I know it doesn’t look like I read a lot this month because it was only 4 books. But at a total of 1,685 pages (that’s an average of 56 pages a day), it was still a good month! So without further ado....
I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb (891 pages). Dominick Birdsey is a complex man who hasn’t lived the easiest life. His wife left him after their daughter died, his mother died without telling him who his birth father was, his stepfather is a bully and his identical twin brother Thomas is a paranoid schizophrenic who cuts off his hand as a religious sacrifice. Honestly, his life is a mess. But through his struggles with his brother and stepfather and a little Old Country knowledge from the autobiography of his grandfather, Domenico Tempesta, Dominick finally comes to terms with who he is. It actually took me a while to get into the book. But once Dom started reading his grandfather’s story in his grandfather’s words, I got completely wrapped up in it. I finished in 14 days.
Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice (322 pages, including author’s notes). Yes, the vampire queen. This novel covered Jesus’ life from age 7 to age 8. I’ve had this book for quite a while. And have been debating on if I should read it. Is it sacrilegious? Honestly, I’m still not sure. Anne Rice grew up a Catholic, then became an atheist. Later in life, she returned to her Catholic roots, only to realize that she needed God, not the rules of Catholicism. There were definite undercurrents of her Catholicism throughout the book. For example, Jesus has one older brother, from Joseph’s prior marriage (huh?) and a bunch of cousins because Mary is still a virgin. Protestants believe that Jesus had lots of younger siblings because Mary and Joseph were a true married couple. Back to this novel though. It covers Jesus and family returning home to Nazareth from Egypt after the death of Herod. Obviously, almost nothing is known about Jesus’ life as a child. So Rice takes liberties with that. But I wasn’t bothered by it. You can tell Rice did her research about the historical aspects of the novel. And she definitely did a wonderful job incorporating scriptures into the novel. Watching a young boy learn who He is and what the ramifications of His birth were was gut wrenchingly amazing. He knew He was different, but He didn’t really understand why. I ended up really liking the book. I finished in 6 days.
Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana by Anne Rice (242 pages). Yes, the sequel. This one covers the last year of Jesus’ life before He began His ministry. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first one. In this one, Jesus struggles with His family and His human feelings. There’s a storyline about a cousin/neighbor who ends up being the bride in the wedding miracle at Cana that was a little much for me. But she did again beautifully weave the scriptures into the novel, from Jesus’ baptism to His 40 days in the desert with Satan trying to tempt Him to driving the demons from Mary Magdalene to rounding up the disciples and ending with the wedding. I finished in 5 days.
The Quartet by Joseph J. Ellis (230 pages plus a LOT of appendices that I did not read). This was full on history. There’s so much about American history that I think I know, but really don’t. Like the fact that just because the Revolution was over didn’t mean that America immediately became America. George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison helped shape our country into what it is (or was, depends on your viewpoint). It was well written and chockfull of very interesting history. It amazes me to no end to see the foresight and wisdom these founding fathers had for our country. And, I’m not going to lie, it was fun to read quotes from Hamilton in there (yes, Lin Manuel used direct quotes in a lot of the song). I finished in 5 days.
This month’s favorite was ....I Know This Much is True. Although I learned the most from The Quartet.
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