Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana

Anne Rice's second volume in her "Christ the Lord" series is a solid and inspiring novel and better than the first book in the series. One of the chief problems with the first book was narration. Ms. Rice seemed to have problems with balancing the voices of God and the Child. The narration flows much better this time. Ms. Rice is, as always, excellent when it comes to historical research and in recreating the past. She is excellent in showing both the divine and human sides of Jesus. Not surprising considering her experience in horror novels, Ms. Rice does a wonderful job in presenting the Tempting in the Desert. But there are some problems. One of the joys of the first book in the series was a host of strong supporting characters. While a number of them return, they simply are not as interesting. She also seems to play up her created characters and downplay the first Apostles. While Ms. Rice does an excellent job in invoking "lost time" and some of the scenes from the Gospels (the Temptation, the Wedding at Cana), she also allows some scenes to go by in a blur (the calling of the Apostles, the Baptism by John the Baptist). Still, these are minor flaws and do not take away from an interesting novel which is able to offer a different take while still remaining true to the Church and its teachings.

With exquisite writing and excellent scholarship, Rice continues the story of Jesus, this time from his point of view as an adult carpenter. He anxiously awaits the time for his ministry to begin, acting as family and community peacemaker while facing his humanity. The baptism and temptation scenes toward the end of the book are particularly moving, and the miracle at Cana that begins his ministry is rich and joyful.

Anne Rice continues her excellent narrative on the life of Christ in "The Road to Cana" and gives a readable, credible, story line that does not contradict the Tradition of the Catholic Church and a harmony of the Gospels. Her attention to detail of the Holy people and ordinary life of a first century Jewish town is wonderfully helpful for modern readers to understand what the life of Our Lord was like day to day.

The story begins with a horror though, a stoning of boys for an unnamed but suspected crime that a careful reader would assume is a homosexual act.

Rice's narrative style is leaner than her period pieces and her lush prose in, for example, The Witching Hour. One suspects that part of it is Rice's own evolution as a writer, part of it is her own care in writing only what is accurate, probable, and plausible, and part of it is that the lean style echoes the setting of the book: the Mediterranean/desert climate of Judea during the first century.

Rice's horror fans will find much to enjoy, for she is a gifted writer. Those who took up Rice for the first time (as I did) from her earlier "Out of Egypt" will find this work equally satisfying. I eagerly await the next volume.

This second in the author's planned four-part life of Christ, "Road to Cana" is as rich as the first in conveying the atmosphere of His time and the poignant awakening in Christ of his gifts and mission. Having no previous experience with Rice's works (I'm not a vampire fan), I am enchanted by her writing and impressed by the depth of her biblical research. Definitely looking forward to the next two volumes.

The second in the trilogy recounting the lost years of Jesus of Nazareth before the emergence of the New Testament Gospel. Anne Rice continues with the accounts of Jesus at the start of his ministry and covers some more of the lost adult years not written about in the bible. The title refers to the famous water into wine miracle at a wedding that is attributed to Jesus. Great storytelling style as always from Rice. It is clear she really is a Catholic again.