She never contradicts what's in the New Testament, but in creating a novel out of a few verses, she certainly adds a whole lot of highly speculative fiction to it.

This is also an excellent book continuing where the previous one stopped.
Anne Rice is an amazing author. I never read her previous books as I don't like vampires. Even though it's a novel, it's very believable and
good reding.

The Road to Cana, a novel about the early life of Christ leading up to his public ministry was so compelling that I found it difficult to put down. The author who is evidently very knowledgeable about scripture and deeply committed to presenting Christ honestly, succeeds in helping us to experience Jesus in an intimate and deeply personal way. To write a novel in which Jesus speaks to us in the first person is a courageous act but one that the author is totally up to doing. She writes beautifully and I really found myself being transported back to the people and events in Christ's life that are not presented to us in the gospels. I especially loved meeting his earthly father Joseph who receives little attention in the gospels. Fascinating too was her treatment of Christ's baptism in the Jordan, His incredible encounter with the devil in the desert and His transformation of water into wine at the wedding in cana. As a believer in Jesus Christ and one of his followers I was thankful for the opportnity to read this book and I look forward to Anne Rice's next novel about Jesus Christ.

Who knew right? Anyway I thought Christ the Lord good but I felt that it was just a fluke or something. Here Rice actually has the foundations of a promising series. The transition of Yeshua bar Joseph from village carpenter to the son of God is something that deserves to be read.

I also have to congratulate the author on giving the little town of where Jesus grew up a life of its own the people have life and even a sense of humor that part of the book was actually very surprising.

I have been reading Anne Rice for years, and I am pleased to say that this 2nd book in the most recent trilogy is excellent and thought provoking. I can't wait until the 3rd book comes out!!!

Who would have ever thought that the "Vampire Chronicles" author could turn out such a beautiful work of art. Truly gives one a sense of what 100% God and 100% man must have been like. Cannot recommend this highly enough.

for years, anne rice has been known for her famous and bestselling books about vampires. she was one of the last successful fiction writers anyone would have expected to write a multi-volume reverent, fictional treatment of the life of christ. but a come-to-jesus (or, more accurately, a come-back-to-jesus) moment several years ago brought her back to the catholic faith of her childhood. she tells this story in the author's note at the end of the first book in this series, christ the lord: out of egypt, one of my favorite books of the year when it came out. that little author's note is, quite literally, worth the price of the first book, all by itself.

that first book tells the fictionalized (but based on what we know from scripture and other historical documents) story of christ from birth through the scene in the temple when he was 12. this second book jumps forward to the year prior to jesus' baptism at the hands of john the baptist, temptation in the desert, and - finally - his first major miracle, the water-into-wine at the wedding of cana. the story is told in first person, in the voice of jesus, which allows rice to explore his thoughts. he's 30-ish, and his family is seriously ticked that he's not married. in fact, jesus is in love with the most eligible girl in his town, who clearly wants to marry him. and we see his struggle, knowing that he cannot and will not marry her (in fact, it is her eventual wedding in cana, at the end of the book -- which provides all kinds of wonderful complexity and struggle).

jesus knows who he is, but is still learning and growing in understanding about how it all works. for instance, we get to follow along as jesus figures out how he speaks in the authoritative voice of god. at first, he knows he is this and does this, but doesn't quite grasp how it works. really interesting stuff.

i had heard from friends that this volume was good, but not as great as the first book. and that's fair. but, still, i would say that this book is great: really, really great. likely to be one of my 10 best books of the year. but the first book was one of my 2 best books of the year i read it. so, yeah, not quite as good as that one; but better than almost every other book out there! i really struggled to connect with the book, and understand what was going on, in the first 30 pages or so. but once i connected, i couldn't stop reading.

if you haven't read the first book, i would suggest you start there, though it's not necessary.

I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical before reading this book as to how JC would be portrayed. But in my struggle to have a more personal relationship with the Lord, this only helped. I read this book in three evening sittings. It was that good. This my first Anne Rice book, and I feel she can be a bit too Hemingway-esque in her details which are overkill and superfluous at times, but for the most part, her detail was welcomed and right accurate according to the times. One thing I did not like was JC's meditation in the desert where he realizes he's God, it's night and day. It seemed a bit artificial. But in the end, I walked away with a deeper appreciation of JC. Rice's depiction of his actions and character are reinforced by His teachings. I liked the scene where he hears a young girl's father crying far off in the distance, reflecting his deep compassion for us. The last part where he's approached by the Nazareth locals was also nice touch, and risky as she speculates on his response with what the people thought was supposed to be a Messiah to bring an uprising of Israel to Rome. But Rice handles many scenes like this with care. Again, the book left me wanting more and I can't wait for her next part in the Trilogy, and I'll probably read "out of Egypt". We must remember, the Christ was to be human, and he struggled with this day in and out. I'll admit it made me think more about the Trilogy of the Father and Son being one, I mean, who was he praying to in the Garden of Gethsemeni? It's still confusing yet beautiful at the same time. This novel helped solidify my faith more and reflect on Christ on a more personal level. After finishing the book, I walked away for a while and thought reflected on this... almost to tears. I would give away all our modern day luxuries and life to have walked and talked with this Yeshua. Oh, how beautiful is Christ.

Loved it. Never read anything by Rice before. Interesting concept on the early life of Christ. Believeable.

After reading, The Lord Jesus Christ Out of Egypt, I was hoping Anne Rice would continue to write about Jesus' life in the same manner. Christ the Lord, The Road to Cana is so engrossing..I can barely put it down. I am ready for the next chapter in His life.

It's almost a high-school literature teacher's joke: Divine 1st person point of view. Any literary person worth their salt knows the only kind of omniscient point of view is 3rd person (or 2nd, in the extremely rare case of Augustine's Confessions). But Anne Rice blithely jumps those literary tracks (as she jumped another, from vampire lit to theography) in order to give us the 1st person perspective of Jesus of Nazareth, God and man, on His way to becoming the Saviour of the world.

