Features
- Cover Type: Hard Cover with 256 pages
- Published by: Knopf March 4, 2008
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 1400043522
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-1400043521
-
Book Dimensions:
9.2 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
- Weighs: 11.2 ounces
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In the New Testament, the miracle at the wedding at Cana-where Jesus turned water into wine-marks the commencement of his tumultuous three-year ministry. In Rice's gorgeously observed novel, a sequel to 2005's
Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, however, the wedding miracle is in fact the culmination of an intimate family saga of love, sorrow and misunderstanding. As the novel opens, Yeshua (Jesus) struggles with a sense of restlessness of purpose and a deep love for a comely kinswoman. Waves of isolation sweep over him as he comes to understand that serving the Lord's will takes precedence over the desires of his own heart. Whereas the first novel in this series hewed so closely to Scripture and to the author's meticulous research as to be somewhat arid as fiction, this book, imagining the "lost" young adulthood of Jesus, offers wise and haunting speculation where the Bible is silent. And the final chapters, which pick up the story with the New Testament's accounts of Jesus' baptism, temptation and early miracles, manage to be soulfully insightful even while faithfully tracking the Gospels. Rice undertakes a delicate balance: if it is possible to create a character that is simultaneously fully human and fully divine, as ancient Christian creeds assert, then Rice succeeds.
(Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Product Review
“A masterful book written by an extraordinary writer at the height of her powers. It deserves to be read for that reason alone. But it also deserves to be read to better understand the most dynamic and important human being in human history—Christ the Lord.”
—David Kuo,
All Things Considered
“Convincing and compelling. Another winner.”
—
Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“[A] gorgeously observed novel . . . Rice undertakes a delicate balance here: if it is possible to create a character that is simultaneously fully human and fully divine, as ancient Christian creeds assert, then Rice succeeds.”
—
Publishers Weekly (starred)
“Anne Rice knows how to make that old story come alive for her readers.”
—Susan Larson,
The Times-Picayune
“A powerful account of Christ’s humanity while staying true to orthodox Christianity. Her well-drawn, believable supporting characters add to a vivid captivating story . . . a novel that both religious and secular audiences can appreciate and enjoy; highly recommended for all fiction collections.”
—
Library Journal (starred)
“Rice, whose books have sold more than 75 million copies, couples her writing talents with the zeal of a recent convert and a passion for historical research in
Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana, an intriguing followup to
Out of Egypt . . . Remarkable for Rice’s prose and rich sensory detail.”
—Cindy Crosby,
Christianity Today “[
The Road to Cana] succeeds in treating Yeshua’s humanity as an essential part of his divinity . . . And Ms. Rice can deliver hypnotic, incantatory prose that celebrates Yeshua’s ascension. . . . Many readers will be lured by the promise of simply rendered holiness to
The Road to Cana.”
—Janet Maslin,
The New York Times
Reader Reviews
On the invocation page of this fine novel Anne Rice includes a quote from Karl Rahner which is very important for interpreting her project: "The truth of the faith can be preserved only by doing a theology of Jesus Christ, and by redoing it over and over again." This is indeed what Anne Rice is doing in this series of books: doing a theology of Jesus in narrative form. A very specific conception of Christian belief takes shape in these pages: one in which evil derives mostly from misunderstandings, impatience and limitations of perspective (the stoning of the two young boys suspected of homosexuality is bound to be controversial), Time is a gift which makes life worth living and the power of God is most evident in the simple pleasures of life, in a "vast, vital world of blowing wheat and shining sun" (p.198) Whatever one makes of its orthodoxy, it is a powerful, heartfelt, deeply thoughtful vision that should be taken seriously by theologically minded people. As a novel it is fairly well-written and as fascinating as the first book in its depiction of the historical and social reality of the 1st Century. Jesus' longing for Avigail is poignant, although Rice treads delicately here, as many Christians would probably be offended if they saw Jesus portrayed as having actual lustful thoughts. There is more than a hint of apocryphal material here, as in Jesus'to his brother that "Heaven and earth were made for you, James. You'll come to understand", which is from the Gospel of Thomas. Interestingly, the book is at its best when speculating about Jesus's life where the Gospels are silent. When we actually come to the Gospel events of baptism, temptation and miracle, the narration becomes strangely flat and literal, without the nuanced character-building and development which characterized the earlier parts of the book. On the other hand, a number of familiar stories from the Gospels are interconnected in interesting ways, and the overall effect is a very readable life of Jesus. Anne Rice keeps going from strength to strength. She has shown considerable courage and determination in researching the world of Jesus to the best of her ability, and the result is a narrative theology of Jesus the likes of which we have seldom seen. It is to be treasured, both devotionally and as a work of literature.
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