This book was a little slower to start with than the first book, but still captured my imagination. The "good parts", where Jesus realizes his power, are an inspiration to us all. It allows you the reader to feel God is here for you by making Jesus a normal man of flesh and blood. He feels anxieties, he has desires, he is searching for his future just like us all.

When I first saw the title in the store's selection of audio books I was very interested in listening to this book. Then I noticed the author's name; could this be the same lady that wrote the vampire books? It was! I was hoping that I made a good choice and I did! Very enjoyable. Listening to the audio book again and picking up additional meanings that I missed the first time.

Please listen to the author's message at the end. VERY Good Choice!
Phyllis

This is an excellent portrait that should not offend pious Catholics. This is a work of fiction that accurately portrays the world Our Lord lived in and follows a very likely path of his location during His early years. The work is clearly and explicitly fiction, however, there is nothing within to offend piety except for a single mild lapse in which The Blessed Virgin Mary is described as "angry."

This is a excellent, exciting, and moving story all told with fine attention to detail and a compelling narrative style that apparently is a trademark of Anne Rice's work (this is the only novel of hers I have read).

The characters are finely drawn and very human. There is no silly, saccharine, or precious piety here (which is a relief!).

The story line follows the Holy Family leaving Egypt and returning to Jerusalem and eventually Nazareth, set against the backdrop of the horrible oppression of the Jews by the Romans, and the sporadic uprisings which marked the period in which Our Lord walked the earth.

Schsmatics, heretics and Protestants may have some problems with the text, for it is relys on sources outside of the Luther-approved scriptural canon (funny how Our Lord quoted from the so-called Apocrypha but Luther knows so much better and excludes it). But the story does have a firm foundation in sound, but not Divinely inspired, early Church hagiographies and particularly the iconography which was established before Scripture was written or even collected.

For those who are not Christians, this is still an exciting historical novel with excellent detail that will be appreciated for its skill in creating the first century near east. One of the better novels I've read this year.

My initial apprehension in approaching this novel as a Christian was the fear that it would be an overtly blasphemous work that turned the Christ Child into an amateur magician running amok in 1st century Palestine. I was pleased that my anxieties were not well-founded.

As a Biblical Studies major, I paid particular attention to the historical background of the book, noting its authenticity. I was amazed at the depth of research Anne Rice must have done to complete this novel. It begins with Jesus living in Alexandria, one of the most important cities in the Roman Empire at the time, aptly called the "breadbasket of Rome." After the death of Herod the Great, the family of Christ no longer has the need to avoid Herod's kingdom (who attempted to kill Jesus when He was born) and they journey home to Nazareth. Along the way, Jesus struggles with the issue of His true identity and comes to terms with His divine nature. A thick display of Judaistic worship penetrates the story, constantly reminding the reader of a fact Christians are so fond of forgetting: Jesus was a Jew.

Rice writes with a slightly Catholic tint, albeit to no dismay. She derives information from little-known sources (the Infancy Gospel of Thomas) and introduces obscure New Testament theories (John the Baptist was raised by the Essenes at Qumran Khirbet) that the Bible scholar will (should) certainly recognize with glee. The novel is told in the first person of Christ and gives an amiable display of Our Lord without crossing lines, but never neglecting to break barriers. Several passages were downright chilling to me, a testament (no pun intended) to the strength of Rice's prose.

Knowledge of the Bible and its background certainly increased my enjoyment of this work, but was certainly not necessary to understand the story. This book is highly recommended to the Christian or non-Christian.

This is such an interesting book. I would suggest reading the Author's Note first; it helps to know what Anne Rice had in mind when turning this portion of Jesus' life into a novel. Reading this book led me to read "The Road to Cana," as well. Both are excellent.

Ms. Rice has managed to keep the story moving and believable, while breathing new life into the Gospels. It's a great way to get a deeper understanding of the culture in which Jesus lived. I think the most compelling aspect is how you are transported into the mind of a young child who knows He is "different" but doesn't quite know why - or when the full import of that difference will become apparent to Him and those He loves.

Very good book and great for young people to get some story interest of the Lord.

