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Feb 22, 2008

Timothy rated it:

I have wanted to read this book evver since I heard about it. I hadn't read any of Anne Rice's prior stuff, but on a professional level (I'm a Lutheran pastor) and just on a level of personal interest I thought I'd give it a try.

The very concept of this novel--writing a fictional book about Jesus at age seven, in the first person, from a perspective that takes New Testament and Apocryphal writings seriously--is, needless to say, hugely ambitious. And when your main character is some More...

2 comments like (26 people liked it)

Sep 04, 2007

Jennifer rated it:

Why is it that the first-person books set in ancient times invariably have a hyper-simple, naive narrative style? This is supposed to be Jesus telling his own story, not as a child but as a man (there are some nods to "when I was a child, I spoke as a child" in the narrative, just in case you didn't catch on that this is JESUS THE CHRIST narrating, even though I believe it was Paul who was supposed to have written those words), and I'm just not buying that Jesus was Forrest Gump with a More...

0 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jun 08, 2011

K.D. rated it:

Ten best-selling books included in her The Vampire Chronicles (1976-2003). Three erotic books about Sleeping Beauty (1983-1985). A dozen of other gothic works most of them landing in New York Times Bestsellers lists. Then her atheist husband for 41 years died from brain tumor in 2002. Before he died, he married her at a Catholic Church as she was a devout Catholic before their marriage. The death shook her up. For two years, she devoted her time reading the Holy Gospel and all its historical ref More...

6 comments like (5 people liked it)

Oct 19, 2007

Jennifer rated it:

I realise that authors go through many stages of their careers, exploring different facets of their personality, trying different roles.

I am a great fan of Anne's work. I have attended dozens of her events in New Orleans, and own numerous signed copies and first editions. I love (with the exception of Queen of the Damned) the Vampire Chronicles, I enjoyed The Witching Hour, I owned the Beauty Triology when you still had to ask for it quietly in kink shops on the lower East side. I h More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Mar 01, 2008

Douglas rated it:

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0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 05, 2008

Jenifer rated it:

I expected controversy from Anne Rice, but I have to say that she handled the subject of Jesus' boyhood with dignity and reverence. The idea of his learning and growing was plausibly put. I especially liked the descriptions of the lighthouse at Alexandria and the riots at the Great Temple in Jerusalem. It was a well researched account of Jewish life. I liked okay, but I liked it more after I read the author's notes at the end depicting briefly her coming back to the (Catholic) church and God and More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 08, 2008

Elaine rated it:

This is the first book by Anne Rice I've read. I don't like vampires as a subject and was intrigued when she suddenly started writing about Christ. What a switch! I happily borrowed the book from my son who was almost finished with her second book on the subject. However, I must say, I was disappointed with Rice's writing style. It was so simple and repetitive she made the characters sound like dolts. I also think she's forgotten how children think. especially Cleopas and his incessant la More...

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Aug 05, 2008

Karen L. rated it:

This is the first of Ann Rice's books I have read. It is also the first of her books written since her return to her childhood Catholic faith following years of doubt. She has a beautiful writers voice, that makes one feel as though one is there with young Jesus and his family. She paints the biblical scenery eloquently evoking the senses. She did a great amount of research to create an accurate history and included some material from the legends about Christ's childhood. *See the following int More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 25, 2008

TeraD rated it:

This was a great novel for putting the daily life of Christ into perspective and creating a picture of what Christ may have been like as a young child. I questioned Rice's ability and knowledge when I first learned that she would be publishing books on the life of Christ, but was instantly drawn into the story and lives of the characters. In reading Rice's author's notes at the end, I realized just how much research and time she had invested into this endeavor. The story is believeable and bring More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Mar 16, 2008

Amy rated it:

My reaction to this book can be summed up with the expression "meh." I picked it up for 50 cents at a garage sale; I had heard about it and was intrigued, having read some of Anne Rice's vampire books. I can tell that she did amazing in-depth research to write this, and she really brings alive the lifestyle, customs, and culture of Jews in Nazareth and Jerusalem at the time, which was interesting--so many Christians forget how devout a Jew Jesus was. But I don't know... something about More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 09, 2008

