Customer Reviews

The Handmaid and the Carpenter: A Novel

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I really wanted to like this book. As an Elizabeth Berg fan, when I discovered that Berg - a poetic writer of women's fiction - actually wrote a book set in Nazareth about the birth of Jesus Christ, I eagerly ordered a copy. Although Berg admits she took liberties with the story of Jesus' birth, and she clearly was trying to portray Mary and Joseph as three dimensional, I found both her writing style and character development quite shallow here. Also, she took Mary and Jospeh places I simply didn't want to go (i.e., I cringed while reading about 16 year old Joseph masturbating, and found myself repelled by the description of 13 year old Mary as filled with sexually yearning). If it's a unique bible story you're looking for, check out Anne Rice's "Christ the Lord - Out of Egypt" instead.

This book was so interesting to read. We all know the story of the birth of Jesus, and how Mary conceived him. But this book made you realize that Joseph and Mary were REAL people, with real hopes, dreams, fears, and yes, desires!

I love Elizabeth Berg, and had I not known it was by her, I might not have guessed that it was by her, and I don't mean that in a bad way, but just that the style was different from what I am used to from her. She is branching out, trying new things. I love her books and anxiously await each one. They are about real people with real struggles, not "fluff" like Danielle Steel these days. I guess it's not fair to compare authors, but we all do it!

Nice book for this time of year, especially. Never hesitate to pick up an Elizabeth Berg book. Her insights are amazing.

When I saw a new Elizabeth Berg novel at my local library, I eagerly snapped it up, since I have enjoyed everything of hers that I have ever read. This time, however, I was greatly disappointed.

The story here seemed contrived - forced, somehow. Perhaps this was because I knew the "real" story. Joseph and Mary were presented here as love-struck teenagers, which was sweet. I thought - hoped - that this book would maintain that sweetness throughout. It did not. Joseph "evolved" into a more domineering man, which was especially interesting in light of his own feeling of being cuckolded. The fact that he never fully believed Mary, nor did he hand himself over to faith, somehow undercut what could have been a beautiful tale.

I was pleased to come across an Elizabeth Berg novel in a Christian bookstore, shopping for gifts appropriate to the holiday season. Prior to spotting this novel, I had thought of Berg only as a "secular" novelist, albeit a good one, and to find this familiar name among Christian literature seemed a bonus.

The topic is, of course, as old as Christianity. How to write it new and fresh? I chose the novel as a gift for a young niece who enjoys reading and is currently in a place of spiritual seeking - and how refreshing to find such literary treasure at this season increasingly becoming known for anything but the spiritual. Would Berg succeed? I had time enough before wrapping to read the book myself, and I did so in a day, intrigued.

It is not about the child born to Mary, not nearly as much as it is the tender love story between Mary and Joseph. Woven into the well known spiritual tale was a pleasing human element: the vulnerability of love, the flush of romance, the fears and insecurities of opening a very human heart to another, along with the very understandable doubts and questioning when faced with events only a divine intervention could explain away. Berg succeeds on these fronts. The tale becomes a pleasing literary backdrop to the story we know in the gospels. Mary is the strong woman with independent spirit that we would expect her to be; Joseph is the devoted and loving husband he would have to be to stand beside her, quite human in his occasional wondering about the story he must accept if he is to accept her as his wife - his doubts are ever so human, his overcoming those doubts ever so faithful.

Berg's novel won't stand alongside some of the great Christian-themed tomes such as the "Silver Chalice" by Thomas B. Costain or "Exodus" by Leon Uris. But for a young woman looking to relate to a love in pure heart and pure spirit, tender with inspiration, adding humanity to the divine, Berg's novel is just right, perhaps leading a reader towards deeper reads such as the aforementioned.

As a child, the Nativity scene always held a fascination with me. I thought that Ms. Berg has taken a story that is dear to many of us, and has given her readers a thoughtful insight on the lives of Mary and Joseph. It is beautifully written, with much details given such has the food and clothing of that time period. I love the story of Jesus's birth, but I have always wondered about Mary and Joseph, the people. I really enjoyed Ms. Berg's perspective on their lives, and I would recommend this book to readers who would like a human perspective on Mary and Joseph.

