JadeDragon
11-24-2005, 04:31 PM
I just finished reading it, and I was wondering if any of you had read it as well?
I really really wanted to like this book, and was very curious how the famous Vampire lady would pull this off.
She obviously did her homework on what day to day life was like for young Jesus. I thought it was interesting that she chose to adopt the Gospels of Thomas for his younger adventures.
But I have to say it was a REALLY hard book to finish. After he heals the child at the beginning, Ms Rice could have saved us about two thirds of the book there in the middle by saying "Then we moved to Nazareth...it was a hard journey filled with bandits and Little Salome was crying a LOT and I was scared. And nobody would answer my questions." I cringed every time she described the same thing over and over and over. Little Salome was crying. Agh! Ok we get it! It put me to sleep a lot in the middle.
I was disappointed that the child Jesus was simply a tool of a greater power of which he knew nothing. He didnt seem to have a very philosophical mind...simply curious about the dreams and powers he had. There is some love of God there, but it doesnt seem too overpowering until the end. At least at the end he comes to grips with who He is. I imagined Jesus would be much more in awe of this universe and the nature of reality and his relationship with the Creator.
Anne Rice did a good job of painting a picture of those gloomy days. But I wanted more insight into the mind of Jesus and mostly she dwelt upon the details of his surroundings. Im hoping that the future books get the ball rolling a bit more about what goes on in his mind and perceptions of the human drama of life around him.
I will say I was pleased with Rice's representation of his brother, James. And his relationship with Mary and how the family dynamic included other relatives. That was really well explained, as were many of the Jewish customs that governed their daily activities.
Im a little concerned that as the books progress, she will be simply retelling the Gospels. Thats not a bad thing, but I am hoping for a little more insight on her part regarding what goes on in his mind and his relationship with Lucifer. She touched on that a little and it reminded me of my favorite parts of "Memnoch the Devil".
Hmn....what did you think? Thanks!~~~JadeDragon
I really really wanted to like this book, and was very curious how the famous Vampire lady would pull this off.
She obviously did her homework on what day to day life was like for young Jesus. I thought it was interesting that she chose to adopt the Gospels of Thomas for his younger adventures.
But I have to say it was a REALLY hard book to finish. After he heals the child at the beginning, Ms Rice could have saved us about two thirds of the book there in the middle by saying "Then we moved to Nazareth...it was a hard journey filled with bandits and Little Salome was crying a LOT and I was scared. And nobody would answer my questions." I cringed every time she described the same thing over and over and over. Little Salome was crying. Agh! Ok we get it! It put me to sleep a lot in the middle.
I was disappointed that the child Jesus was simply a tool of a greater power of which he knew nothing. He didnt seem to have a very philosophical mind...simply curious about the dreams and powers he had. There is some love of God there, but it doesnt seem too overpowering until the end. At least at the end he comes to grips with who He is. I imagined Jesus would be much more in awe of this universe and the nature of reality and his relationship with the Creator.
Anne Rice did a good job of painting a picture of those gloomy days. But I wanted more insight into the mind of Jesus and mostly she dwelt upon the details of his surroundings. Im hoping that the future books get the ball rolling a bit more about what goes on in his mind and perceptions of the human drama of life around him.
I will say I was pleased with Rice's representation of his brother, James. And his relationship with Mary and how the family dynamic included other relatives. That was really well explained, as were many of the Jewish customs that governed their daily activities.
Im a little concerned that as the books progress, she will be simply retelling the Gospels. Thats not a bad thing, but I am hoping for a little more insight on her part regarding what goes on in his mind and his relationship with Lucifer. She touched on that a little and it reminded me of my favorite parts of "Memnoch the Devil".
Hmn....what did you think? Thanks!~~~JadeDragon