Gen rated it:

I have been an Anne Rice fan for years, especially the Vampire Chronicles. My favorite of that series, Memnoch The Devil, completely opened my eyes to the realization of the truth in every side of the story, and every story having infinite sides. It was the story of the Beginning, good and evil, god and the devil, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Told from Memnoch himself to Lestat, beloved vampire.
So it was with great surprise and interest that I discovered that Anne Rice has taken the More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 23, 2008

Jon rated it:

I enjoyed this book and learned a lot from it! I've never read Anne Rice, and from the paragraph or two I've glanced at of other books, I wouldn't recommend them. But this one, while it has some serious drawbacks, also has some great strengths.

It's always risky to attempt to portray Jesus, let alone in a first-person narrative. I think Anne Rice does this surprisingly well, although I think the inner life of Jesus would actually be much richer and fairly different than she portrays. More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 09, 2007

Brent rated it:

This is the only Anne Rice book I've ever read. I've tried reading others but they didn't hold my interest -- so I'm open to suggestions about that. Anne Rice is definitely an interesting person with an uncommon point of view but I tried not to think about that while reading this book because the book itself is pretty amazing. I don't see this as a religious book at all just because millions of people consider the main character to be their saviour. There are a lot of other characters in a l More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 25, 2007

Alexis rated it:

I was so excited to read this book because this is the one Ann Rice wrote as a Christian. I love her vampire novels, of course, and I have always been a fan. So to hear that she had some kind of dramatic conversion and had written a book about Jesus made me drool. So, I finally started to read it last night. The book jacket says that "Christ the Lord is based on the gospels and on the most repected New Testament scholarship." With heart pounding I began to read (insert sound of a defal More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 09, 2007

Sara rated it:

I can only remember reading one Anne Rice novel before and I know I liked it - I think it was the one about the Mayfair Witches.

This book is definitely a far cry from that. Rice is now a born-again Catholic and has written an interesting novel from the perspective of Jesus as a 7 year old boy. The language and style of prose is so spare, that sometimes I wanted more from it. Not as much as George Eliot or Tolkien would give - but not as spartan as Ernest Hemingway either! Anyway, th More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 30, 2007

LP rated it:

The first book I've read by Ann Rice, it's an interesting look at young Jesus. Well written, but I didn't always agree with some of the characterizations, which is bound to happen when you're inventing a past for real historical figures about whom people are bound to have formulated very set ideas. For instance, I thought Mary was too vapid, and I've always wondered about (and disagree with) the notion of her as a Perpetual Virgin. I also wondered why the author would take one of the few actu More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 27, 2007

Mickey rated it:

As with so many of her other books, I love the vivid imagery Anne Rice's writing conveys, which takes you back in time and makes you feel as if you're looking at the world as it existed back then, from the interactions with the Roman rulers to the physical landscape of the area. This book tells the story of Christ's early years, from the perspective of Jesus. This was an approach I've rarely seen, and it did make the book more interesting, but I was disappointed in the story line itself, which s More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 25, 2007

Jonathan rated it:

Anne Rice performs here a daunting if not audacious task in narrating this account from the mind and tongue of the 7-year-old Jesus Christ. Controversial, yes, but also reverent and, well, forever relevant.

This is quite the departure for the former queen of vampire lit, and apparently she's to continue in her historical fiction works about the Christ. Know this: She's for real. A lengthy author's note at the back of the book informs the reader that Rice herself has done quite the res More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 04, 2007

Caleb rated it:

Since Anne Rice converted to Christianity she has been divining into study about who the Lord really is. Book after book, and scholar after scholar she puts together a wonderful historical fiction of how our Lord could have grown up. It depicts what the temple in Jerusalem would have looked like while under Roman control, and how that impacts Jesus and his family. Rice does take the standpoint that Jesus did not fully understand that he was God until he was about age 9, a view I don't complet More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Aileen rated it:

I loved this book. I was kind of wary about reading something that tries to present what is going on in Jesus' head, but it was amazing.

Anne Rice always does her research, and it really shows in this book. I see some other readers didn't like the style of writing (it's kind of shorter and choppier than her usual style) but I think it really brought to life the thoughts of a 7-9 year old child as he grows into his understanding of who he is.

