Here is history - from the Crucifixion to the fall of Jerusalem - seen through the eyes of a young Jewish arena-cleaner who is placed by Chance in the very womb of Christianity, at the very heart of Imperial Rome. In this prophecy-driven tale of love, longing, and revenge meet Paul of Tarsus (St. Paul), the gospelers Mark and Luke, Pontius Pilate, Caligula, the generals Vespasian and Titus, three notorious Greek anti-Semites - and some remarkable women. Accompany Paul on the road to Damascus and share his last voyage. Witness the burning of Nero's Rome, the horrors of the Roman/Jewish war, the life and death of a great black gladiator, and, seated beside Caligula, observe the strange encounter between a man named Androcles and a lion.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Writer, aviator, and world traveler Nina Galen was born in Greenwich Village, grew up in Hollywood, and then moved to Europe. During her seventeen years abroad, when she wasn’t writing novels on her portable manual typewriter, or picking grapes and olives, she was flying her small plane around the Mediterranean, visiting the sites and ruins of the Roman Empire which later she’d reconstruct for this book. Galen’s novels, short stories, and articles have been published in the U.S., England, and France. Her education includes a BA in English from UCLA and an MA from UNM. She now resides in the U.S. – and in cyberspace at paganjew.com.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
My name is Mel. My memories begin in about my fourth year – the year Rome lost her first emperor, the divine Augustus, and I lost my dar-ling mother. But I think some of what happened then was described to me later, so I don’t know exactly what I remember, was told, or possibly in-vented.
I clearly see young Mel walking up a very narrow, busy street in Rome holding his mother’s hand. Suddenly she wasn’t there. Amazed, he let himself be carried along by the crowd, or ran forward to find her, or back, confused and terrified. He was standing at the bottom of some stairs when a great figure came flying down and landed on him. It was a woman with white eyes, not old or young, clutching a walking stick in her hand. She apologized and raised her weight off him, at the same time shielding him from being trampled, but this didn’t calm his fear. Quickly, gently, she ran her fingertips over his face and body. Her name was Nolia.
"What’s your name, child?"she asked.
"M-Mel."
"Do you see your mother, Mel?" Then someone lifted Nolia to her feet and together she and little Mel moved close to a wall, out of the way. "Is anyone looking for a child named Mel?" she called in her thin voice.
"Is anyone looking for Mel?" Mel strained to hear his mother’s call, seeking her in the thousands of feet, legs, and yards of linen hurrying by. He looked up, expecting to see her familiar face and her arms frantically waving at him. Nolia called and listened for an answering voice, but all she heard were the cries of hawkers and peddlers. Straining to see Mel’s mother’s face, she saw only darkness. She gripped his hand, as if hoping by this tight connection to see the lost one through his bright young eyes. At last Nolia said, "Come, Mel. We’ll wait for your mother at home."
With the child’s hand in hers, she tapped and felt her way back up the street until she came to a familiar door located between a locksmith shop and a tavern. Pushing it open, she led him down a corridor that opened onto a courtyard with shrines and a small fountain, then into a large room in back.
I still recall that populated tenement, a building seven stories high that overarched the narrow street to another tenement on the other side, for it was there I lived the next several years. What had happened to my mother? I never found out, but it wasn’t uncommon in those narrow streets for something to fall or be thrown from a window and hit a person walking below. Of one thing I was certain: my mother would not have abandoned her Mel had she been alive.
The room we entered that day was a communal dwelling with straw mattresses on the floor and a grill where sausages were roasting. The five women who lived there – all freed household slaves like Nolia herself – were busy at different tasks, spinning and weaving flax, grinding grain, and sewing.
"Where’s my mama?" I demanded, looking around frantically.
"Your mama will come tomorrow," Nolia promised, "and your dada too."
"My dada won’t come," I told her. "He won’t come." I remember looking hard at Nolia’s face, hoping that when she opened her mouth she’d correct me, that she’d tell me my dada would come.
Her mouth opened. "Of course he’ll come," she assured me. "He’ll come tomorrow."
"He’s dead," I said, watching her face. "He died when I was small." If only she’d contradict me one more time.
Again her mouth opened. Inhaling deeply, she let out a sigh. "Ah." Ah? Ah? I felt my whole life hanging on that Ah. Maybe she was about to say, Ah, of course your father isn’t dead; he’ll be here tomorrow. I waited breathlessly to hear her say it, but she didn’t.
It’s strange how sometimes I’ll remember a conversation that took place many years ago only because the other person said or did something that seemed inappropriate or incomprehensible at the time. My memory’s a great storehouse of these non sequiturs that over time are one by one ex-plained, but never forgotten. Much of what was said that day will remain with me for the rest of my life.
"Claudia," she called, "come help me with Mel."
A robust woman hurried over. "I’m here."
"Mel, this is Claudia. Claudia, this is Mel. Claudia, give Mel some sausage. Go, Mel, go with Claudia."
Claudia led me to the grill and offered me a sausage that had cooled. "Here, child."
I shook my head. "We don’t eat sausage. We don’t eat pork." --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a neat book!,
By
This review is from: The Acts of a Pagan Jew (Paperback)
I was a little apprehensive at first, afraid that there might be a religious or moralistic agenda behind it, but there's none of that. Instead, we're treated to a fast-moving romp through one of the most utterly significant periods of man's history. Our "hero" seems to find himself cast by fate into virtually every important event of the time, hobnobbing with movers and shakers both historic and religious. One could even study history here! And what a fun way to do so, since the tale is told with a twinkle in the eye. A great read!
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not recommended,
By White Hunter (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Acts of a Pagan Jew (Paperback)
I'm afraid that I cannot recommend this book very highly. While the author has, evidently, led an interesting and adventurous life herself, her book leaves much to be desired in plot, characterization, prose style, and...well, interest. I have nothing against books published by "vanity presses," as this one is; the big publishers have often ignored great--or at least absorbing--manuscripts of books that later became best-sellers, and in a few well-known cases, popular classics. But I don't think that's the case here. When "Pagan Jew" first appeared on amazon's web site shortly after the book's initial publication several years ago, there were two reviews that slammed the novel--harshly and without flinching, giving specific criticism, supported with references to the text of the novel and, I thought, intelligent comments on its overall quality. Those reviews were painful even for me to read; but having read the book myself, I had to agree with them; they weren't cruel: they were accurate and truthful. For some reason, those informative, incisive reviews have been deleted from the book's review history, and all we have now are two five-star pieces from people who love the book and have nothing to say beyond that it's great. If I were the author, I'd be embarrassed by such fluff pieces. Every new parent loves the new baby; every author hates anyone who isn't enthralled with the first novel or short story that gets into print. But a good writer listens to, and hears, the criticisms--doesn't necessarily obey them--thinks, and then writes better the next time, recognizing that the thoughtful critics, at least, might have a point. This author might take that advice to heart. She undoubtedly has many interesting stories to share with readers, and a gift for writing. I look forward to buying and reading her next book, when she's had time to think this over.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I loved Pagan Jew,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Acts of a Pagan Jew (Paperback)
I really enjoyed this book - an "eye-witness account" of life in the Roman Empire. What a great idea and what a great story! There's something here for everyone--Jews, Christians, pagans and atheists.Galen makes her historical and biblical figures into regular people who speak contemporary dialogue. This is funny and really brings home that people have been pretty much the same through the ages. I loved Pontius Pilate (and i'm Catholic!) I even loved Caligula and the crocodile. The book is just so entertaining. Galen has done a terrific job.
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