Paul: A Novel [Paperback]

Walter Wangerin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2001

An intimate portrait of a complex individual through whom God was at work, turning the world upside down. With vivid imagination and scholarly depth, award-winning author Walter Wangerin Jr. weaves together the history of the early church with the life story of its greatest apostle--Paul. Wangerin begins to unfold Paul's incredible life by imagining the childhood and early family life of a boy then called 'Saul.' A fierce prosecutor of Christians before his conversion, Paul never lost his fiery dedication, boldness, and strong personality. After his shocking encounter with God on the road to Damascus, he applied his formidable strengths to spreading the gospel. Wangerin deftly reveals Paul's character through each stage of his life, and enables us to see Paul the person, living and complex, viewed through the eyes of his contemporaries: Barnabas, James, Prisca, Seneca, and Luke. Paul's rich interaction and brilliant dialogue with friends and foes, leaders and slaves, Jews and Greeks, creates a swift and intense historical drama around the man who spread the seed of the Gospel to the ends of the known world.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Saul of Tarsus, the impassioned rabbi and persecutor of Christians, had a Damascus road experience that changed his life and helped shape the future of the world. As Paul, writer of some of the meatiest chunks of the New Testament and zealous missionary to the Gentiles, he became one of the most controversial figures in history.

Yet what do we know about the man, other than what's in the letters that have fashioned the Christian church for 2,000 years? Unless you are a theologian or historian, the answer probably is very little--until now. Walter Wangerin, the highly acclaimed scholar and writer, has breathed new life into this fiery, enigmatic, and passionate creature in what should be celebrated as a seriously good work of literature.

The novel, which combines expert knowledge and prophetic imagination, charts the first exhilarating and dangerous years of the church after the death of Christ. It is seen through the eyes of the witnesses--Priscilla, who meets Paul in Corinth; Barnabus, Timothy, and Titus, his companions; James and Simon Peter, the "pillar" of the first Christians; and Seneca, the great Roman writer, statesman, and adviser to Nero.

Wangerin serves up a feast of color and detail that brings the first century--and, even more impressively, the Bible--alive. Whatever your religious persuasion, this book serves as a fine companion to the one of the greatest yet most puzzling stories ever told. --Brian Draper, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In his second Bible-based novel, Wangerin delivers an uneven but informative narrative portraying the Apostle Paul as a flawed, confrontational man who inspires either murderous hate or passionate love. Reminiscent of both Eugene Peterson's paraphrased New Testament and Robert Graves's dishy novels about the Roman emperors, this book borrows from the Bible and various other historical sources to chronicle the itinerant ministry of Paul from his preconversion persecution of Christians to his execution in Rome. Each chapter is narrated by a different character--generally one of Paul's close associates--and while this technique successfully brings biblical figures to life, it disrupts the narrative flow. The story is punctuated by epistolary fragments from the Bible-and perhaps most interesting but least connected to the rest of the text-Seneca's gossipy letters about Nero and political intrigues in Rome. To his credit, Wangerin breathes life into the women who are mentioned but never fleshed out in Paul's letters, particularly Prisca, and he takes pains to emphasize the multicultural, multiethnic composition of the first-century church. Nor does he downplay the hardships these groups encountered as they attempted to find common ground. In fact, the novel focuses almost too exclusively on Paul's attempts to reconcile Gentile and Jewish followers of Jesus. While overwrought dialogue about circumcision and Jewish food restrictions is often tedious, readers wishing insight into Paul, the New Testament church and the schisms that nearly destroyed it will be rewarded for their patience. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310243165
• ISBN-13: 978-0310243168
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #304,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Walter Wangerin Jr. is widely recognized as one of the most gifted writers writing today on the issues of faith and spirituality. Starting with the renowned Book of the Dun Cow, Wangerin's writing career has encompassed most every genre: fiction, essay, short story, children's story, meditation, and biblical exposition. His writing voice is immediately recognizable, and his fans number in the millions. The author of over forty books, Wangerin has won the National Book Award, New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year Award, and several Gold Medallions, including best-fiction awards for both The Book of God and Paul: A Novel. He lives in Valparaiso, Indiana, where he is Senior Research Professor at Valparaiso University.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An imaginative work that rings of authenticity., August 28, 2000

By 

John W. Gillis (Natick, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paul: A Novel (Hardcover)

A colorful appropriation of the life and times of Paul of Tarsus, largely extrapolated (with commendable constraint) from the letters of Paul and from the Acts of the Apostles, as seen through the eyes of several of the characters who occupy those books. Readers looking here for an ideological soapbox upon which to climb will be disappointed, as Paul is neither painted as the buffoon that so many moderns seemingly wish him to be, nor as a blameless, misunderstood hero.

