The Young Messiah (Christ the Lord: Out of Eqypt) by Anne Rice Review

Let me begin this by saying that Anne Rice is one of my all-time favorite authors. I will more than likely be posting about her books often. I have read her vampire, witch, erotica, and angel books. I have read her memoir and some of her stand alone novels. However, I had never delved into her two books on Jesus Christ. Part of this was due to disinterest and part of it due to a worry that the books would not reflect that Anne Rice I know and love. I only took the plunge because of the movie based off of the first book, which was released today. (I am hoping to see the movie this weekend and will post a comparative review once I do!) The trailer looked interesting but I wanted to read the book before heading to the theater. So yesterday I snuggled into bed with my husband and devoured the novel.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I loved it. The Young Messiah, as it was re-titled, is a beautiful poetic novel from the point of view of seven-year old Jesus who does not know who he is. Only that there is something different about him. The novel felt a bit like the first Harry Potter, in a good way, in the sense that Jesus kept accidentally doing things which no one would explain to him and which he was forbidden to discuss. Seeing the childhood of Jesus through his own eyes made the novel move quickly and also made it interesting. Israel was definitely interesting enough in its own right during his childhood, but I think if the novel had not been from the boy's point of view it may have felt more like a historical novel instead of a child's quest for knowing who he is.

I gave the novel 4 stars on Goodreads. I refrained from giving it 5 just because it was not my favorite Anne Rice novel and although it was an original telling of Jesus' story, it was not an original story. Given that it is close to the Christian holiday of Easter I found my timing of the reading was perfect. (I suppose that is why the film is being released this week, too...yay, for my unoriginal thoughts!). The book is fantastic though, for Non-Christians and Christians alike. If you have the time, The Young Messiah is worth it.