A well-researched what-if tale about the life of Christ.
In his debut novel, Raymond sheds new light on an old story, linking ancient political history to the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
This historical novel presents an alternative version of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, portraying him not as a humble, stable-born carpenter, but as the grandson of Herod the Great, the grandson of the last Hasmonean king Mattathias Antigonus and the last scion of the Jewish Hasmonean dynasty. The story is told primarily in flashbacks from the point of view of Menelaeus, the son of Mary’s servant (Mary is here called “Princess Mariamne”). Menelaeus was a contemporary of Jesus and knew him since childhood. Beginning with the political machinations that brought Herod to power, the tale winds through Jesus’ birth, life and works and ends with the possibility that Jesus survived his crucifixion. Raymond’s research is praiseworthy; the book’s careful attention to detail and meticulous footnotes draw clear connections between known history and biblically-reported events. At times, the story gets bogged down in exposition, and when the characters do speak, their reliance on anachronistic, modern English idioms can be jarring. When the book turns from facts to fiction, however, the characters’ challenges are sufficiently true to life to keep readers engaged. The life of Jesus is one of the world’s best-known stories, but this novel offers a fresh view; even the most biblically literate reader will keep reading to find out how it turns out. That said, readers with little knowledge of the Bible or classical antiquity will not be left adrift, as Raymond takes care to lay out all the facts, even when explanations risk detracting from the story.
A well-researched what-if tale about the life of Christ.Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2012
ISBN: 978-0615681696
Page Count: 440
Publisher: Tower Grove Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2012
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
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.
Coelho is a Brazilian writer with four books to his credit. Following Diary of a Magus (1992—not reviewed) came this book, published in Brazil in 1988: it's an interdenominational, transcendental, inspirational fable—in other words, a bag of wind.
The story is about a youth empowered to follow his dream. Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy who learns through a dream of a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. An old man, the king of Salem, the first of various spiritual guides, tells the boy that he has discovered his destiny: "to realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation." So Santiago sells his sheep, sails to Tangier, is tricked out of his money, regains it through hard work, crosses the desert with a caravan, stops at an oasis long enough to fall in love, escapes from warring tribesmen by performing a miracle, reaches the pyramids, and eventually gets both the gold and the girl. Along the way he meets an Englishman who describes the Soul of the World; the desert woman Fatima, who teaches him the Language of the World; and an alchemist who says, "Listen to your heart" A message clings like ivy to every encounter; everyone, but everyone, has to put in their two cents' worth, from the crystal merchant to the camel driver ("concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man"). The absence of characterization and overall blandness suggest authorship by a committee of self-improvement pundits—a far cry from Saint- Exupery's The Little Prince: that flagship of the genre was a genuine charmer because it clearly derived from a quirky, individual sensibility.
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.Pub Date: July 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-06-250217-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1993
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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