One measure of the audacity of Rice's premise is that I approached and read her first few chapters more with fear than with anticipation, three interrelated fears based upon my discomfort in hearing a 21st century author directly ventriloquising Jesus. The first fear was technical. I thought that the Jesus was going to sound too human, that the 1st person narration was going to drain all the awe from Jesus's person. But she pulls it off. If you look hard enough, there are probably cracks where the craft doesn't hold up (because Anne Rice is human!), but on a first reading the Hypostatic Union comes across. Jesus's voice is human, of course, but with a dawning recognition that He is God, and what that fully means for His time on earth. The second fear was specifically sexual. Any 21st century biographer of Jesus is going to have to deal with His sexuality; the audience demands it. But an account of some aching crush or surge of hormones couldn't help but demean the personhood of Jesus, drop Him down to snicker-worthy, and a 21st century audience would be slow to follow a reluctant turning away from some nascent love affair to some Higher Love. We would feel His bodily longings, not feel the Higher Good He alone would feel, and this would cheapen His mission. And, in this book, Jesus is unquestionably, deeply, and bodily in love with a lovely woman. But Rice manages to make the experience also quite unlike any romantic relationship before or since. To avoid clear spoilers I will say only that Jesus was never "in danger" of giving up His mission, nor, except for a few agonised moments, do I think an audience would want Him to. The third fear was more broadly political. Surely, in this most drearily querulous of times, Rice could not avoid the temptation to make a Statement about the political issues that divide our country, the United States, for instance. Surely, ventriloquising the voice of God, she would make God sound like she wanted Him to. There are a few moments where Jesus's voice could be read as joining one side of a debate or other, but more often than not, Rice carefully resists such coopting, and I respect her for it. The audacity of her premise is, on the whole, matched with her success: speaking the human voice of God as it might have been then in such a way that now we can still manage to show Him reverence.

Aside from all that, it is simply a very good story, starts getting especially good about chapter 11. Intelligently Rice chooses the initial Gospel accounts of Jesus's ministry as the end of her story, so that we see the familiar material (during long stretches she stays quite close not only to the Biblical story but to its text) as a crux, not just a beginning, and in that way the old can take on additional meaning.

If there is anything time-bound or contemporary, limited, about the presentation, it may be the human perspective itself, a failure of our current, and our culture's current, imagination to comprehend anything higher than ourselves, for better or for worse. Christ has to come a long way to meet our materialist culture. Of course Rice borders dangerously on sacrilege. But she subverts her own human presentation. Her human Christ is in nearly every respect set apart from His community, even from His family. We come to find out, for instance, that His "brothers" (initially addressed as such) are cousins, that His romantic longing has, well, such an unexpected denouement, that His limited way of knowing (His perspective is Divine, but not omniscient) can expand so gratifyingly. He is human, but being separate from all other humans He can easily, in the course of the book, grow into a fuller understanding and use of His Divinity, and we, having joined Him when His perspective is more human, can more easily follow His remarkable journey into Messianic ministry.

This isn't how it happened (should you believe, as I do, that it happened). But this surely resembles how it happened. I read the final page on a Sunday morning (after a difficult week), closed the book, and having arrived where the book's momentum had carried me felt compelled into worship.

Note: I have not read the first book in the trilogy.

Anne Rice's Jesus deeply touches one's heart with his innocent wisdom, his vulnerabiity, the magnitude of his caring. It is personally heartrending to know what is coming. The Greek word for "to believe in" has the connotation "to trust, have confidence in." Like no other book I've read, this book brings me most clearly to that trust.

I found Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana deeply moving and incredibly clarifying. Before, the events described in the Bible were a jumble in my head although I had read them several times. Now as never before, I had an understanding of what our Lord must have gone through as he became ready to be the sacrifice for our sins. It was fascinating to follow His progress. It seems to me that Ms. Rice must be truly anointed to have provided such a magnificent portrait of our Lord's advent on the Earth. Thank you Ms. Rice . I hope you are forthcoming with other books of this caliber.

FIRST, read "Christ the Lord, Out of Egypt," also by Anne Rice. That is the first book of this trilogy in progress. Both books are wonderful treatments of Christ's youth and self discovery. The first person telling pulled me in, making Christ more familiar than he's ever been for me. The only downside is that readers will finish reading both books too soon. Rice's story telling is a gift... and she has an evolved comprehension of God's patience and mercy which she shares by threading that understanding through the action in both stories. I would like to believe that both books were divinely inspired. After all, who are we to question the ways of the Lord?

My favorite parts were the treatment of the story of the tax collector, and the unexpected reference to the "camel" parable without actually saying so. And of course, the theme throughout, if you love something with all your heart, you give it away. I had to cry! I've read both of the "Christ The Lord" novels, and I'm actually dreading the third because I know what's coming. I've never read Anne Rice before, and I think this is wonderful writing.

I also highly recommend The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore by Deepak Chopra, for another interesting view of the man who was Yeshua bar Joseph.

More a short story than a novel. Character development interesting but would have liked more - more scope, more depth.

After reading Ms Rice's Christ the Lord out of Egypt I had to read this book too. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommended it everyone I know. It tells the story of a part of Jesus' life we know little to nothing about and makes it so believable that it could very well have occurred this way. I'm hoping Ms Rice continues to write more on this subject. I will eagerly get those books and read them voraciously!!

Like most here have said, the second-half of the book was clearly the most interesting. When news came to the village that John the Baptist had come out of the wilderness and was fulfilling the Prophecy, I actually began to shake, anticipating Yeshua's trip to the river. It's the kind of shake you get when you're a little too cold, but nothing I could do would stop the shaking! Finally, when he was baptised and began his journey into the wilderness, I calmed down. His conversations with Satan were phenominal! What an imagination to build that from the scriptures!

My favorite line from the entire book came at the onset of his journey into the desert: "Well, now I knew just what it meant to be the man who knew he was God." I had to stop reading for a while to recover from that line, then read it over and over again!

I also enjoyed Him telling James: "I am weary of you, by brother... in my heart, I'm weary."

The last page of the book is sheer genius and made my heart swell with Happiness!

This is a beautifully done continuation of Anne's "Christ the Lord" series. Her characterizations are brilliant, her story-line faithful to the Scriptures, and her theology superb. I loved the first book, "Out of Egypt", and this one was even more satisfying.

Anne Rice has written a book full of paradox. It is simultaneously challenging and comforting, orthodox and questioning, historically accurate and fictional, lean and richly told. Like the Pope's book, Jesus of Nazareth, this novel amounts to Anne Rice's personal search for the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. Rice is a Catholic, and this review is written as a Catholic review. It should go without saying however that all Christians and all people would benefit from reading Rice's latest, and perhaps best, work.

The book is both orthodox and questioning. In the opening few chapters Rice raises the question of homosexuality. Yet, Rice artfully deals with the issue, which arises when two boys are stoned to death in Nazareth without a trial because of the suspicion of sodomy. Jesus can not stop the stoning, neither can the Rabbi of the village who tried valiantly while demanding the witnesses be brought forward. Jesus is prevented from intervening by his elder brother James, but He is aghast at the mob "justice." The question as to the boy's guilt is not truly settled until Satan tempts Jesus in the dessert. However Jesus (Yeshua) offers the reader no easy answers. In fact, immediately following this ordeal, we are introduced to the character Avigail, whom Yeshua loves. When Jesus is struggling with this human conjugal love (remarkably sinless and free of lust) the Scripture verses that Christ ponders are those same verses John Paul II considered when writing the Theology of the Body. "Man and woman He created them; it is not good for man to be alone; for this reason a man will leave his mother and father and cleave to his wife." It is as if Rice is challenging the reader to deal with the Scriptural and moral evidence and to draw their own conclusions or reexamine already held beliefs.

