I listened to this book on tape driving my commute back and forth to work, up and down highway 41. And I was really, really surprised by how good it was. I remember a few years ago, Tanya mentioned to me that she really liked it. So I gave it a chance.
Now you need to know that it is written by a woman named Anne Rice who in my mind has always been an author associated with dark and evil stories about vampires, death and the underworld. I think I tried reading some of her previous books in high school but quickly discovered I did not jive with her darkness.
As you can imagine, I was curious (maybe suspicious is a better word) about her (the dark and evil author) writing a book about Jesus.
Well, it is a stunning portrayal of the life of Jesus as a small boy. I loved it! I feel like I was able to see Jesus in a new light, in a new way that I haven’t seen him before. So much of the story of Jesus that is recorded in Scripture is all about his adult years. But she does an amazing job bring the boy of Jesus to life. She is a historian in a lot of ways and at the end she tells some of her story of how she came to write this book. I will let you enjoy that part on your own, but it is a good story of how God came in and transformed her and her writing.
Some things I loved about the book:
1) I really liked how she just wrote a snapshot of sorts of 2-3 years of Jesus life as he was beginning to grapple and understand who he really was, the Son of God. To see him as fragile and confused and little boyish was wonderful and interesting.
2) As I said before, she did a marvelous job capturing the culture and setting of what life was like for Jesus and his family. It was well portrayed how much Jews were persecuted and the powerful hand that Rome used to squish people.
3) I loved a thread she weaved about rememembering. Jesus’ aunts and uncles would always say to him and the other children when something signficant would happen, “Remember this.” Forcing them to make a conscious choice to imprint something into their hearts, minds and memories. I want to do that with my children.
4) I really enjoyed the Holy Spirit encounters Jesus had and how he would process them and try to understand them as a small boy. I especially loved the scene where Jesus is standing behind his uncle in the Jordan river after finally returning to Israel from Eygypt. His uncle was very ill and about to die and a small but powerful prayer escapes from Jesus’ heart that changes his uncle forever. It is a beautiful scene and I won’t give too much more away. Or Jesus seeing angels for the first time….oooh.
5) And I was reminded anew of what it must have been like for Mary and Joseph, particularly Mary, coming back to Nazareth and being known as a woman who had an illegitimate child (supposedly) and the shame their entire family experienced interacting with other people in the community.
Good book.
I recommend it.
Yes, I’ve been wanting to read this book. Did you ever read “Two from Galilee” and “Three from Nazareth?” Similar ideas–novelizations about Mary and Joseph and then about Mary, Joseph and Jesus.
I like reading your blog, Shanel! It makes me feel like I am close to you