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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
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