Some may find this part of the book challenging as they have become Catholics because of the Church's teachings on sex and sexuality. Catholics who rejoice in the Church's teachings on sex and sexuality and attempt to live them report that they find these teachings glorious, life-giving, and liberating. Rice perhaps disagrees, but she is so humble that she raises the question and refuses to put her own biases into Yeshua's heart or mouth. This level of restraint is remarkable, and shows a mature Catholic artist dealing in a non-scandalous way with the teaching authority of her Church. The result is two or three challenging but humble chapters that encourage the reader to think. By even raising the issue of homosexuality in this way, Rice has opened herself to criticism as someone who has an agenda. The criticism from some will be pointed and perhaps angry, and this will be understandable. However, her restraint and honesty deserve praise. It is because of this restraint and honesty that many thinking Catholics who love the Church's teachings and consider themselves orthodox may well find themselves as comforted as they are challenged by Rice's book. Rice, it seems, is a liberal when it comes to the moral teachings of the Church; but she is a liberal with a decidedly open mind and heart. This is a rarity among progressives in the Church who are increasingly bitter, angry, and hateful towards their fellow Catholics who embrace what the Church teaches. Furthermore, when it comes to creedal Christianity, Rice is uncompromisingly orthodox and refuses to fall into the modernist traps of denying Christ's divinity, His historical reality, or the reality of His real and literal bodily resurrection. This uncompromising faith is what makes her a Christian, and she is a brave one at that.

The role of women is also addressed, as Avigail is victim of an attempted rape early in the book. The role of women, their place in the world, and their role as followers of Jesus are issues that are raised and dealt with in a sensitive manner. Remarkably, the raising of these two politically correct shibboleths in the very beginning of the text does not detract from the authenticity of the novel, and neither episode is overly modernistic and therefore distracting. This is a result of Rice's restraint and artistic competence.

It is also due the fact that Rice is relentless in her pursuit of historical accuracy. In her first book Rice demonstrated a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of first century Israel, and that same knowledge informs her characters, informs their actions, and informs their motives. An especially rich character in this regard is Jason, who is ends up being the "rich man" of the Gospel who goes away sad when Jesus asks him to give up everything he has to follow him. I will not give away anything of this character. He is so richly painted that it would ruin an important part of the book.

The entire book is richly told for that matter. We see the sights, smell the smells, and feel the feelings of first century Israel. However, despite the richness, the book is incredible short, under 200 pages, and the prose is leaner than anything I have ever read by Rice before. To this reader, this book feels more like Hemmingway than many of Rice's past books, especially the lush vampire novels of my youth.

Any person who loves the writing of Anne Rice and has found her journey home to the faith of her fathers interesting and heartening will benefit from this book. Everyone, regardless of faith and regardless of perspective, should give this book a chance. It is great literature; perhaps the best Rice has ever written. Whether the subject matter makes it impossible to be recognized as such remains to be seen.

In his seminal book, "Life of Christ," beloved Catholic broadcaster/evangelist Fulton Sheen describes the wedding at Cana as "a rehearsal for Golgotha" and Christ's Crucifixion. "There is a striking parallel between His Father's bidding Him to His public death and His mother's bidding Him to His public life," he writes. "Obedience triumphed in both cases; at Cana, the water was changed into wine; at Calvary, the wine was changed into blood."

Anne Rice builds her magisterial Christian novel around three seminal Gospel events: Jesus' first miracle of turning water to wine at Cana, His temptation by Satan in the desert, and His baptism at the Jordan. Each precedes Christ's ministry (it gives nothing away to say the book ends with Jesus and His apostles starting their commission) and points to what He will do and who He was (is): each marks where His fully divine and human natures met, battled, and triumphed.

Staying fully within Gospel tradition, "Road to Cana" builds an historically accurate, compelling narrative to follow 2006's "Out of Egypt." Here, Jesus (again called Yeshua, "the sinless") stands amid family and village strife as fellow Nazoreans want to rebel against Roman occupation. He must also deal with an increasingly dry season (Rice vividly portrays parched lands and sky quelled by cold baths and swallows of water) which His prayers end to family amazement.

Most powerfully throughout the book, Jesus transforms His love for the town's most beautiful single woman, Avigail. His humanity yearns in dreams for married life's closeness and physical affection (not to mention quelling concerns over not being married at his age). But as He realizes and accepts His mission, His love for her becomes as brother to sister. Her offer of physical closeness (arising from pain and needing acceptance) becomes His counteroffer of spiritual comfort after a painful family rejection. His financial and spiritual support of her marriage, with colorful celebration and surprising conclusion, becomes the start of His obedience not only to His mother (who attended Cana and to whom Rice's gives warm, witty repartee to Her Son) but to His Father in Heaven. Within this fictional subtext, Rice gives a powerful, overlooked example of a sacrifice Christ made for humanity.

It adds all the more Gothic drama to His desert battle with the self-described "Helel Ben-Shahar" (the one Christ called "The Lie" and "Lord of the Flies"). Rice includes each Scriptural word they exchanged, but Jesus' describing His mission and battle plan to defeat Satan should be a template for ministers and rouse joy in faith-filled readers.

"The Road to Cana," carries Ms. Rice's hallmarks from her new career phase: meticulous accuracy, balance between Christ's roles as family member, friend, arbiter, perceived political hero, real spiritual hero and finally, lone figure between His heavenly Father and the world He came to save. The book ends where that journey began, and "Road to Cana" builds a compelling narrative linking each of those signposts. Highly entertaining, inspirational, and recommended.

I bought both books by Anne Rice in the Christ the Lord series. Both are excellent. I found them scripturally correct as much as possible - remembering that they are fiction. I will share them with friends. They present interesting ideas and made me feel that Jesus was more human than I had really thought about. The Divine makes it hard to see the human. These books helped strengthen my faith - besides being good reads.

Second in a great series. Obviously not scripturally accurate as it covers times in Christ's life not documented, but excellent speculation integrated with scripture.

I purchased this for my 5 hour commute twice a week. Absolutely enthralling. I love this as much as I loved the first one! Anne Rice is an unbelievable talented story-teller! I am so glad she devoted her live to Christ!

