Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana

I have been reading Anne Rice for years, and I am pleased to say that this 2nd book in the most recent trilogy is excellent and thought provoking. I can't wait until the 3rd book comes out!!!

Who would have ever thought that the "Vampire Chronicles" author could turn out such a beautiful work of art. Truly gives one a sense of what 100% God and 100% man must have been like. Cannot recommend this highly enough.

for years, anne rice has been known for her famous and bestselling books about vampires. she was one of the last successful fiction writers anyone would have expected to write a multi-volume reverent, fictional treatment of the life of christ. but a come-to-jesus (or, more accurately, a come-back-to-jesus) moment several years ago brought her back to the catholic faith of her childhood. she tells this story in the author's note at the end of the first book in this series, christ the lord: out of egypt, one of my favorite books of the year when it came out. that little author's note is, quite literally, worth the price of the first book, all by itself.

that first book tells the fictionalized (but based on what we know from scripture and other historical documents) story of christ from birth through the scene in the temple when he was 12. this second book jumps forward to the year prior to jesus' baptism at the hands of john the baptist, temptation in the desert, and - finally - his first major miracle, the water-into-wine at the wedding of cana. the story is told in first person, in the voice of jesus, which allows rice to explore his thoughts. he's 30-ish, and his family is seriously ticked that he's not married. in fact, jesus is in love with the most eligible girl in his town, who clearly wants to marry him. and we see his struggle, knowing that he cannot and will not marry her (in fact, it is her eventual wedding in cana, at the end of the book -- which provides all kinds of wonderful complexity and struggle).

jesus knows who he is, but is still learning and growing in understanding about how it all works. for instance, we get to follow along as jesus figures out how he speaks in the authoritative voice of god. at first, he knows he is this and does this, but doesn't quite grasp how it works. really interesting stuff.

i had heard from friends that this volume was good, but not as great as the first book. and that's fair. but, still, i would say that this book is great: really, really great. likely to be one of my 10 best books of the year. but the first book was one of my 2 best books of the year i read it. so, yeah, not quite as good as that one; but better than almost every other book out there! i really struggled to connect with the book, and understand what was going on, in the first 30 pages or so. but once i connected, i couldn't stop reading.

if you haven't read the first book, i would suggest you start there, though it's not necessary.

I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical before reading this book as to how JC would be portrayed. But in my struggle to have a more personal relationship with the Lord, this only helped. I read this book in three evening sittings. It was that good. This my first Anne Rice book, and I feel she can be a bit too Hemingway-esque in her details which are overkill and superfluous at times, but for the most part, her detail was welcomed and right accurate according to the times. One thing I did not like was JC's meditation in the desert where he realizes he's God, it's night and day. It seemed a bit artificial. But in the end, I walked away with a deeper appreciation of JC. Rice's depiction of his actions and character are reinforced by His teachings. I liked the scene where he hears a young girl's father crying far off in the distance, reflecting his deep compassion for us. The last part where he's approached by the Nazareth locals was also nice touch, and risky as she speculates on his response with what the people thought was supposed to be a Messiah to bring an uprising of Israel to Rome. But Rice handles many scenes like this with care. Again, the book left me wanting more and I can't wait for her next part in the Trilogy, and I'll probably read "out of Egypt". We must remember, the Christ was to be human, and he struggled with this day in and out. I'll admit it made me think more about the Trilogy of the Father and Son being one, I mean, who was he praying to in the Garden of Gethsemeni? It's still confusing yet beautiful at the same time. This novel helped solidify my faith more and reflect on Christ on a more personal level. After finishing the book, I walked away for a while and thought reflected on this... almost to tears. I would give away all our modern day luxuries and life to have walked and talked with this Yeshua. Oh, how beautiful is Christ.

Loved it. Never read anything by Rice before. Interesting concept on the early life of Christ. Believeable.