A second volume in the author's chronicle of the life of Christ begins prior to his baptism in the Jordan River and concludes with the miracle at Cana, as he leaves Nazareth to confront his destiny and the call to be Israel's liberator from Roman occupation. - (Baker & Taylor)
A second volume in the author's series of novels chronicling the life of Christ begins prior to his baptism in the Jordan River and concludes with the miracle at Cana, as he leaves his everyday life in Nazareth to confront his destiny, the Devil's temptations, and the call to be Israel's liberator from Roman occupation. 500,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)
Anne Rice’s second book in her hugely ambitious and courageous life of Christ begins during his last winter before his baptism in the Jordan and concludes with the miracle at Cana.
It is a novel in which we see Jesus—he is called Yeshua bar Joseph—during a winter of no rain, endless dust, and talk of trouble in Judea.
Legends of a Virgin birth have long surrounded Yeshua, yet for decades he has lived as one among many who come to the synagogue on the Sabbath. All who know and love him find themselves waiting for some sign of the path he will eventually take.
And at last we see him emerge from his baptism to confront his destiny—and the Devil. We see what happens when he takes the water of six great limestone jars, transforms it into cool red wine, is recognized as the anointed one, and urged to call all Israel to take up arms against Rome and follow him as the prophets have foretold.
As with Out of Egypt, the opening novel, The Road to Cana is based on the Gospels and on the most respected New Testament scholarship. The book’s power derives from the profound feeling its author brings to the writing and the way in which she summons up the presence of Jesus. - (Blackwell North Amer)
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The second novel in Anne Rice's hugely ambitious, moving, and masterful portrayal of the life of Christ, following Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt.
It’s a winter of no rain, endless dust, and talk of trouble in Judea. All who know and love Jesus find themselves waiting for some sign of the path he will eventually take. After his baptism, he is at last ready to confront his destiny. At the wedding at Cana, he takes water and transforms it into red wine. Thus, he’s recognized as the anointed one and called by God the Father to begin a ministry that will transform an unsuspecting world. - (Random House, Inc.)
ANNE RICE is the author of thirty-seven books. She died in 2021. - (Random House, Inc.)
Anne Rice is the author of twenty-seven books. She lives in Rancho Mirage, California. - (Random House, Inc.)
Booklist Reviews
This second volume in Rice's fictionalized biography of Jesus, following the well-received Out of Egypt (2005), sees the Son of God at a turning point in the preordained path of his ministry on earth. Employing the same even pacing and careful interior exploration of Christ's passion as she demonstrated in the first volume, Rice opens her well-constructed narrative in Nazareth, where Jesus the carpenter, although he is aware of who he really is (as is his family), has rather stalled in undertaking the serious work for which he was placed on earth; he awaits an unmistakable sign from God that he must begin his inexorable path to martyrdom. He is severely tested by pleasures of the flesh, but he resists; the devil himself appears to him and attempts to throw him off course. He comes to realize the sign he has been waiting for has been within him all along. Christ begins to reveal more widely who he is, gather disciples, spread the holy word, and take the initial steps that will lead to the cross on Golgotha. Excellent historical fiction with sensitive, humanizing religious interpretation. Copyright 2007 Booklist Reviews.