Every year we have another tired batch of seasonal books. We'll never see another Christmas Carol. Those classic books are few and far between.

The novelist Elizabeth Berg has turned her considerable literary talents to a subject that is a departure for her. We all know the story of the Nativity. Have you ever wondered about the couple who raised Jesus as parents? Berg tells the story that she imagines of the courtship and betrothal of Joseph and Mary.

It's a delicate and marvelous depiction of two people who are rarely accorded the humanity that they surely possessed. Sure, there is comfort and joy here but there are other emotions as well; anger, jealousy, passion, and I daresay, lust. Fundamentalists beware!

Have you ever wondered if Jesus had brothers and sisters? Did it strike you as bizarre that Joseph never wondered how Mary got pregnant when she was his virginal wife? Berg addresses all these matters and so much more.

For those strict and unbending interpreters of the Bible I would advise you to read the book with a grain of tolerance. After all, it's fiction, and it is a touching and deeply spiritual story of people who were human beings (just like us) once.

Although this book is fiction, the story is real. It reminds us that Mary and Joseph were "human" and had the same feelings and frustrations as the rest of mankind. The book is not great literature, but it allows the reader(both adult and teen) some time for reflection during the hectic Christmas season.

In The Handmaid and the Carpenter, Elizabeth Berg takes her readers into the world of Mary and Joseph--thirteen and sixteen respectively, two children of Nazareth whose lives are forever changed by a baby called Jesus. In the author's note, Berg is careful to note that the Bible is poetry and, as such, is open to interpretation. The creative license that she's taken with one of the world's greatest works pays off immensely in this carefully-told, poignant tale.

The book begins with Mary and Joseph meeting one another at a wedding in Nazareth. Joseph has already begun to make a living as a carpenter and comes from a family looked as a well-off by others in their community. Mary, whose family is not nearly as favored, works with the other women of the village doing things like laundry and cooking. When Joseph chooses Mary as his betrothed, her family is honored and Mary is happy--though not nearly as pleased as she thinks she should be. She can't help but lament the loss of her youth, her freedom, and the impending sense of doom that she might be missing out on something great by becoming Joseph's wife.

One night, soon after her betrothal, an angel comes to Mary and tells her that she is favored by God and, as such, will bear his child. Startled by this revelation, and the fact that she has known no man, Mary goes on a journey determined to find purpose in her life and to figure out, once and for all, if she's really meant to be Joseph's wife and--with this startling revelation, if he will even have her.

The Handmaid and the Carpenter is told with a grace and candor that could only have been accomplished by an author whose immense talent would allow her to overlook any doubt or reproach that other's might find with her taking creative license with such an established story. Elizabeth Berg has done a great job in giving us another way of looking at the lives of Mary and Joseph and their relationship as it relates to the birth of their son. This story was very easy to read and, at less than 200 pages, a short but fulfilling read. I will always recommend anything written by Elizabeth Berg because I have yet to read any of her work that is anything short of flawless--The Handmaid and the Carpenter is no exception.

i am a huge elizabeth berg fan and was excited to find this new read -- and on such a perfect subject for the holidays. the writing, as always, is clever, and brings the characters into 3-dimensional focus. the story (mary and joseph as children, falling in love, and their development as people, believers and parents) was a whole new perspective on the classic christmas tale. i also love love love that berg focused so much attention on joseph, who we never seem to hear about. and the fact that he remained an unbeliever, to me, made the story all the more real -- bringing to life the real parent-son interaction between him and jesus.

I saw this book at the library and thought "hmmmm...interesting!" I was disappointed. I thought it had a lot of promise. I still think it could have been a great book but it definitely wasn't. It felt like Berg didn't really want to offend anyone by focusing very much on the actual divine aspects of the relationship but instead portrayed them simply as a couple of historical figures. I guess my feelings on this book are summed up best this way: this book did not need to be written.