The Damascus Road - A Novel of Saint Paul
By: Jay Parini
ISBN 10: 0385522789
ISBN 13: 9780385522786
ISSN:
ISFDB Publication Record #
ASIN: B07FS1MVPB
British National Bibliography System Number: 019242548
Canadian National Catalogue (AMICUS) Number:
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication:
National Library of Australia Bib ID:
OCLC Number: 1091363187
(OCoLC): 1037886575
eISBN 10: 0385538405
eISBN 13: 9780385538404
Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 2018021318
Publisher: Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House (2019)
Bible, New Testament, Apostles,
From the author of the international bestseller The Last Station, a superb historical novel of the Apostle Paul, whose tireless and epic preaching of the message of Jesus brought Christianity into existence and changed human history forever.
In the years after Christ's crucifixion, Paul of Tarsus, a prosperous tentmaker and Jewish scholar, took it upon himself to persecute the small groups of his followers that sprung up. But on the road to Damascus, he had some sort of blinding vision, a profound conversion experience that transformed Paul into the most effective and influential messenger Christianity has ever had. In The Damascus Road novelist Jay Parini brings this fascinating and ever-controversial figure to full human life, capturing his visionary passions and vast contradictions. In relating Paul's epic journeys, both geographical and spiritual, he unfolds a vivid panorama of the ancient world on the verge of epochal change. And in the alternating voice of the Gospel writer Luke, Paul's travel companion, scribe, and ghostwriter, a cooler perspective on his actions and beliefs emerges -- ironic but still filled with wonder at Paul's unshakable commitment to the Christ and his divinity.
Reviews:
"Passionate. . .Wonders. . .unfold... An appealing introduction for readers who know little of these figures beyond the scripture they left. . .There is an undeniable thrill in picturing these men making up rules on the fly that will not only define Christianity but shape the world as we know it today."
--The Wall Street Journal
"St. Paul is one of the most controversial characters in history. Did he ruin the simple message of Jesus? Or was he the person mainly responsible for transforming that message into a universal faith? What was he really trying to do? Of all the many books I have read about this βApostle to the Gentiles,β Pariniβs was the most helpful by far. Its premise is that we cannot understand Paulβs thought without knowing something about his life and times. Parini gives us both of these in splendidly readable biographical form. He made Paul live for me."
--Harvey Cox, Hollis Professor of Divinity Emeritus, Harvard University
"Fantastic. . .Parini has produced a stellar novel that humanizes the Christian message and its messengers."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Jay Parini has found his own uniquely potent way of remaking the historical novel. He digs into the layers of history, into so-called real characters. They become more real in his work, hyperreal, parts of our own conflicted souls."
--Gore Vidal
"Parini enlivens a narrative familiar to many with fine scenes and writerly touches. . .An exceptional character study."
--Kirkus Reviews
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