The figure of Christ is persistently interesting, and Anne Rice has given us a yet another fascinating take. Christ was God, before He was born, during His life, and after His Resurrection. Yet He was also a man. If He had not been a true man, His willing sacrifice on the cross wouldn't have counted to redeem mankind from its debt of sin. If He had not been true God, likewise. And yet there is the tension between the two conditions that might be captured in the soldier's half-sincere taunt to Christ on the cross: If you be God, come down from the cross and save yourself! So the rather forensic question of 'what did the suspect know, and when did he know it' takes on compelling drama when the suspect is Christ, and Anne Rice has given us a portrait of a complex individual with flashes of insight and an enduring charity for neighbor, with a 'weakness' for the good and beautiful in humanity that leads Him to the road of His Father. We see Him in the day-to-day slugfest of life, disliked by some, respected by all, frustrating to those with a linear and unshakable plan. Rice has applied her always-formidable skills in characterization to a mysterious and fascinating Man God, and the result is even more satisfying than her earlier work.

She did it again. Amazing portraial of the historical facts. A 2000 year old story with a fresh look at life during the time of Christ.

As a fan of Anne Rice horror novels I did not know quite what to think of her writing a series a novels on Jesus. I was quite happy to hear of her return to the Catholic faith, but was rather skeptical as to what these novels would be like. I received Christ the Lord: Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana for review so I was finally able to indulge my curiosity. When someone decides to write a novel of Jesus from a first person perspective either they are pretty prideful to do so or have some measure of humility in undertaking the task. I believe the latter to be true in this case.

The novel doesn't start off that well with the stoning of two adolescent boys for alleged homosexuality and I thought that perhaps this novel would be more about ideology than trying to plumb the depths of the incarnation.

Tom at Disputations ably noted my second concern about the novel.

"And I may have rolled my eyes as Jesus moons over the beautiful young girl who lives across the street. (Not to worry, though; Rice's Jesus knows that the personal problems of a Messiah don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.)"

The main thing you might wonder about a first person perspective of Jesus of how the author would handle Jesus being fully man and fully God. The first half of the novel mainly concentrates on Jesus' humanity while not discounting his divinity. It is not the "ignorant Jesus" portrayal that is such a common theological fad and the novel has Jesus being aware of his mission to a degree and at times calls in this knowledge.

The novel has Joseph as having been previously married and that the Apostle James is a step-brother and has him living to just before his public ministry. This idea comes from the Protoevangelium of James and I believe she also used some of this apocryphal Gospel in her first book on Jesus. This though is a perfectly acceptable and orthodox understanding concerning Joseph and the brethren of the Lord. Regardless she uses it to good effect. I found quite interesting the question she brings up in how the villagers might have seen Jesus who would have been somewhat of an oddity having never married. She references the Annunciation, the miracle of Jesus' birth, the angels proclaiming his birth, and the Magnificat in the text and I enjoyed the way it was incorporated and not cast into question in any way.

The problem with so many writers is that they can only see through the lens of their time. That they have to layer on modern attitudes onto people who lived in more ancient times. The movie The Nativity Story demonstrated this problem by having a Mary displaying teenage angst and at first not accepting Joseph as chosen for her husband. Anne Rice though was able to write of the people in Jesus's village in what seemed to me to be in an authentic way. Their concerns and worries were the concerns and worries of the time. The characters are nicely fleshed out and quite believable.

The first half of the novel dwells in the period of time just before Jesus' public life and the end of his hidden life. The plot for this first half is somewhat interesting, but it is when Jesus's cousin John the Baptist appears on the world stage that we come to firmer ground. It is this second half that I found quite enjoyable to read and loaded with many insights into his public ministry. Her description of meeting his cousin and being baptized and then going into the desert verge on a meditation of these events. Especially the temptation in the desert is a very imaginative description of the events and I think some of the best writing in the book. The Gospels has the calling of the Apostles compacted in time and the book treats their calling in the same way. Very rapidly we meet the Apostles and they come to join and follow Jesus and we see them at the wedding of Cana. The description of the events at Cana are also quite stirring and I found the interaction between Jesus and his mother Mary brought tears to my eyes and will help me when praying the Luminous Mysteries.

I had a couple of minor qualms of the first half of the novel which I mentioned at the beginning of the review, but I found the book to be totally worthwhile and really quite an amazing effort. There is no deconstruction of Jesus and the novel is quite orthodox and a very fruitful meditation on Jesus by Anne Rice. It really makes me look forward to the next novel in the series and I will be going back to read the first one. The best thing I can say about "The Road to Cana" is that it will be one I will put on my reread list.

First of all, the reader in this audio book is excellent. Secondly, Anne Rice has provided a lot of information to ponder. It certainly puts Christ's life in a more secular perspective. We often forget he had to experience the trials and tribulations of a mortal man. It made me appreciate and understand his sacrifices and pain and suffering even more. I realize Rice has written fiction, but she certainly has given me "food for thought."

THIS IS AN VERY GOOD INTERPRETATION OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST AS A YOUNG MAN. EVEN THOUGH IT IS WRITTEN AS FICTION, I FOUND IT VERY USEFUL FOR MY SPIRITUAL WALK WITH CHRIST. IT ALLOWS ME A CLOSER IDENTIFICATION WITH THE HUMANITY OF CHRIST. IT WAS AN EASY BUT ENTHRALLING READ. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT AND EAGERLY LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT BOOK

As a fan of Anne Rice horror novels I did not know quite what to think of her writing a series a novels on Jesus. I was quite happy to hear of her return to the Catholic faith, but was rather skeptical as to what these novels would be like. I received Christ the Lord: Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana for review so I was finally able to indulge my curiosity. When someone decides to write a novel of Jesus from a first person perspective either they are pretty prideful to do so or have some measure of humility in undertaking the task. I believe the latter to be true in this case.

The novel doesn't start off that well with the stoning of two adolescent boys for alleged homosexuality and I thought that perhaps this novel would be more about ideology than trying to plummet the incarnation.

Tom at Disputations ably noted my second concern about the novel.

"And I may have rolled my eyes as Jesus moons over the beautiful young girl who lives across the street. (Not to worry, though; Rice's Jesus knows that the personal problems of a Messiah don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.)"

The main thing you might wonder about a first person perspective of Jesus of how the author would handle Jesus being fully man and fully God. The first half of the novel mainly concentrates on Jesus' humanity while not discounting his divinity. It is not the "ignorant Jesus" portrayal that is such a common theological fad and the novel has Jesus being aware of his mission to a degree and at times calls in this knowledge.