Some of the characters (e.g. Simon Peter and James) seem, if not one dimensional, at least too thin. Even Paul's character seems to suffer a bit here and there from underdevelopment, but in fairness to Wangerin, I'm certain it would take a writer the equal of Shakespeare to do full justice to a character of Paul's magnitude. On the other hand, characters like Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, and Prisca jump out from the dusty corners of the New Testament to become confidants of the reader. To my mind, Prisca steals the show, so to speak. Her rapt love for Paul (and his Voice) gives us a clue as to how this upended Pharisee managed to turn the world itself on its head: dividing both the Jewish and Gentile worlds down the middle, and changing the course of history forever.

I must say that I thought the Seneca sections were unnecessary and detracted from the whole (How did this end up in here?). The relevance of the situation in Rome to the story at hand was never made clear, what little bearing it did have on the young Christian movement was never really treated, and it almost seems to occupy its space for little reason other than to provide the book with the kind of scandalous juice that would be lacking in a story focused only on the birth of the Church. If these chapters were removed, the book would lose nothing but heft, and would gain in coherence.

This disappointment was offset by the surprising presence of, at times, large sections of Paul's actual letters to the churches (colorfully translated). Perhaps it was cynical of me to be surprised by this, but I did not expect a modern novel *about* Paul to leave Paul much room to speak for himself. Much of Paul's oratory is also scriptural, but even where it is not, Wangerin displays an accomplished theologian's grasp of Paul's thought, giving us imagined words from Paul that ring true to his heart.

This is perhaps Wangerin's principal accomplishment here: he does not tell us his own "story" using Paul as his puppet voice, rather he tells us convincingly of Paul, of the problems that he faced, and of what it might have meant to have known him in his day. All in all: nice work, Walter. Recommended reading.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW, I'd like to give this one SIX STARS, April 19, 2001

By 

Just-a-girl "abc-survivors.net" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paul: A Novel (Hardcover)

I finished this book several days ago and have been pondering how to describe it. It is surprising that another reviewer was so critical of Wangerin's portrayal of Paul. Paul wrote much about suffering and weakness, and about glorying in Christ alone. This book gives some plausible reasons why he did so. It completely changed my view of Paul.

As a girl who grew up knowing Christ, Paul sometimes baffled me. In fact, he sometimes offended me. I thought he had a view of women that painted us inferior...I remember as a teenager wrestling with his words and thinking of God's negative view of me! So Paul has not always been beloved in my life.

That is why I am genuinely thankful for this novel. It opened my eyes to the passion of Paul. It made me see the apostles and their writings in a living, breathing context. I know that this book is fiction, and I am sure that there are parts of it that are complete fiction. But now I can read the New Testament as a part of an amazing story. Instead of reading a passage and immediately looking for things that apply to me, I am more able to read it as the powerful history that it is. I don't see Paul as preaching at me, but as living for the same Spirit who is in me. I see him as a brother heeding an amazing calling - the same calling that I have. And the way that he lived for that calling is so inspiring. The way he impacted the church, even though he suffered greatly, is an example for us.

Wangerin used Bible verses and references throughout this novel. Through the events that unfold, he shows all of the drama and passion that were behind the words. We see the great conflicts of the day that inspired Paul's words.

Buy this book! You will want to read it more than once. The writing style is fascinating, but not too complex for the average reader. I just can't recommend it enough, especially for those who have read a lot of Scripture and could use a refreshing read. It will make you want to pull out your Bible and read more! I have even purchased two more of Wangerin's books because of this one's impact. Oh, and God used this book to help me in a time of despair. It would be great for a depressed Christian who is easily discouraged when reading Scripture. It is encouraging and inspiring, and it made me remember why I love the Lord and Scripture so much.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An engaging portrait of what might have been, September 5, 2000

By 

Kurt Granzow (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paul: A Novel (Hardcover)

Take the book of Acts and then try to fill in all the details by painting a written portrait of what things might have been like. That is basically what Walter Wangerin does in this engaging novel. Staying true to Biblical sources, Mr. Wangerin shows us Paul in a way that many people may have never seen him before. The Paul we see here is one who is often disliked by his fellow believers, but always respected. We see Paul as a man of such strong convictions that people can't help but have strong reactions to him, either positive or negative. The only complaint I had about the book was that it slowed down in places. Otherwise, this is a very well-written fictional account of someone who we know about only in Scripture. This novel does a neat job of taking you back to those times when God was moving in his people and letting you play with the idea of "I wonder what it might have been like to be there." It is well worth the read.