Customer Reviews

The Big Fisherman

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Having read and loved The Robe, I found this one at my churches library and gave it a read.

"The Big Fisherman," is set before "The Robe" and tells the story of the apostle Peter. It's a great book. It focuses alot on a young Arabian couple which kind of takes the attention away from Peter but it's not an overwhelming distraction.

I loved the way Mr Douglas worked the words and acts of Jesus of Nazereth into the story, very well done. He really fleshed out the charecters of the Apostles as well.

A very enjoyable read about a great, but flawed man.

A friend recommended this book to me and I thought I'd read it over Easter weekend. It is a well-written book but it was also slightly disappointing because it wasn't as well thought-out as I had hoped. This book was barely about Peter the disciple ~~ it was more on the feud between Israel and Arabia. Fara's mother was married to Antipas, one of the leaders of Galilee only he treated her poorly. She comes home to raise their daughter, Fara, and when she died, Fara promised revenge on her father. She travels to Galilee ~~ and meets John the Baptist and Jesus and Peter ~~ and her life changed. However, Voldi, the man she loves, came to find her and to extact the revenge.

Only very little did it talked about Peter and the disciples ~~ and I was rather disappointed since I was hoping for more insights in the religious men that started a new religion that has transformed the world. It was a very fascinating book ~~ don't get me wrong, just not what I expected it to be.

If you are looking for a good read with a historical theme ~~ this book is it. If you are looking for a book that has more of a biological overtone to it ~~ this book is not it. It is a good read ~~ and will leave you satisfied.

4-25-03

I first read this book almost 25 years ago as a boy of 10 growing up in another country. After so many years without reading any fiction, I borrowed it from the library to read again. I am entranced!

In times like today with the Arab and the Jew even more at each other's throats, this is a book that will reconcile these peoples - through a common cord.

This is a great book to reach out to Muslims/Arabs because it describes a time in Arabia 600 years before the birth of Muhammad/Islam. It also points them to another way... The Way.

It is a beautiful love story and the level of writing is good enough for it to be classified as literature. the prose is well turned and original. It is imaginative and stirring. How I wish teens of today could read this book.

This book is an historical novel based on the life and death of Christ and the start of the Christian movement. I am not a Christian but I still loved this book. It is as moving as watching a film like Ben Hur. This book would definately re-affirm a borderline Christian's faith.

Lloyd C. Douglas' 1948 novel "The Big Fisherman" is a good tale that winds on for nearly 600 pages. It starts with Arabian princess Arnon who is compelled to marry for the State's convenience to the spoiled Jewish prince Herod Antipas. They produce a daughter named by her mother Fara & named by her father Esther. Antipas mistreats his wife, divorces her & sends her back to Arabia in disgrace. Fara is not particularly at home in either world. Her best friend Voldi is an expert horseman & would like to romance her. As her mother dies, she decides to avenge her mother's mistreatment and proceeds to Galilee intending to assassinate her father. She encounters John the Baptist on her way; and their stories weave together, all the way to Antipas' prison. Voldi sets off after her and encounters numerous Roman personalities.

Meanwhile the big fisherman Simon runs a successful fleet and finds his employees impressed with the preaching of Jesus. He sets out to prove to himself that Jesus is a[...] but comes away a disciple. Douglas does a fair job of giving personality to the disciples and weaving various Biblical incidents of the Master's preaching career into the story.

After the crucifixion, angelic visitations bring together a crowd in Jerusalem for Pentecost. The miraculous events are written with flare & imagination. In Douglas' work, upon Jesus' death, Simon Peter is given the ability to heal people. John sets out to Arabia. This results in the disliked prince Deran who has been paralyzed to walk again, only to be assassinated to keep him from the throne.

The love story between Voldi & Fara is the romantic thread that splinters at the end as Voldi ascends to become the King of Arabia. Some of the tale is quite moving. The touching feelings of the apostles for Jesus are beautifully rendered. I enjoyed this bit of Biblical historical fiction that puts you back in Galilee during the time the Master walked the Earth. Enjoy!

This book started out interesting. It's the story of Fara, or Esther, and how she doesn't fit in anywhere. Her mother's people, whom she is raised with, don't like her because she is half Jewish. She hasn't been with her father, Herod, since she was a baby.

It then starts to go into the story of Simon Peter, or The Big Fisherman. The author has the two meet and they don't like each other at all. Then, they both start following Jesus, and become dear friends. The story sort-of lagged in the middle/end. It also is not Bibically accurate, which bothered me. Still, it helped me see more of what it might have been like to be Peter. Taking this all together, I'd say it's an OK book. (one small note: I bought this book because I thought it was the second part to Dougless' more famous book "The Robe". It's not. Although there are slight mentions of some of the charaters in "The Robe", the two books don't really have anything to do with each other.)

I truly enjoyed this book as a sort of sequel to The Robe. It's in many ways the same story - only seen through the eyes of Simon Peter. I enjoyed reading both of them as a preparation for Easter last year - and it is definitely worth reading again.

I just finished reading Edward Gibbons 6 book series "Decline and Fall of Roman Empire" and since have been reading historical fictions. although I'm not a practicing christian this book was still a great read and I found times when I couldn't put it down due to the suspense and drama. There are some great dialogues in the book like when Simon/Peter is talking to the strutting prince and says, "When the poor stop envying the rich, then you take away the rich's highest satisfaction." Whether you are a christian or not reading statements like that makes you stop and think how powerful this message in current age of materialism and high debt.

This book is first-class. This book is similar to "The Robe." It has every element of a great work- romance, adventure, history, and depth. Don't throw this one back!

This book is definitely a classic, and I was so excited to be able to purchase it from Amazon, as it is out of stock almost everywhere else. I had a great experience with purchasing this item through Amazon; I received it very quickly after I ordered it, and it is in good condition--the binding is a little weak bc it is such an old book, but otherwise it is in great condition.