The novel has Joseph as having been previously married and that the Apostle James is a step-brother and has him living to just before his public ministry. This idea comes from the Protoevangelium of James and I believe she also used some of this apocryphal Gospel in her first book on Jesus. This though is a perfectly acceptable and orthodox understanding concerning Joseph and the brethren of the Lord. Regardless she uses it to good effect. I found quite interesting the question she brings up in how the villagers might have seen Jesus who would have been somewhat of an oddity having never married. She references the Annunciation, the miracle of Jesus' birth, the angels proclaiming his birth, and the Magnificat in the text and I enjoyed the way it was incorporated and not cast into question in any way.

The problem with so many writers is that they can only see through the lens of their time. That they have to layer on modern attitudes onto people who lived in more ancient times. The movie The Nativity Story demonstrated this problem by having a Mary displaying teenage angst and at first not accepting Joseph as chosen for her husband. Anne Rice though was able to write of the people in Jesus's village in what seemed to me to be in an authentic way. Their concerns and worries were the concerns and worries of the time. The characters are nicely fleshed out and quite believable.

The first half of the novel dwells in the period of time just before Jesus' public life and the end of his hidden life. The plot for this first half is somewhat interesting, but it is when Jesus's cousin John the Baptist appears on the world stage that we come to firmer ground. It is this second half that I found quite enjoyable to read and loaded with many insights into his public ministry. Her description of meeting his cousin and being baptized and then going into the desert verge on a meditation of these events. Especially the temptation in the desert is a very imaginative description of the events and I think some of the best writing in the book. The Gospels has the calling of the Apostles compacted in time and the book treats their calling in the same way. Very rapidly we meet the Apostles and they come to join and follow Jesus and we see them at the wedding of Cana. The description of the events at Cana are also quite stirring and I found the interaction between Jesus and his mother Mary brought tears to my eyes and will help me when praying the Luminous Mysteries.

I had a couple of minor qualms of the first half of the novel which I mentioned at the beginning of the review, but I found the book to be totally worthwhile and really quite an amazing effort. There is no deconstruction of Jesus and the novel is quite orthodox and a very fruitful meditation on Jesus by Anne Rice. It really makes me look forward to the next novel in the series and I will be going back to read the first one. The best thing I can say about "The Road to Cana" is that it will be one I will put on my reread list.

I give 4 stars for Rice's writing skills although I find the content of this book quite odd.

Rice writes in her book that (1) the Lord has an older half-brother James, and (2) he struggles to control his passion for this beautiful woman called Avigail.

There is biblical significance for Jesus to be the first born. Moreover, in the Bible, on Joseph and Mary's journey to Bethlehem and later, their escape to Egypt, there was no mention of a child of Joseph from a previous marriage. Also, the Lord could not possibly fall fleshly for an earthly woman. There is difference between being in love and to lust for a woman. To lust for a woman is a sin which the Lord may be tempted to commit but did not. To fall in love, the Lord would have to allow it to happen despite his knowledge of this woman (her sins, her flaws and her lust for Him), His ministry on the earth and His devotion to God the Father. The Lord may find this woman appealing, but He would still have to reach to a point where he allowed Himself to fall before he actually fell for her.

In the Bible Simon Peter once demanded the Lord to leave him, because he could not bear the gnawing contrast he sensed between his sinfulness and the Lord's holiness. A woman in her sound mind can not look upon Jesus, face-to face, and still have lust or the thought of a marital union. And I do not believe that women are spritually retarded or inferior compared to St Peter and cannot tell their own sins and that the Lord is holy. In the Bible, the Lord rebuked those who look at women and have a thought of lust. It is unlikely that the Lord would tolerate a woman like Avigail to shamelessly tell Him, "..take me as your harlot. Please, I don't care." (2008, p121) The biblical Jesus, most likely, would have said to her something like what he said the Simon Peter, "Get behind me, Satan!" Soon after this explicitly suggestive conversation in the grove, the Jesus in the book even gave away his gifts from the Magi to Avigail to be the funds of her wedding with Reuben, Hananel's rich grandson, although the gifts he received from the Magi symbolise his kingship, royalty and sacrifice (priesthood). The book, in my opinion, flows smoothly, though the the portrayal of the Lord is quite irrational, sentimental and unbearably sensual.

Rice writes in her book that (1) the Lord has an older half-brother James, and (2) he struggles to control his passion for this beautiful woman called Avigail. The tone is also very sentimental, and the worse, it is written in the first person through the Lord's perspective. Rice really makes the Lord talk and think like a woman.

In the Bible, on Joseph and Mary's journey to Bethlehem and later, their escape to Egypt, there was no mention of a child of Joseph from a previous marriage. Moreover, the Lord could not possibly have passion for a woman. How could an all-knowing God fall fleshly for an earthly woman? I mean, he was like her father. He created her, knowing all her weaknesses, imperfections and maybe also some foolishness. I wonder how the Lord could still fancy her like an earthly man does!

In our fallen state, a man or a woman can only feel the conviction of his or her sins and shortcomings in the presence of God. Therefore Simon Peter even once demanded the Lord to leave him, because he could not bear the gnawing contrast he sensed between his sinfulness and the Lord's holiness. A woman in her sound mind can not look upon Jesus with lust or the thought of a marital union. This is serious; this book is talking about another Jesus different from the holy One in the Bible.

Anne Rice's Wedding at Cana is a wonderfully written novel. I appreciate her blend of what we know to be written in the Bible and what is believed could be true. What a wonderful depiction of Christ as both human and God. Highly recommended!

I have read the book. I was anxious to start it thinking I would learn some biblical history but so much of this book is fiction.It is somewhat intertaining but again I wanted to enjoy and learn from it.