In "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt", author Anne Rice tells the story of the seven year old boy Jesus returning to Nazerath with his family and his early experiences there. Along the way there are many experiences ranging from the death of a family member to a violent rebellion following Herod's death. There are also meeting with figures of later importance such as John the Baptist and Caiphas. Rice's story is more in line with Roman Catholic doctrine (she is herself) in that Mary remains a virgin though frankly I feel Protestants can easily enjoy this novel without letting some differences of opinion get in the way. Likewise, the gospels tell little of Christ's childhood so Rice must use legend and storytelling to fill in gaps. I feel she does this generally effectively. It is the characterization that really drew me in though. In some ways, Christ is a truely challenging character to portray but I feel Anne is superb at focusing on the struggle of a boy to comprehend Himself and make sense of his past (which he doesn't completely know until late in the novel). Anne's author's page about her own journey to faith is quite interesting in itself. I should point out that Anne's chonology appears a little suspicious. From what I have read, Christ was likely born in the spring or autumn of 5 B.C. and Herod died the next year (though a minority view holds herods death as a few years later). Thus Christ would likely have not been as old during General Varus's smashing of the Jewish revolt as the novel depicts. I could have missed something however, and this didn't keep me from enjoying Anne's writing. Overall, a good book that I recommend.

Based on meticulous research, Anne Rice has written a beautiful account of a year plus in the life of Jesus as a young boy. She writes in the first person, which works better than I would have expected, and seems to have an intuitive understanding of how this boy might have pondered the things that made him different but which his family was not yet ready to explain to him.

The tone is reverent, but not mushy. Jesus is a real boy, with human thoughts and emotions, being brought up in the Jewish culture. Although there are flashes of his divinity and the role that he is destined to play, they do not predominate.

So whether you are a confirmed Christian or reading the book for other reasons, there is much of value here.

Also be sure to read Rice's notes about why she wrote the book,I found them inspiring.

I read this book last summer and was super excited that I have the second installment in the trilogy, and will be reading it next week.

I love Jesus, Mary, and Joseph and while the Gospels are wonderful to read, there is something special and wonderful reading Anne's creative version of what Jesus was like as a child. She is such a talented artist, and her ample research is very evident.

I think anyone that loves good fiction will enjoy this book. However, if you love Jesus, and if you also love the Holy Family, then you will treasure the experience of feeling your love for Jesus, and his mother, and his earthly stepfather stir within you while reading this book.

Anne Rice has shifted subject matter -- to put it mildly -- with skill and grace. Her telling of Jesus' boyhood is at times moving and illuminating. Without forcing her readers to buy into any of this Christian story with which they are not comfortable, Rice gives humanity and a visual sense of Jesus' life as he discovers who he is. Some of the stand out parts for me were her forshadowing of familiar New Testament stories-- the money changers outside the temples and the Roman use of crucifixion, to name but two. Some of the storytelling is a bit uneven in a few moments, but the book brings the reader into the era, the settings and the person with new insight. Worth the read for anyone interested in this story no matter their religions background.

Good read. I liked Out of Egypt better. This seemed as if it was almost geared for Middle School reading.

I loved Anne Rices' other stuff but was really bored with this. I read 100 pages and gave up on it. I wish she'd go back to the Vampires.

I swear every time I pick this book up to try and read it I fall asleep. It's hard to follow, and I just can't get into it. I will be donating this to the Library...

I started this book a couple of years ago, got about 50 pages into it, and quit. It was a bit too touchy-feely for me. Then I picked it up again last month, started over, and finished it. I'm glad I did. It got better as I progressed, and Anne Rice's research was evident as she described life of a very special Jewish family in first century Palestine. I think James and Joseph were my favorite characters. I also liked her imaginative -- yet, as far as I could tell, orthodox -- description of child Jesus's gradual self-understanding and subsequent self-limitation. Finally, Rice's descriptions of the holy land gave me a vivid mental image that will enliven my reading of the New Testament.

She built her reputation writing books about vampires and witches, exploring her own faith as her characters wrestled with timeless themes of good and evil. Now Anne Rice has taken on the story of Christ himself. Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt is a novel written as a first-person account by Jesus of his very early years. In an afterword Rice details her research -- the years she spent studying Christ and his times, delving deeply into academic treatises. ..

Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt: A Novel

The very first page is so inaccurate when compared to the Scriptures. The Bible clearly states that the first miracle that Jesus performed was at a wedding when he turned water into wine. You can't make up things that you think Jesus would have done as a youngster - I understand this is fiction but at least be a little correct. I stopped reading after the first page and if you are a follower of the the Holy Scriptures I would suggest that you do not purchase this book.

I was very impressed with Ms Rice's style of writing. It was as though you were hearing the story first hand from Jesus himself. It put Jesus in a human perspective and her style of presenting Him in this manner made this a believable story. I found myself picturing in my mind as I read along that I was actually there and observing the events myself. Excellent piece of work. I have recommended this book to all my friends.

