Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana
By Anne Rice
Completed March 28, 2008

“It’s where I live, my lord,” I said. “Not in the Temple, but in the world. And in the world, I learn what the world is and what the world will teach, and I am of the world.” (page 99)

When I started to read Anne Rice’s latest book, Christ The Lord: The Road to Cana, I did so knowing that I have two biases: (1) I love the way Anne Rice writes and (2) I love to read fictional accounts based on the Bible. Having enjoyed Rice’s first Christ book, I had high hopes for The Road To Cana, and all in all, I was not disappointed.

The Road to Cana detailed Jesus’s life in his early thirties when he was a carpenter living with his family in Nazareth. In Rice’s depiction, Jesus (still known as Yeshua) struggled with his identity. In his heart, he knew that he was the Son of God, but he tried to live a “normal life” of peace and worship. However, Jesus knew that he could not live out all aspects of an average Jewish man, including marriage or having children, despite pressures from his family and villagers. In essence, Jesus tried to keep his holy birth a secret while going about his daily life – until events transpired that brought his purpose to light.

In this book, Rice drew out Jesus’s human qualities. For example, Jesus was in love with a young woman, Avigail, and dreamed about her at night. At times, he maintained a cool head, but other times, he bumbled like a clumsy suitor, often making mistakes that jeopardized the social norms of unmarried men and women in Jewish culture. Another example was Jesus’s struggle with his older brother, James. As the oldest child, James was in charge of the household, but living with the Son of God gave James an inferiority complex (and understandably so). James fought with Jesus about getting married, dealing with the Romans and household duties – and Jesus’s patience was tried at many times, which often led to an “exchange of words” between the brothers.

While the first two-thirds of the book was devoted to Jesus’s struggle as a man, the last third of the book dealt with his epiphany of why he was the Son of God and his purpose among humans. This section of the book is classic Anne Rice, full of imagery, allusions and struggles between good and evil. The Devil made an appearance, and I was reminded of Rice’s Memnoch The Devil from the vampire series. In fact, her depiction of The Devil was so true to her earlier character that I believe it to be intentional. Jesus’s epiphany was hard to read as he cried over humans’ flaws, starved himself to death and denied himself water. But he emerged sure of his purpose and more in love with humanity than ever before.

Upon completion of Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana, I felt like I had just finished the second book of a trilogy. It had many “transitional” and “setting up for the big finish” aspects to it. I hope Rice delves into a third book about Christ because I find her storytelling and historical research so compelling. Her Christ books are a great addition to the literary canon of Biblical fiction. If you enjoy religious narratives or are a fan of Anne Rice, this is one book that I recommend for your bookshelf. ( )