’s end. We are awarding the manuscript our “Faith-Friendly” Seal for ages 12 plus.