Simon is a Jew, married with a baby on the way. He “kept his religion in a manner driven by convenience. (…) he saw no need for the traditions and trappings of his Judaism unless they helped him. Or his wife insisted he keep them.”

He is forced to travel to Bethlehem due to census. He doesn’t understand why there is such turmoil over counting people. One night, not able to sleep, he takes a walk outside the city of Bethlehem and comes across a cave; inside it he sees a mere peasant woman and man, and a baby. He doesn’t know what it is, but he senses something special.

The following day, as he sells his spices to another merchant, he hears about a talk. “They talk of the prophecy from the scriptures. They all think the baby was born here last night.”

Back home, his wife is having a difficult birth. Simon prays to God to look over his wife.

The story continues with Simon witnessing Jesus’ revolutionary teachings. He struggles with understanding others’ deep need for devotion to God.

The first 20% of the story is engaging, but with the birth of his son, Simon not wanting to leave the house – pretty much the same scene is being described twice. And that’s when I started disconnecting from the story.

Then Simon’s argument with another man what is true and what may not be true, is beginning of his struggle of understanding others’ need for devotion. There is nothing wrong with questioning to understand something better, but the way it’s presented it made me being even more disconnected from the story. Even though, it later has a connection with his son’s experience and his believes. I still didn’t find it engaging.

12 years later, he takes his firstborn on his travels, teaching his son “everything he’d learned, shared everything he’d seen in decades of travel.” It’s perfectly fine to skip 12 years, but then I wished the story of Simon’s experience and passing it to his son was better developed.

In one paragraph, his son Alexander is already a married man. In the next paragraph, he turns 30. I like progressing stories, but this one progresses way too fast at some points, rushing through some interesting parts.

Also, the characters could be better developed, have more depth rather than getting into arguments.

Simon of Cyrene is well known because of his carrying the cross when Jesus was too weak, but little else is known about this man. In The Last Man at the Inn, R. William Bennett writes what Simon’s life could have been like.

The book paints an idea of what it could have been like for someone that was able to observe Jesus at the different points in His life. Simon goes from skeptical to believing, much as people do today. His life illustrates how many Christians experienced salvation, or even how they once viewed the whole idea of Jesus. There were many of Simon’s reactions that I could identify with. His guilt over being selfish made me wonder if I have unnecessarily put people out so that I could maintain my level of comfort.

Though this is a fictional account, the gospel message is accurately told. The teachings of Jesus are clear, and the message of His death and resurrection is proclaimed. It is a good book to read, and comes with a message everyone needs to hear.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.