- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc (2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0375412018
- ISBN-13: 978-0375412011
- Product Dimensions: 14.5 x 3.3 x 24.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 476 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #551,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Rice departs from her usual subject matter to pen this curious portrait of a seven-year-old Jesus, who departs Egypt with his family to return home to Nazareth. Rice's painstaking historical research is obvious throughout, whether she's showing the differences among first-century Jewish groups (Pharisees, Essenes and Sadducees all play a part), imagining a Passover pilgrimage to Jerusalem or depicting the regular but violent rebellions by Jews chafing under Roman rule. The book succeeds in capturing Jesus' profound Jewishness, with some of the best scenes reflecting his Torah education and immersion in the oral traditions of the Hebrew Bible. As fiction, though, the book's first half is slow going. Since it is told from Jesus' perspective, the childlike language can be simplistic, though as readers persevere they will discover the riches of the sparse prose Rice adopts. The emotional heart of the story—Jesus' gradual discovery of the miraculous birth his parents have never discussed with him—picks up steam as well, as he begins to understand why he can heal the sick and raise the dead. Rice provides a moving afterword, in which she describes her recent return to the Catholic faith and evaluates, often in an amusingly strident fashion, the state of biblical studies today. (Nov. 7)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–In crisp, straightforward prose, Rice leaves the gothic behind and explores the mysteries beneath the childhood of Jesus. At age seven, the boy and his family leave Egypt to return to their home. They find themselves caught in a revolution after the death of the first King Herod, ruler of the portion of the Roman Empire that includes Israel. Although the historical and cultural details are authentic and well done, it is the character of Jesus that drives this novel. He feels like a typical seven-year-old, but he's also suddenly discovering abilities that no one else possesses. He brings clay birds to life, makes snow fall, and even resurrects a dead playmate. Stunned by these odd happenings, he turns to Joseph and Mary for answers. When they are not forthcoming, he's forced to hunt out clues through local legends, rumors, and a strange spirit that taunts him in his dreams. The story is told from Jesus's point of view, and the strength of the book weighs heavily on Rice's ability to make him believable both as a child and as the son of God; she does a winning job. The wisdom of all things religious fills Jesus completely, but he's naive about day-to-day events: he can't understand why a young girl he used to play with prefers at age 12 to learn about weaving and rearing children. This new direction for Rice is both bold and reverent, and is bound to please fans and newcomers alike.–Matthew L. Moffett, Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Most helpful customer reviews
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Anne Rice's Journey Continues...,
By A Customer
This review is from: Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt (Hardcover)
I just finished reading Christ the Lord, Out of Egypt and was pleasantly surprised with Anne Rice's take on what could have been the childhood of the most important and most disputed character in history. She touched on many things I never thought of like the way the community looked at Jesus as a possibly illegitimate child, how difficult it must have been to be his parents, how his powers began to manifest themselves and his questions about himself. This book is very obviously a labour of love for Ms. Rice. She addresses the character of Christ with respect and imagination. I sense the difficulty the author had when trying to speak in the voice of a seven year old boy after spending many years speaking as an ancient and immortal being. The book became easier to read as it went on, as if she were finding her feet in the character. Once that started to happen, the flow evened out and I'm sure the following books will just get better. I see this as a new road on Anne Rice's spiritual journey that began with Interview With the Vampire. To me it seems a natural progression to search into the light after searching through the darkness for so long. Give the book a chance. It may surprise you.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I Normally Read Rice!,
By
This review is from: Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt (Mass Market Paperback)
A common thread among the reviews seems to be that those who approached the book looking for a spiritual journey, rated the book high. Those who simply read the book because they like Rice's storytelling abilities and style, seemed somewhat disappointed. I also found this to be the case. I've read all of Anne Rice's books. When this was in hard-cover, I read the first chapter in the store and thought "I'll pass". In paperback, I bought it. I found the story dry, and although (for a chapter or two) I enjoyed the intimate look into what Christ and his family may or may not have been thinking, I was struck by the repetitiveness of the emotions and thoughts communicated by Christ, and the unnecessary details. Paint the scene, jeez, but don't do it over and over again. I get it. It was difficult to finish - I have read of few of Rice's early books that were stinkers, but I thought that these were due to inexperience. It seems that this is not the case. Genres out of her usual type may be the issue? I found the story stiff, complicated and unimaginative. I would not recommend this book to my close friends and family.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well written.,
By The Mittons. (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt (Mass Market Paperback)
I wasn't going to read this novel. There is so much shameful junk written about Jesus, and I didn't think she could even come close to guessing what He would have been like during those unrecorded years.
When I did read this, I was surprised at how Rice portrayed Christ as a child. His innocence and curiosity, even his Glory. I think this was a tactfully written book with a lot of research into Jewish traditions and history. I am not catholic, so I don't agree completely with every detail, but it was put together nicely, and I enjoyed the end-notes as well, with it's list of recommended books and authors.
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