The God-Fearer

Kobus, the forgetful old Bookbinder, is haunted by two strangely familiar children, always silent, who stare out of his window or play their childish games, yet take no notice of him. Who are they? And what connection do they have to the shameful episode from Kobus's past which he has long since chosen to forget?
The setting is faintly recognizable as medieval Europe, but history has taken a different turn: the God-Fearers, drawing their beliefs from the Yehudim of ancient times, are the majority, and the tiny sect of Christers ("the followers of Yeshua, Jesus, the Christus, the Natzerit, whatever they liked to call him") who live quietly on the edge of town are blamed for floods, famine, disease, and other misfortunes. In his adolescence Kobus was caught up in a witchhunt against them. Impelled by ambition and his fear of public contempt, he made a choice that changed the worth and meaning of his life irrevocably.

Dan Jacobson holds a chair in English at University College, London.