Mysterion, August 2024

“The Interrupt” by Constantine Singer

Reviewed by Michelle Ristuccia

“The Interrupt” follows a hapless ministry student who interrupts an attempted suicide, but in this unnervingly urban fantasy take, one can not be sure that such supernatural omens and coincidences are the hand of God, or the work of a more sinister force. Singer deftly accomplishes a Calvinist-inspired moral uncertainty that fits the story well. I personally have little patience for unanswered questions in fiction, but I never felt that this was a cop out here–-indeed, unanswerable questions are the meat of “The Interrupt.” Because scripture cannot directly answer every situation we find the characters in, and neither does the story, we are expected to judge the MC’s final decision on the patchwork frame of our personal paradigm. And even if you disagree with the MC’s actions at the end, can you really blame him?

Singer provides readers with an intensely thought-provoking Christian lens on personal responsibility and its intersection with ministry to the grossly sinful. Well-developed characters and worldbuilding naturalize heavy themes found in the gritty corners of real life urban ministry. Some readers may feel the story could have done with one or two fewer characters, but I felt that each was crafted well and for a specific reason, and that as a whole they represent the overwhelming nature of a world needing aid. Mysterion is a fitting home for this story as there is no way to remove Christianity from the narrative, and it addresses a uniquely Christian view.