When I read Christ the Lord: OOE it overwhelmed me. I couldn't get it out of my head. The historical setting, the description of his family and the Jewish faith, the Romans, everything seemed to breathe fresh air. I looked for clues on the Internet, but nowhere did it say if and when there was going to be a sequel, so I thought, fair enough, maybe it's meant to be a standalone story of the youth of Jesus, and the best there is, too. Finding and reading the sequel Christ the Lord: TRTC sobered me a bit. Development of the central character has become poor: Jesus is already 30y old, we do not learn what motivates him to stop being a carpenter and become a "fisher of souls", except that it coincides with his baptism by John. The love story between him and Avigail leaves me at a loss: when and how did he learn to know her well enough to fall in love with her? Or is it all just a romantic fantasy? It cannot, given he was a man, and a man of 30 too, have been the first love of his life, can it really? In the stoning of the two boys accused of homosexual acts, he remains strangely detached. We learn more about the reaction of the elders ("there should have been a proper court decision") than of him. The strongest characters are not Jesus, it is Hananel of Cana and also Jesus' foster brother James: both are utterly disappointed by Jesus, knowing of the wonders foretold at his birth, and then living to see him become an ordinary carpenter. Hananel says accusingly that all of Jesus' previous promise has now been "swallowed by the world". This discrepancy really lies at the heart of contemporary discussions of the historical Jesus: from which context did he emerge so late at the age of 30? was he a really a carpenter as Mark tells us? Or was he rather Rabbi? Was he influenced by the Essenes? In the book, Jesus reaction to Hananel's accusation is rather weak: he says he still finds time to study the Torah besides his carpenter job, and that his duty is to live in the world of man. But when did he learn that, and how could he cope with it, the knowledge-eager child we met in OOE? That would have been the interesting story. Large parts of the plot are then taken straight out of the gospels, and that makes me fear for the next book - there now must be one, since this is obviously just an intermediate. Yet the gospels are much more informative about Jesus' subsequent preaching and the miracles. Given that already in TRTC the author took pains not to deviate from the gospels and not to add significant ideas on Jesus' character of her own, how is all this going to become a "novel" in the literal sense of the word, and not a flat contemporary retelling of it, something we all have done in religious class? I would like to see her with new ideas, even flat inventions, and not afraid - as obviously in TRTC - of painting a new, a very personal Jesus, one we did not know before. There would be nothing wrong with that, every Sunday sermon aspires the same thing.

If you liked out of Egypt, you will like this. Christ learns what it is to be Him while at the same time learns what it's like to be a man. Bravo Anne!

In her second book in the Christ the Lord series, Rice has again skillfully created a historical novel of the life of Jesus that is engaging, historically connected, and true to the image of Jesus in the Gospels. Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana captured my imagination and fueled my devotion with its earthy depiction of an adult Jesus (referred to in the book by his Hebrew name "Yeshua" or "Yeshua bar Joesph"). Rice has continued with her masterful way of balancing the true humanity and true divinity of Jesus in The Road to Cana with vivid description. With Jesus as the narrator, Rice gives the reader another look into Jesus' inner life, his thoughts, his anxieties, and his longings.

(WARNING: The following may contain plot spoilers. If you don't want me to ruin the plot then order the book here.)

Rice has wisely chosen not to fill in too many gaps between Jesus in the temple at age 12 and his baptism at approximately age 30. The Road to Cana begins during the winter before Jesus' baptism. We see less of his interaction between his mother, his father, and Uncle Cleopas and more of his interaction with his older brother James. There is a reference to his brother James being the son of another woman and not Mary, the mother of Jesus. Also there is a reference to Jesus calling his cousins his "brothers and sisters." This classification is in harmony with the Catholic tradition that Mary remained a virgin and had no other children. Protestants may disagree, but this theological determination regarding Jesus' family in no way takes away from the power of the story.

One of the triumphs of the book is Rice's ability to portray Jesus' romantic feelings in a pure, noble, and historically true way. Jesus' temptation in this regard is completely free of the trashy, 20th century, sex-obsessed descriptions of his romantic feelings as seen in other contemporary stories of Jesus. Jesus is enraptured with a young woman named Avigail. She is a fictions character, but she could have very well been in Jesus' life in first century Israel. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but Avigail plays an import role in The Road to Cana. Jesus' love for her is very holy and very real. Rice does a wonderful job describing the pressure Jesus was under to take Avigail as his bride. The temptation was not unbridled lust, but the temptation to marry according to cultural standards. Jesus longs to make Avigail his bride, but he knows this is not his call. The interactions between Jesus and Avigail are wonderfully written.

The first half of the book sets the historical and personal context of the life of Jesus leading up to the Gospel accounts of his baptism, his temptation, and the beginning of his miracle ministry, including the miracle at Cana. Rice describes Jesus' baptism and subsequent temptation in the wilderness with magical imagery and direct quotations from Scripture. She remains faithful to the gospel narrative and fills in the biblical text with wonderful color and texture.

In the front of the book she has a quote from Karl Rahner: The truth of faith can be preserved only by doing a theology of Jesus Christ, and by redoing it over and over again.

Anne Rice has used her gifts as a writer to do just that, redoing a theology of Jesus Christ on the canvass of biblical and historical orthodoxy...a historical-fiction-kind-of-theology that has great benefit for those of us on the journey of knowing, loving, and following Jesus.

Anne Rice has given us another amazing book about Jesus. The story was wonderfully written, presenting a vivid picture of Christ in an historically accurate setting. It was so engaging that I couldn't put it down and I was disappointed when it ended. I eagerly look forward to her next "Christ The Lord" writing.

When Anne Rice first announced her intentions to tell the story of Christ the Lord, she was met with a barrage of questions, criticism, and support. Her storytelling to date had given only subtle hints of her desire to stir the soul toward things of God, and in fact some blamed her for quite the opposite. With great skepticism, readers on both sides of spiritual lines awaited the release of "Out of Egypt." I found the book to be intriguing, elegantly understated, yet a bit dry.

"The Road to Cana" takes a big chronological leap forward, and the storytelling seems to reflect the maturation of her subject. Yeshua bar Joseph (Jesus of Nazareth) is now a man on the brink of embracing his identity and his purpose. He's God in the flesh, as he himself knows, but he also struggles with the human desires for companionship, family, and acceptance. His relatives and the local villagers sometimes call him Yeshua, the Sinless.

From the opening pages of this book, there are layers of meaning and beauty. Rice's story meets every expectation in this, her second christological novel, and I was swept up in the drama of village life, relational conflicts, and restrained divinity. Rice, through Yeshua's eyes, lets us in for peeks at the heart of God, as it relates to the human struggle. This culminates in Yeshua's face-off with Satan in the wilderness, during forty days of fasting--a masterpiece of textured prose--and in the following incident with Mary of Magdala. From there, Rice shifts her story from conflict into beauty, as Yeshua verbalizes his purpose to his new followers and his family.

I am not moved often to tears by books, but "The Road to Cana" touched me in deep ways, reminding me again of the honesty and integrity of Christ the Lord. This is soul-stirring fiction that brushes up with the truth and power of the Gospel. This is more than I could've imagined coming from the pen of Anne Rice. It's a book to be read, enjoyed, experienced--and to be brought to life in the hearts of readers everywhere.

When Anne Rice first announced her intentions to tell the story of Christ the Lord, she was met with a barrage of questions, criticism, and support. Her storytelling to date had given only subtle hints of her desire to stir the soul toward things of God, and in fact some blamed her for quite the opposite. With great skepticism, readers on both sides of spiritual lines awaited the release of "Out of Egypt." I found the book to be intriguing, elegantly understated, yet a bit dry.

