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Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana

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"The Road to Cana" begins with a 30 year-old Jesus (Yeshua Bar Joseph) on the brink of beginning his ministry. He finds himself in the middle of a life and death conflict where two young men are about to be stoned, accused of committing unspeakable acts. The rabbi of Nazareth is present and attempts to mediate, but the angry mob calls for blood and will not listen to reason.

This conflict is linked to another family who have a struggle of their own. Abigail is a beautiful young woman who should have been married long ago if it wasn't for her overbearing father, who believes that no one in Nazareth is good enough for his daughter. Abigail seeks the help of Jesus, but he struggles with his own feelings for Abigail and must bear the angry tirades of his older half-brother James who presses him to marry.

While all this is happening there is unrest in nearby Cana and many able-bodied men in Nazareth, and other surrounding villages, travel to let Pontius Pilate know that the Jews will not tolerate pagans statues in their holy cities. Their struggles do not come without reward, however, as Pilate bends to their will for fear of causing a civil war.

Anne Rice paints a very engaging story of the Jesus' life entertwined with the gospels. I approached this book with a little trepidation because it is often very difficult to write engaging stories about the holy figures (see my review of "Mary, Called Magdalene" by Margaret George) because so little is known of their background. Ms. Rice, however, displays her experience and gives us a powerful story. No longer are Jesus of Nazareth and Mary, His mother, just figures in the bible, but living, breathing, interesting individuals whom you would happily greet if they had been your neighbors. I especially loved how Mary is able to get Jesus to turn water into wine, even though he crossly tells her that his ministry has not yet begun. Her finesse, and subtle rank-pulling in good humor as she tells him not to forget the commandment of honoring your mother and father is to be marveled at. Her "O Messiah, do what your mother tells you" attitude had me laughing!

There were times when it seemed Ms. Rice did not know when to stop, as some of her passages seemed long-winded. The temptation of Jesus in the desert is one chapter I could have done without. I found myself not caring one whit what Satan said to Jesus. More interesting was how he drove the demons from Mary of Magdala after he came out of the desert and how her family tended to him when they saw his emaciated body and bedragled appearance after forty days of sparring with the devil.

A very interesting and engaging read.