I don't know what I expected when I ordered the book, I bought it because Rice's new book Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana (Christ the Lord)piqued my curiosity at the store and because I loved Memnoch The Devil for the way it made me think about what I thought I knew about my religion.
My first (and immediate) reaction was, leave it to Ann Rice to have the audacity use first person narration as God! What else has she got in store for me? I couldn't put it down! I have recomended the book to every recovery Roman Catholic I know. Loaned it out twice, and plan to at least skim it again before I read the next one, which I wanted to wait a while to do so that I could reflect more on this one.
I still can't say exactly what my reaction is, only that I'm still reflecting, that it seems to have given an element of believability to things I dismissed as religious propaganda.
A great read for the faithful and the fallen!

This book was a great disappointment for me, right from the first few pages. Rice begins the book with little Jesus inadvertently killing a kid on the street, as "the power" goes out of him (he later revives this kid again). Basically, Jesus is portrayed as a sci fi superhero who has to learn to control his special power (the ability to make real whatever he thinks about). Otherwise, it is obvious that his special power can be used either for good or for ill.

This kind of portrayal of Jesus strikes me as completely off, especially for a Catholic revert. It is sad that Rice does not have a better understanding of God. The Bible says that God is LOVE. The Gospels always show Jesus doing good with his "power" - healing, saving, feeding, etc. There is never any indication that he had to "control" his power lest it lash out accidentally and harm innocent victims. And yet, Rice begins the novel in a way that shows God's power as much more suspect and ambiguous. Rather than being innately good, God is shown as someone who has to struggle to contain a force that could just as easily do harm.

Another thing that bothered me about this book was the portrayal of Mary, who seems completely pathetic and weak - always either crying or fearful - the stereotypical passive woman. After having seen The Passion I much prefer the portrayal of Mary as a strong and capable woman.

The final thing that bothered me is that Rice failed to realistically portray the thought process of Jesus as a child. No big surprise there I suppose, since it is a tall order to try to get into the mind of God made man. Rice does provide good reasons for her approach to Jesus's character (as someone who emptied himself of God awareness). However, these reasons only appear in the final author's note. Not having had the benefit of her reasoning while reading the book, her choices were not immediately obvious to me. What was obvious, on the other hand, was that Jesus was confused about his identity...and yet, he seemed to spend almost no time thinking about it. His first-person narration is much more concerned with simply observing and reporting on what goes on around him (like a talking camera) and much less on what is happening inside of him. I would have liked more of the latter. His alleged intellectual brightness is also not apparent in his direct narration, as he shows no special insights or wisdom as his mind churns (and the readers get to read his thoughts).

I agree with the earlier comment that the best part of this book was the author's note at the back. Rice shares how much research she did before she wrote this book. I wish more of this research were evident in the book, but the book is actually quite light on description and context, and is mostly dialogue.

I was a little skeptical about the portraial of Christ by Anne Rice. She does have a history of writting dark books. I was very suprised and loved the way she wove the historical account of his life in with a real life account of the way it could of happened.

For decades now, Ms. Rice has kept us entertained with her tales of deliciously cultured and conflicted bisexual vampires and witches, much to the obvious delight of the Evangelical Christian parents I'm sure. Now all of a sudden (perhaps due to the death of her husband, a life long atheist) she decides that Christianity (and Catholicism in particular) is the answer to everything in her life. I find it sad that one so brillant needs such a crutch, but so be it. However, I do have a problem with the fact that she says now she will not write about anything that does not pertain to the Christian faith (this would include her Vampire novels, which she views as being metaphors for "lost" human souls). To me (and hopefully to the lovely readers of Amazon), this is the same thing as when Cat Stevens converted to Islam and decided that his music was nothing more than a diversion from God. To not fully utilize one's talents is, in any logical notion of a Creator, an ultimate insult to the very being whom one claims to venerate. I am grateful that I did get a few years of Ms. Rice's spellbinding occultic writings as they kept me captivated throughout my teen years.
Okay, enough of the rant; how's the book itself? Well, sorry to say, not so hot. If you're a by the book Taliban-like Catholic or Fundalmentalist Christian, this may be a little slice of what you need to simply reinforce your brainwashing. Nothing is challenged: the brothers and sisters of Jesus (which is clearly what they are called in the Bible) are from Joe's first (and never mentioned in the Gospels) marriage, Mary and Joe don't have a real marriage, rather Joe is just there to raise Jesus. He has no role as husband. The Jews are presented as a group that has fallen away from their core beliefs and only the crazy Essenes are "Jewish" enough to raise the great John the Baptist. Since the Gospels are nearly silent on the early years of Jesus, info from the Gnostic Gospels is used (such as the tale of Jesus killing and bringing back to life his dead playmate). These are stories of tradition and not accepted Church "facts" (considering that all of the Gospels were written well after Jesus's death anyway, are there any facts that we can honestly know to be certain? There are no Roman records, nothing that corroborates the Gospel tales. Just some food for thought). The narrative of Jesus Himself is rather dull for a godling with X-Men-like powers who is living at such a volatile period. It's a quick but unexciting read for anyone but hardcore Christians. Once again, I wish that Ms. Rice would reconsider her vow to become the Catholic C.S. Lewis and reconvert to writing as she does best: those naughty, luscious vampires. I promise I won't tell her priest.