"The Road to Cana" takes a big chronological leap forward, and the storytelling seems to reflect the maturation of her subject. Yeshua bar Joseph (Jesus of Nazareth) is now a man on the brink of embracing his identity and his purpose. He's God in the flesh, as he himself knows, but he also struggles with the human desires for companionship, family, and acceptance. His relatives and the local villagers sometimes call him Yeshua, the Sinless.

From the opening pages of this book, there are layers of meaning and beauty. Rice's story meets every expectation in this, her second christological novel, and I was swept up in the drama of village life, relational conflicts, and restrained divinity. Rice, through Yeshua's eyes, lets us in for peeks at the heart of God, as it relates to the human struggle. This culminates in Yeshua's face-off with Satan in the wilderness, during forty days of fasting--a masterpiece of textured prose--and in the following incident with Mary of Magdala. From there, Rice shifts her story from conflict into beauty and purpose, as Yeshua verbalizes his purpose to his new followers and his family.

I am not moved often to tears by books, but "The Road to Cana" touched me in deep ways, reminding me again of the honesty and integrity of Christ the Lord. This is soul-stirring fiction that brushes up with the truth and power of the Gospel. This is more than I could've imagined coming from the pen of Anne Rice. It's a book to be read, enjoyed, experienced--and to be brought to life in the hearts of readers everywhere.

I have never read a book about Jesus before reading Anne's Christ the Lord series. But I have to say that I am absolutely loving Anne's stories! I couldn't put this book down, I found it beautifully and artistically discriptive, a true masterpiece.
I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading and to be swept by the power of the written word. I felt like I knew the characters personally, but they lived 2000 years before my time! Great job Anne, I can't wait till you write the next book.

Can't wait to read the first in the series. This one read very quickly and was a creative way of exploring some of the issues we all "learned" while growing up about the life of Christ.

This is the second book in what is expected to be a trilogy. Book one, Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt introduces us to child Yeshua as he and his family return to Israel from exile in Egypt after the death of Herod. The Road to Cana picks up when Yeshua is approximately 31 and is on the verge of beginning his ministry. Rice's grasp of the literary art is second to none and she has brought the full force of it to bear on the task at hand. Her passion for historical accuracy blends with her art and creates a narrative that is easy for the reader to step into.

Rice, a recent concert to Christianity, has said that this trilogy is an act of devotion on her part; a way of serving God through her gifting. As you move through the novel, written in first-person perspective through the eyes of Christ, you sense the passion and devotion in every page. This is not simply a work of Christian fiction however, it is clear that Rice has immersed herself in some serious theology and it practically bleeds through the pages.

Recently Christianity Today reviewed the book and drew a clear distinction between Rice's work and typical Christian fiction. To be blunt most "Christian" fiction is simply very poor writing...a lot of pulp fiction filled with simple moralizing branded with the "Christian" label to exploit a market. Unlike novelizations like the Left Behind series which contains some seriously dodgy theology Rice's work is exceptional on many levels and depending upon how the last book unfolds the series could be bound to become a classic.

Highly recommended. It would make a great book club selection too.

In later 2005 I picked up the new hardcopy novel "Christ The Lord: Out of Egypt" by Anne Rice while heading to Vancouver for a week. Having always found Rice a brilliant storyteller and unrivalled historical researcher, I was intrigued that she had decided to take on the life of Jesus in her next projects (first person from Christ's perspective, no less). I was not disappointed. As a prolific reader, I rarely find time to reread books, this one has already brought me back more than once.

Needless to say, I was thrilled when I saw that the next installment in the series had hit shelves. Where the first book introduced us to Jesus as a child, returning home after years in Egypt, the second book "Christ The Lord: Road To Cana" picks up the story in the droughted winter prior to Jesus baptism by John. Moving towards His first miracle in Cana (as the title suggests), Rice uses this novel to set the stage for Jesus' coming ministry and ultimately journey to the cross.

In a daring, but powerful exploration of Christ's humanity, the story begins with Jesus' wrestling with His feelings from a beautiful woman (whom it is expected He will marry) that He knows can never come to fruition. While stories of His birth set Him apart as different, people are uneasy with a man Jesus age remaining unmarried. The unjust stoning of suspected homosexual youth in Nazareth hint at the uncertainty some feel towards Jesus. Even His family do not understand, but ultimately stand by Him.

The story continues, powerfully retelling the events of Jesus baptism, His temptation in the wilderness and calling of His disciples. Rice choose to also include, prior to the wedding in Cana, Christ's exorcizing of Mary Magdalene's demons. While the timing of this miracle detracted something from the later miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding, I believe it is easily overlooked, fitting well nonetheless. The book finishes, as it promises, in Cana, where we are ushered into the extravegant wedding rites to Jesus day. After transforming the water into wine, seen by a small number of family and followers, Jesus leads His disciples to the road on a journey towards Jerusalem.

Some critics of the first novel felt that the story was bogged down in too much historical and cultural details, an assertion I disagree with. Those details brought the world of Christ (and ultimately the Gospel as well) to vivid life for me. While the second book lacked these details (for which I was slightly disappointed), where it shone the brightest was in the development of the emotional realities the Jesus and those around Him might have felt. Jesus was fully divine, but He was also fully human, a fact clearly seen in this novel. Did it come at the expense of His divinity? I do not think so, trusting that Rice will explore that aspect more thoroughly in later volumes.

Whenever a novel about Christ is written, especially one which attempts the first person perspective of Jesus Himself, there are bound to be challenges. Inevitably creative license, personal beliefs and biases and other factors will colour the story. These novels are no exception, with aspects that will leave some Christians frustrated with the liberties taken.

That being said, Anne Rice presents a remarkably orthodox perspective through the unique lens of narrative fiction. She does not claim her works to be "Gospel", admitting that every write does (and must) bring themselves to the story. These books should not be read as a replacement for the Bible, but can serve to creatively challenge our limited and biased expectations of who Jesus was (is) and how He lived. In this way, these books are a gift to readers, serving almost as icons to a deeper understanding of Christ the Lord.

For myself, both books were easily worth the full hardcover price. Surprisingly, they made me hungry for Scripture like I haven't been for some time, drinking in the Gospels with fresh and new understanding. I highly recommend both books to be read carefully and with discernment, but with enjoyment as well.

www.missional.blog.com

This Anne Rice series gives Jesus a characteristic that encourages people to relate to him in a more realistic sense than as the Son of God. Rice's depiction of Jesus allows us to see him as `just' a man. She does this masterfully by writing from a first person point of view allowing her readers to sharing his thoughts, his conversations, and his humanity. "The Road to Cana" gives us possible insight into how difficult Jesus' life must have been due to the conflicts with temptations of the flesh versus the destiny of the Son of God.

