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Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt

Review

Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt



Anne Rice, famed author of The Vampire Chronicles and
Mayfair Witches series, has written a novel about Jesus
Christ. Many would think this unlikely, but CHRIST THE LORD: Out of
Egypt is a beautiful account of Jesus as a child.


The novel begins with Jesus as a young seven-year-old who is
bullied by a boy from a neighboring gang. He uses his power to
knock the boy down, dead. His ability to resurrect comes in to play
later on when the boy is returned, alive and healthy, to his
parents. The book then follows Jesus and his family on their
treacherous journey out of Alexandria, Egypt, back to their home of
Nazareth in Galilee. It follows their daily lives working in
carpentry, dealing with political conflict, facing Herod's soldiers
and the Roman regime.


Aside from bringing the boy back to life and making clay sparrows
come to life, displays of Jesus performing miracles and healing are
rare. Jesus calls Joseph by name rather than "Father," and although
the rest of the family knows the secret, it takes Jesus a while to
become aware of his miraculous birth and who he is.


Told from his perspective, Rice presents Jesus as mysterious,
strong, and most importantly --- human. "My fear rose in me and
became a thing always with me so that all happiness seemed finally
to be a dream, even in the brightest sunlight."


Dubbed as the most important book in her career, it is obvious that
Rice tried to make CHRIST THE LORD as accurate as possible. As
mentioned in her author's note, she conducted years of research and
based the novel on the Gospels and on the most respected New
Testament scholarship. She also mentioned that she began writing
the book because of her return to the Catholic Church and the death
of her husband.


Rice had passion when writing this novel and it shines through her
characters, story, and description of the world in which Jesus
lived. "The true challenge was to take the Jesus of the Gospels
which were becoming more coherent to me, the gospels which appealed
to me as elegant first-person writings, dictated to scribes no
doubt, but definitely early, the Gospels produced before Jerusalem
fell --- to take the Jesus of the Gospels, and try to get inside
him and imagine what he felt."


"I offer this book to those who know nothing of Jesus Christ in the
hope that you will see him in these pages in some form. I offer
this novel with love to my readers who've followed me through one
strange turn after another in the hope that Jesus will be as real
to you as any other character I've ever launched into the world we
share."


Filled with the drama of a good novel as well as the spirituality
of a religious work, CHRIST THE LORD will appeal to fans of Rice
and historical fiction. She may even gain a few new
followers.


   
















Reviewed by Karen Campbell on December 26, 2010

Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt
by Anne Rice

  • Publication Date: October 31, 2006
  • Genres: Fiction
  • Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Fawcett
  • ISBN-10: 0345436830
  • ISBN-13: 9780345436832