What's it about?
In short it is the Bible as a novel, beginning with Abraham and moving through
the Old Testament and into the New. It covers the birth and death of Jesus
through to the disciples sitting in the Upper Room. It is a powerful and sweeping
story, fleshed out with realistic detail and very 'human' people, leaving you
with the verse 'Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.' It
hits you with the truth of the matter, this is not just a novel, not just a
story, this is something so much more.
What did you like about it?
This has been so well written. I loved the simple but powerful imagery
and the way characters you have been reading about for years suddenly become
real people. I was carried along by Abraham and Sarah's joy at finally having
a child and by the lives of so many other people throughout the book. I was
excited to read the Bible in a new way and have a clearer picture of the Bible
as a whole rather than a collection of disjointed studies with a vague overall
theme.
What didn't you like?
Sometimes this book could be hard going. It wasn't a book to pick up lightly
and read a page or two. I felt I had to be in the mood for it, especially when
I had reached descriptions of a battle or the whereabouts of an army.
What will you still remember a year from now?
I will still remember the way the stories and the people came alive. When
I read the Bible now, I can often imagine the scene much better than before,
and how the people might have felt. I almost feel as though I have seen
a film of it all or, better still, been there!
Who would you recommend this book to?
I would recommend this book to any Christian who is an avid reader. I would
even recommend it to an avid reader who is not a Christian.
Can you give us a couple of good quotes from the book?
"Master!" Simon boomed. "What's the point?" he said.
"We've been toiling all night long with nothing to show for it."
"All night?" said Jesus with seeming sympathy.
"Yes."
"And you caught nothing?"
"No, nothing."
"And this is your profession? This is how you make a living? This is
the thing you are best at? Ah, poor fellow!" Jesus beamed at Simon, his
eyes flashing, his whole face filled with delight. "Do it anyway. Do it
because I ask you to."
'With a snap he released it. The stone streaked for Goliath's skull.
Suddenly that champion of the Philistine armies slowed to a walk, perplexed.
He turned to the side, as if to ask a question, then toppled backward upon the
ground, like a great cedar felled.'
