A gripping tale of spiritual discovery coupled with astute religious history.
A historical novel set in the first century about a young Jewish man’s encounter with Jesus Christ’s teachings.
Eli was raised in a traditionally Jewish household, and his family suffered at the hands of Roman persecution. His father, Galal, died during a rebellion; now, his mother frets about Eli’s fascination with Jesus, whose teachings she considers rank blasphemy. Eli, however, is skeptically drawn to the teachings, initially; he’s impressed by the devotion of Jesus’ martyrs but also concerned about the ways that his sayings deviate from the Torah and suspicious about alleged miracles. But when Eli takes a lonely pilgrimage and has spiritual visions, aided by psychedelics, he decides that he wants to learn more about Christianity. After he witnesses the horror of the destruction of the Second Temple during the Roman siege of Jerusalem, he meets Joses, the brother of James and Jesus. Joses becomes something of a mentor to Eli and awakens him to the truly revolutionary core of Jesus’ ministry, which singularly focuses on love, and the inclusiveness that such an emphasis demands. The story also tracks Eli’s spiritual transformation through his romantic travails; he pines for a beautiful woman, Aylah, who lives outside the faith, but their union is opposed by both his mother and her violent brother, Hakim. Debut author Mitchell, who graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, displays a deep knowledge of the historical period, and this erudition particularly shines through his depiction of the era’s contentious theological disputes. Eli emerges as a complex character, neither a skeptic nor a fanatical true believer: “Eli considered himself more a seeker than an agnostic. He knew he didn’t know the truth, and he didn’t claim to know or feel the need for certainty.” Also, within the drama, the author sketches an unconventional interpretation of Jesus’ chief message, shorn of excess doctrinal and institutional baggage, which presents his teachings as more radical than often suggested.
A gripping tale of spiritual discovery coupled with astute religious history.Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5372-8267-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.
Life lessons.
Angie Malone, the youngest of a big, warm Italian-American family, returns to her Pacific Northwest hometown to wrestle with various midlife disappointments: her divorce, Papa’s death, a downturn in business at the family restaurant, and, above all, her childlessness. After several miscarriages, she, a successful ad exec, and husband Conlan, a reporter, befriended a pregnant young girl and planned to adopt her baby—and then the birth mother changed her mind. Angie and Conlan drifted apart and soon found they just didn’t love each other anymore. Metaphorically speaking, “her need for a child had been a high tide, an overwhelming force that drowned them. A year ago, she could have kicked to the surface but not now.” Sadder but wiser, Angie goes to work in the struggling family restaurant, bickering with Mama over updating the menu and replacing the ancient waitress. Soon, Angie befriends another young girl, Lauren Ribido, who’s eager to learn and desperately needs a job. Lauren’s family lives on the wrong side of the tracks, and her mother is a promiscuous alcoholic, but Angie knows nothing of this sad story and welcomes Lauren into the DeSaria family circle. The girl listens in, wide-eyed, as the sisters argue and make wisecracks and—gee-whiz—are actually nice to each other. Nothing at all like her relationship with her sluttish mother, who throws Lauren out when boyfriend David, en route to Stanford, gets her pregnant. Will Lauren, who’s just been accepted to USC, let Angie adopt her baby? Well, a bit of a twist at the end keeps things from becoming too predictable.
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.Pub Date: July 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-345-46750-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2004
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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