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105 of 108 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Soul-Stirring Reminder, March 28, 2008
When Anne Rice first announced her intentions to tell the story of Christ the Lord, she was met with a barrage of questions, criticism, and support. Her storytelling to date had given only subtle hints of her desire to stir the soul toward things of God, and in fact some blamed her for quite the opposite. With great skepticism, readers on both sides of spiritual lines awaited the release of "Out of Egypt." I found the book to be intriguing, elegantly understated, yet a bit dry.
"The Road to Cana" takes a big chronological leap forward, and the storytelling seems to reflect the maturation of her subject. Yeshua bar Joseph (Jesus of Nazareth) is now a man on the brink of embracing his identity and his purpose. He's God in the flesh, as he himself knows, but he also struggles with the human desires for companionship, family, and acceptance. His relatives and the local villagers sometimes call him Yeshua, the Sinless.
From the opening pages of this book, there are layers of meaning and beauty. Rice's story meets every expectation in this, her second christological novel, and I was swept up in the drama of village life, relational conflicts, and restrained divinity. Rice, through Yeshua's eyes, lets us in for peeks at the heart of God, as it relates to the human struggle. This culminates in Yeshua's face-off with Satan in the wilderness, during forty days of fasting--a masterpiece of textured prose--and in the following incident with Mary of Magdala. From there, Rice shifts her story from conflict into beauty, as Yeshua verbalizes his purpose to his new followers and his family.
I am not moved often to tears by books, but "The Road to Cana" touched me in deep ways, reminding me again of the honesty and integrity of Christ the Lord. This is soul-stirring fiction that brushes up with the truth and power of the Gospel. This is more than I could've imagined coming from the pen of Anne Rice. It's a book to be read, enjoyed, experienced--and to be brought to life in the hearts of readers everywhere.
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58 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A road worth taking, March 9, 2008
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' comment 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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57 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A continuation of an amazing series -, March 5, 2008
I received my copy of Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana mid-morning - I couldn't stop reading - read it almost straight through - Jesus' story, told first person, envelopes you into the emotions that must have been part of this Son of God, who was born of a Virgin, yet still was a man in every sense - The Road to Cana finds Jesus around 30 years of age - a turbulent time for the area - Jews are butting heads with Roman officials...the area is tense. There is a drought in the area - an analogy for the drought of belief?
I cannot begin to describe the beauty of Rice's writing - We Christians know the actions of this early time of His Ministry - when all the pieces come together and His path is revealed - Jesus' family, his kith and kin, (including a beautiful kinswoman Avigail). It is mesmerizing. And beautiful, powerful, reverent.
This series is amazing. The beginnings - a montage of the first of Jesus' ministry - from casting out demons to baptism with John the Baptist to the miracle of changing water into wine at Cana - I especially like how the wine transformation was handled - the sweetness between Jesus and Mary handled perfectly - I am in awe. Rice does justice to the Lord - the Son of God -
One hopes she spreads out Jesus' story out in many, many sequels.
Excellent.
My niece is going on a trip for a Church project to help an orphanage in Guatemala, and I told her I am giving her Rice's two books about Jesus to read on the plane and to share with her friends who are going with the group. She knows I don't recommend books unless they touch me.
Been a while I have been drawn literally into a book, and Rice has hit her stride with this series!
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