CHRIST THE LORD, Out of Egypt
By Anne Rice
Not into sucking vampires or horror genres, I'd never read anything by Anne Rice.
When I heard Rice had become a Christian and changed her writing goals, I was intrigued. Then I discovered this book.
The orthodox canon of scripture says little about Jesus as a child, so Rice wrote with imagination and speculation. She admits the book is fiction, but based on a great deal of research. I may not totally agree with Anne Rice's theology, but I found the volume plausible.
She writes of Jesus' probable life as a seven-year-old on his family's journey from Egypt to a new sojourn in Nazareth.
Our canon says Christ was tempted like every person is, which means he experienced things that taught him to fully understand humanity. In Rice's book, the young Jesus faces questions that surely Christ wondered about: Why did villagers look askance at his mother? What happened at his birth? Rice gives him believable emotions, such as childhood fear when accosted by the evil one and typical difficulties with social challenges in Jewish villages.
Rice also clearly portrays Christ's deity.
I was challenged by Rice's goal, expressed in her introduction, from now on to write only for God. I wish her success and hope to emulate her goals.
© Geni J. White

Very well written book, yet what had an even greater impact upon me were the words contained in Anne Rice's heartfelt and spiritually inspired Author's note at the end of the book. I understood her spiritual journey and why she wrote this book.

Everyone wonders about the hidden years of the life of Christ as a boy. Anne Rice does a wonderful job "filling in the blanks" of what might have been - and has done an amazing amount of research to make it as realistic as possible. All this in an enjoyable, readable format. I rated this book as a five due to the fun I had reading it and I will also be reading the sequel with just as much pleasure. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's ever wondered just what did happen during those years as these books give you a possible clue. Jesus as a boy is something that I've always wondered about and I can't possibly be the only one!

This is the fictional story of Christ's childhood from his, a child's, perspective. While it may be educational for those who do not realize that Christ was Jewish, it clearly is fiction hanging on a skeleton of "fact". It is an ambitious and brave project for Anne to take on, and I find it somewhat boring.

I picked this item up, on a whim, at my local store (sorry amazon!). I am very pleasently surprised. I have read Ms. Rice in the past - but her vampire lore always left me cold. She has a wonderful ability to tell a story - but the vampires just aren't my thing. This story of Jesus, of which we are all familiar, is simply amazing. Please, don't be too theological in your approach to the book. The story is told from a first person perspective, Jesus being that person. However...it gives a glimpse into what could have been. I will be getting the next book about Cana as soon as I am finished with this one. Excellent!!

I had not heard of Anne Rice. I wouldn't have. Vampires and such would not be in my normal circle of reading or comfort zone. This was reccomended to me and I am delighted it was. I don't endorse all of the characterizations Anne pens, but I appreciate the imagination stimulation and all of the "what-ifs." The solid connection with historical facts, figures, lifestyle and territory is superb. Mostly the protrayal of The Christ being simultaneously devine and human, albeit suspect at time, insist the mind travel down some uncharted paths. I did, and I was better for it.

It isn't often I get to read a book that has such an impact on the Christian Faith that isn't written by a theologian or pastor. That it comes, instead, from the mind and pen of Anne Rice makes it especially wonderful. Ms Rice's habit of doing extensive research for her writing has created a Novel that will open the eyes of anyone wanting to know and better understand the life and times of Christ.

Out of Egypt is a beautiful vision of what it might have been like for Jesus Christ as a child.

Richly detailed and believable, Ms. Rice follows Christ as He learns from the finest scholars, discovers His true birthright.

Ms. Rice meticulously researched the history surrounding the days and time that Christ walked the Earth. The details of the history of the world are enough to recommend this book, as is the prologue explaining what brought a self-described intellectual atheist back to Christ.

Out of Egypt is everything you have come to expect from this author and more.