"The Road to Cana" begins shortly before Jesus' baptism in the River Jordan by John the Baptist and concludes with the miracle at Cana, in which Jesus casts out Mary's demons. For some reason, no one "way back when" thought it necessary to chronicle his whole life. Maybe it was too boring, and there was nothing significant. In my mind, his humanity as a man, and not the Son of God, is extremely significant. There are so many beautifully human moments in both of Rice's "Christ the Lord" books.

Interestingly, Ms. Rice held to the belief that the angel came to Mary, the wise men came to celebrate his birth, and Jesus was the Son of God. This surprised me a bit. To be honest, I really expected that she would have taken a slightly different approach. I thought it would be a "normal" birth. All through this series she references the Christian story of Jesus' birth. I think Rice did a wonderful job of pulling me back, not letting me forget that this is a story about the Son of God.

Anne Rice has branched out with the "Christ the Lord" books. As far as fans go, you either love her writing or you hate it. However, I foresee a whole new genre of reader will pick up these books and truly enjoy them. She may have some fans from her previous works that will not like this venture; but if they are loyal fans, they'll read the "Christ the Lord" books. They may not like the story, but they will fully appreciate her writing. This particular series will not cause a decrease in Anne Rice fans at all.

While I could see Ms. Rice could get much criticism for daring to write a story about something that could be construed as blasphemous, I recommend this story to religious believers and non-believers. The writing is beautiful, the humanity presented is very believable, and the story is a wonderful possibility of what could have been.

Ms. Rice continues her trilogy with her second book "Road to Cana". What I enjoyed most about this sequel (and "Out of Egypt") is the poetic writing and expressive language. When I began reading Road to Cana, I was impressed by how quickly I envisioned the young Jesus in Out of Egypt. The character remains strongly intacted. Rice creates a very compassionate Jesus that keeps in line with Christological knowledge, but that is fictional and imaginative. Rice attempts to portray Jesus struggling with his humanity and divinity as he and others await a sign that would begin his ministry. I commend her poetic and passionate style, but there is hardly much conflict between Jesus' humanity and divinity. I expected more fictional license to explore a very human Jesus, but instead got, while sensitive and loving, a very safe Jesus Christ. Near the end, what should be the major meat of Jesus' ministry is rushed through. I craved more exploration and creavity. An average 240 pages hardly seems fitting enough for Christ the Lord. I guess that's why there's the Bible.

While the growth in the main character is quite obvious, the Christological exploration of Jesus Christ's humanity and divinity are very light and safe. Rice's ability to use words to paint emotions and mileu are "Road to Cana" strongest points. I enjoyed it but left thristy for more.

The Road to Cana is pure artistic perfection and an existentialist's triumph! Christ is so very much alive and so very human and so vulnerable here that once I opened the book, I read the entire thing in one sitting finishing at 2:30ish a.m. ... during a work week no less! But in the early morning after, as I drove into work and looked east, the light giver (Venus) was there to greet me and it made my marathon reading about Jesus - the light giver (Revelation 22:16) - a pure pleasure. Anne Rice has basically outdone herself and she is at the very top of her game. Her writing is now artistic perfection. Sentences, paragraphs and chapters are painted with a pointillist brush but with an expressionistic touch. Seurat and Van Gogh fused onto a literary masterpiece. I know, I wax away without details of the book. But that is the contribution I want to make here - read this masterpiece and you will enter an experiential world. Anne Rice has captured an essence missed by that most famous of all Cretans - Nikos Kazantzakis.
Take that Road to Cana for it will lead you to an amazing olive garden where you will find a Jesus the likes of which you've never seen.

Anne Rice, best known for her gothic horror novels that primarily feature vampires and other lost souls, embarks on her second fictional portrayal of Yeshua (Jesus) in CHRIST THE LORD: THE ROAD TO CANA. She deftly blends both imagined dialogue and situations with actual New Testament writings to piece together a period of Yeshua's youth and young adulthood not depicted in the Gospels.

The first installment of the series, CHRIST THE LORD: OUT OF EGYPT, focused on Yeshua as a child and ended with him as an eight-year-old unsure of his destiny. With this second novel, we start out with a mature Yeshua in his early 30s who is much closer to realizing his destiny and purpose. However, this does not come easily and involves several tumultuous events that lead him to his own self-realization.

At the start of the book, Yeshua and his people are in Nazareth and growing ever-concerned over the Roman leadership that has recently instilled a new leader to govern their territory, Pontius Pilate. Yeshua doesn't feel any need to join the growing masses in defiance against Roman rule, for he is too preoccupied with his own internal struggles. He witnesses a brutal stoning of two young villagers in Nazareth that he feels helpless to stop, and is receiving much pressure from his own family --- particularly his brother, James --- to choose a mate and marry. What makes this pressure even stronger is the presence of Avigail, a neighbor who has obvious feelings for Yeshua. Yeshua adores Avigail but knows that, like the Prophet Jeremiah, he will never marry. More and more, he finds himself seeking the solace of the olive grove --- the place he loves most.

Yeshua knows he has abilities and can perform unexplained "miracles." He is now well aware of the prophecies about the Messiah but still has doubts. An incident in which Yeshua is alone with Avigail in the olive grove leads to speculation amongst the villagers that something less than innocent has occurred. Particularly concerned is Shemayah, Avigail's father, who feels she has been shamed and all but disowns her.

Yeshua makes a trek to Cana to visit with Hannamel, Avigail's cousin and famous judge and scribe, making it clear that he did not in any way dishonor Avigail and has no intentions of marrying her. Hannamel already has his own suitor picked out for Avigail --- Reuben --- and with Yeshua's help they vow to bring these two together.

Later on in the novel, word spreads throughout the village that a man named John is performing mass baptisms at the River Jordan. Could this be Yeshua's long-lost cousin? A group from Nazareth and surrounding villages journey to the River Jordan, and Yeshua discovers that it is indeed his cousin, John. Yeshua submits to being baptized in the Jordan by John, and this act awakens and spurs him to confront his destiny. As it turns out, this involves Yeshua journeying into the wilderness and dealing with his own inner demons as well as facing the infamous temptation posed by Satan.

Rice now takes us comfortably into familiar Gospel territory as she describes the temptation trials Yeshua faces from Satan. Having passed this test, he emerges to rejoin his villagers to find that his earth-bound father, Joseph, has died during his time in the wilderness. He also is informed of the upcoming nuptials in Cana for Avigail and Reuben at the home of Hannamel. It is at this time that Yeshua's disciples begin to form in response to the realization of his destiny. At the wedding we witness one of his most famous miracles --- the turning of water into wine --- thus anointing him as the Chosen One.

The brevity of THE ROAD TO CANA --- 235 pages --- provides