Brother Jude is an unlikely missionary to a feral child. He doubts himself, at times doubts his faith, and the American city boy has never set foot in an Indian jungle. Yet something drives him to search for an orphaned boy rumored to be living among wolves in the wild. His jungle guide Arun, a former Hindu and now an atheist, becomes an unlikely spiritual mentor. (The only one he has, since Brother Jude ran away from his order to pursue this unauthorized mission.) Twelve-year old Mowgli is both a kind human boy and a fierce jungle beast, and lives in the tension between his two natures. Five-year old Sabu, whose family fled to the jungle to escape the savagery of man, bears the scars that evil sears upon childhood innocence. Rudyard Kipling’s Bagheera, Baloo, Hathi, Kaa, Chil the Kite and Mang the Bat are all here, as are new animal characters. They include the monkeys Shunta B. Sookin and Yaya, who try to protect Sabu and his family, and Shere Chor, the sinister brother of Shere Kahn, who seeks revenge on Mowgli for his brother’s death.
Brother Jude confronts questions he did not expect to face on this journey: Does Mowgli already follow a creed that serves him well, and should he interfere? Can the boy be saved by Christ without becoming a Christian? As an adolescent in the jungle should Mowgli know the difference between human sexuality and how animals mate? Can Jude come to terms with his own childhood trauma when he, like Mowgli, lost a father to an animal’s violence? Can he show mercy in the face of violent vengeance? And can he survive the jungle and discern God’s true call for his life?
Brother Jude confronts questions he did not expect to face on this journey: Does Mowgli already follow a creed that serves him well, and should he interfere? Can the boy be saved by Christ without becoming a Christian? As an adolescent in the jungle should Mowgli know the difference between human sexuality and how animals mate? Can Jude come to terms with his own childhood trauma when he, like Mowgli, lost a father to an animal’s violence? Can he show mercy in the face of violent vengeance? And can he survive the jungle and discern God’s true call for his life?