The Robe

Rating:
Summary: Which jesus is this book about?
Review: The thing about Christians is that we can never actually agree about Jesus, although we all agree to regard Him in a positive light. Raised between the extremes of protestant conservativism and liberation theology, I have always pursued a rational middle, finding none of the competing interpretations of the Bible to be more or less persuasive than any other. The Bible is too equivocal, or we have made it that way over the centuries.

If you struggle with your religion, this book will not help you, though it might make you feel temporarily more comfortable. It provides a picture of Jesus that may be controversial and that may feel liberating or fresh or positive, but it is still an uncertain, unconfirmed picture. (If you are comfortable with your religion, you don't need any more books outside of those prescribed by your religious authority figures.) If you are into Christianity and Roman society from the secular historian's perspective, this book raises the question: If a historical novel is inaccurate, couldn't it have been better written as a non-historical novel?

It DOES manage to move its storyline along and it has somewhat interesting although very Hollywood-ish characters in it. It is actually a good read, "a good yarn", as the dust jacket reads. But to what end? It is strictly entertainment, and I left it much the same as when I started it.

Rating:
Summary: Good story, bad history
Review: A critic whose name I can't recall once said that historical fiction could be classified as: good history, good story; bad history, good story; bad story, good history, or bad history, bad story. This book definitely falls into the "good story, bad history" category. I absolutely loved this story when I first read it many years ago, but many of the historical details (about political events and everyday life) are wrong. As the inaccuracies pile up, it becomes difficult for readers who know some of the history to stay absorbed in the story. Just as one example, the daughter of a "Senator Gallio" (if there ever was a patrician family of this name) would have been named "Gallia", rather than "Diana". Still, I have a fond feeling for this novel; in spite of all its inaccuracies, this was one of the first books I read that transported me back to ancient Rome, a period that I subsequently became very interested in.

Rating:
Summary: Historically innacurate
Review: The history of the Roman Imperial Family in this book is incredibly wrong. How hard would it have been for the author to look up dates of births and deaths? Here are the worst innacuracies:

1. Julia, Tiberius' wife, was exiled by her father Augustus and was dead long before the events in this book. She did not scheme to have her son succeed Tiberius because SHE WAS DEAD (so was her son).

2. The "Prince Gaius" in the book, Julia's son by Agrippa, was dead by 4 A.D. He never reached adulthood. He was not co-ruling Rome with Tiberius because HE WAS DEAD.

3. Caligula was Tiberius' great-nephew and was not related to Julia by blood (she was his grandmother in the book). Julia did not scheme to have him made Emperor because a.) SHE WAS DEAD; b.) SHE WAS NOT RELATED TO HIM AND WOULD NOT HAVE GAINED ANYTHING FROM HIS REIGN EVEN IF SHE WERE ALIVE.

These points are minor in the plot of the novel, but I cannot imagine why the author would play so fast and loose with history in an historical novel - the real history of Rome would have fit into the story without taking away from it.

Aside from the sloppy history, The Robe is based on an interesting concept but fails to follow through with believable characters or situations.

If you want to read a novel about early Christianity, read Quo Vadis. It's much more entertaining than the Robe.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: I enjoyed this book immensely and recommend it. The book was overall well written and had a well developed plot. I would recommend this book to people, like myself, of faith. The Robe, being based on and around the time of Jesus' birth, life and death, provided me insight into what might have happened during this time period. Although, the book doesn't give in-depth details of the actual events surrounding Jesus' life and death, it provides an interpretation of the events from both a believer and non-believers point of view.

Rating:
Summary: "For the Big Fisherman!"
Review: Indeed this is, without a doubt, one of the best books ever written. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make your heart sing, it will strengthen your faith and give you the encouragement that life is really worth living--and even giving up--if you know the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone I have lent this book to cannot believe how good it is, and they say, "No wonder Becca says it is one of her favorites!" because it's now one of theirs too!