Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana

Mark Graham, Special to the Rocky

Published March 14, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

Text size  
Anne Rice imagines Jesus as a man in The Road to Cana, the second installment in her fictional biography.

Photo by Becket M. Ghioto / Knopf Books Via Bloomberg News

Anne Rice imagines Jesus as a man in The Road to Cana, the second installment in her fictional biography.

More Books

More stories »

Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana

* Fiction. By Anne Rice. Knopf, $25.95. Grade: B

Plot in a nutshell: The first installment of Rice's fictional biography of Jesus, Out of Egypt, tells of the journey of the boy Jesus and his family from Egypt to Judea. Disappointingly, two decades have passed when the second book begins. I was looking forward to seeing how the Lord would have dealt with adolescent angst, but The Road to Cana deals only with Christ's 30th year.

There has been a crippling drought, and tempers are short. Two young boys are accused of homosexuality and are stoned to death before Jesus - here called Yeshua bar Joseph - can intercede. This sets the mood for the tale in a time when the law is absolute and punishments are meted quickly and often unjustly.

Yeshua's first temptation comes in his dreams of a young village woman whom he loves. He imagines her as his wife and the mother of his children, and he knows she desires him in the same way. But that is not his destiny. When they are seen alone together, this impropriety causes the stones to fly, but Yeshua brings the rain and saves the day.

Reports arrive that Yeshua's cousin John is baptizing people, so the whole family packs up and goes to him. After being baptized, Yeshua battles the devil in the desert, then heads home to the wedding of the woman he loves to another man. His first public miracle is changing water into wine at their wedding feast.

Sample of prose: "The chorus of judgment rose in frantic and furious shouts and cries. Stones flew past us from everywhere. I fought with all my strength against my brothers as they dragged me to the ground. I felt hands around my knees and my ankles. Struggling, panting, shouting, I was being dragged away.

"The shrieking and wailing of the children cut through the hoarse curses and execrations.

" 'Lord God in heaven, this cannot happen!' I cried. 'Stop this!

" 'Father, send the rain!' "

Pros: As in the first book, Rice emphasizes Christ's humanity as few authors have done. Her unique protagonist gives the author the chance to write in a rare point of view: first person omniscient. Because of his divine nature, Jesus can not only tell his own story but can know the past and future and what those around him are thinking. Here it works.

Cons: Rice's use of contractions and informal speech, rather than making the book more readable, are distracting. It's hard to imagine the Lord addressing Satan and saying, "I'd laugh at you if you weren't unspeakable. You're the Prince of Lies."

Final word: Though not as good as I had hoped, Rice's embellishment of scripture and depiction of the times make for compelling reading.

Comments

  • March 19, 2008

    3:29 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    anntowey writes:

    If you want to find out about adolescent angst of Jesus, read "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal" by Christopher Moore.

    Certainly a more light hearted and fanciful account, but enjoyable.