A warmly personal portrait of Joseph, earthly father of Jesus.
A historical novel set on the eve of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Set in early first-century Palestine, Flerlage’s historical fiction debut is narrated by James, the son of Nazarene carpenter Joseph, who, after his first wife died, went on to wed a young girl named Mary and have with her their more famous son, Jesus. Young James tells the story of normal small-town life spiked with social and political unrest simmering just under the surface. Tension among the Jewish people, their religious leaders and their imperial Roman overseers lurks behind the scenes Flerlage effectively dramatizes. Although many moments are quiet and quite evocative—“He swished some [water] around in his mouth to clean the raisins out of his teeth and spat it on the ground”—the larger-scope bitterness is never far away: “It seems that every time our people protest or revolt, the Romans end up crucifying, spearing, burning, boiling, and ultimately killing anyone in their way, including innocent people.” Joseph and James travel to the great Temple in Jerusalem, the heart of both Jewish faith and Jewish unrest, and all along, Joseph displays intelligence, impatience with Roman rule and a wry sense of humor. “How do you know if a man is really speaking on behalf of God?” James asks Joseph, to which he chuckles and replies, “I have no idea, but if you ever meet a prophet, would you introduce me?” Flerlage fleshes out the story with excellent pacing and dialogue, and he doesn’t fail to deliver what many readers will be expecting: Joseph’s meeting Mary—“Her voice was like the songs of birds in the morning, her words like cool winds on a sunny harvest day”—their marriage and the babyhood of James’ half brother, Jesus. Readers who’ve enjoyed religious fiction from Taylor Caldwell and Francine Rivers will particularly enjoy.
A warmly personal portrait of Joseph, earthly father of Jesus.Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2013
ISBN: 978-0989828109
Page Count: 292
Publisher: DreamScapes Publishing Ltd
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles...
Sisters in and out of love.
Meghann Dontess is a high-powered matrimonial lawyer in Seattle who prefers sex with strangers to emotional intimacy: a strategy bound to backfire sooner or later, warns her tough-talking shrink. It’s advice Meghann decides to ignore, along with the memories of her difficult childhood, neglectful mother, and younger sister. Though she managed to reunite Claire with Sam Cavenaugh (her father but not Meghann’s) when her mother abandoned both girls long ago, Meghann still feels guilty that her sister’s life doesn’t measure up, at least on her terms. Never married, Claire ekes out a living running a country campground with her dad and is raising her six-year-old daughter on her own. When she falls in love for the first time with an up-and-coming country musician, Meghann is appalled: Bobby Austin is a three-time loser at marriage—how on earth can Claire be so blind? Bobby’s blunt explanation doesn’t exactly satisfy the concerned big sister, who busies herself planning Claire’s dream wedding anyway. And, to relieve the stress, she beds various guys she picks up in bars, including Dr. Joe Wyatt, a neurosurgeon turned homeless drifter after the demise of his beloved wife Diane (whom he euthanized). When Claire’s awful headache turns out to be a kind of brain tumor known among neurologists as a “terminator,” Joe rallies. Turns out that Claire had befriended his wife on her deathbed, and now in turn he must try to save her. Is it too late? Will Meghann find true love at last?
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles (Distant Shores, 2002, etc.). Kudos for skipping the snifflefest this time around.Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-345-45073-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
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