A Leopard Shall Watch Over

A Vietnam war veteran's search for redemption in the Holy Land is the subject of this contemporary version of the Divine Comedy. The leader of a platoon of soldiers that took vengeance on a small village and its inhabitants attempts to come to terms with his descent into evil in this rendering of Dante's journey from darkness to light. Set in the 70s, many of the scenes in the three parts of the medieval allegory are represented throughout this adoption by using the novel's characters in a variety of guises. More profoundly, an exploration of the paradoxical nature of individuality brings this modern pilgrim to a clearer understanding of himself and his world, though not the one he had originally expected to find.

This is the fourth novel by this author, all of which concern the search for a meaningful life in a world where morality is relative. Minton lived for two years in Israel gathering material for this novel and currently resides in northern California.