I absolutely loved it, and wha More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jul 26, 2008

Mamabear rated it:

This story, written in the first person of 7 year old Jesus, is a fictional account of the family's return from Egypt to Nazareth.
It is fascinating in its attention to detail, whether that detail is geographical, archeological, historical or dealing with the customs and morals of the First Century.
The time frame is a year in the life of the boy Jesus, who is struggling to understand and piece together the secrets surrounding his birth, the unexplainable events that occur in his pres More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 14, 2007

Larry rated it:

I think that this book was probably overlooked by many religious based people because of her other works about witches and vampires.Their loss.Probably the best what if religious book that I have ever read.She took great pains to note everywhere that she found her evidence.After having been raised Catholic,Attending Catholic scools from first through college,I found it to be exciting,interesting and based on a lot of the teachings of the Church.This book was referred to me by my cousin who is a More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Aug 04, 2011

Terry rated it:

I�ve been reading Anne Rice since I first read Interview with the Vampire at the age of 15 in 1970-somthing. I�ve read most of her books, and thoroughly enjoyed them, so I did have high expectations for this one. I was disappointed. I think she�s trying to show the human side of Christ, which is a very noble thing to do, but this book didn�t really work for me. Part of it was characterization � there wasn�t one character I cared about. And it shouldn�t be assumed one cares about Christ as a More...

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Jul 04, 2011

Jim rated it:

The audio book was read by Josh Heine, who has a young voice that contained the youthful wonder, but so American that I wish a different voice was chosen.

To my amazement, I felt that Anne Rice captured the world in which Christ lived on earth. The details were "right." To my surprise, Anne Rice, who shares my suspicion of the apocryphal accounts of Christ's childhood, used the details of such records in a believable way.

The basic theme of the book is how Jesus c More...

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Jun 23, 2011

Jen rated it:

Let me say this first: THIS IS NOT A NEW GOSPEL. Someone else here reviewed this with the caveat at the beginning that you should not read this as a definitive history of the man named Jesus, and he was absolutely right. This is fiction, albeit very informed fiction. Once I got my head around that, this was great.
I've never read any of Rice's other stuff, but the writing here was a bit choppy, which took some getting used to. Does she always write in jerky sentences? The characters we More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 23, 2011

Mimi rated it:

I have a complex relationship with Anne Rice – I never got into the Vampire Chronicles, reading the first and the third and giving up on the second (although, I will always give mad props to the producers of the movie for the best ending song ever for a movie) – and I swore off of her books after she so horribly botched the ending of “The Witching Hour.”

I was skeptical when I heard that she was writing a fictionalized account of Christ’s youth. After being encouraged to read the first More...

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Feb 17, 2011

Barbara rated it:

Amazing to read this book for the second time. I had forgotten that I read Christ the Lord when it first came out in 2005. I realized this after I read the first page. BUT......it was so fascinating that I read it again. Absorbing myself in this historic fiction writing helped me touch a bit of Jesus' humanity. I believe that Jesus was/is fully human and fully divine. This novel gets to the core of His humanness and this development through his childhood. I have often wondered how Jesus li More...

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Jan 19, 2011

Lee rated it:

I'm trying to be fair; this really isn't my kind of book. It's highly speculative and it's fiction. Then I'm reminded of the book I just published about Revelation; it, too, is fiction (well, 1/3 of it is fiction) and it, too, will surely be considered highly speculative by many. I'd like to think, however, that my book is grounded in more solid research than Rice's; mine is, after all, hailed by other scholars as historically plausible.

Given, then, that we are discussing a purely fict More...

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Jan 05, 2011

Kerstin rated it:

nitially I was apprehensive about reading fiction about Christ. I read the author's note first and I think it was my favorite part of the book. Anne talks about her decade plus of research and her journey from atheist looking to disparage the story of Christ to becoming a true believer and devout catholic. Her spiritual journey is inspiring. Her level of commitment to her research is inspiring. I'd almost rather read a book about that.

The actual novel is written from Jesus's point of v More...

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Nov 15, 2010

Gurudas rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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