Menu
The Twin is the fictional retelling of the story of Jesus of Nazareth from the point of view of Thomas Didymus, known to most as Doubting Thomas. The narrative draws upon the belief of many that Jesus traveled to Kashmir during the “missing” years of his youth, studied Buddhism, and then returned to Galilee to begin his ministry.
$15.99 – $25.99
Styled as a document translated by a professor of classics from the University of Cincinnati, who is obviously inept and an egotist, who includes his notes and footnotes throughout.
The novel explores the characters, stories, and miracles from the Bible, and from other texts such as the Gnostic gospels, but also attempts to fill in some of the gaps…of which there are many.
How many “wise men” visited Jesus? How did he turn water into wine? How was Lazarus raised from the dead? Why does Jesus sound more like a Buddhist than a 1st century Jew when he begins his ministry? What were the roles of each of the apostles, including a woman known to us as Mary Magdelene? What ultimately happened to all of these characters?
The story is provocative and entertaining, humanizing all involved with insecurities, joy, romantic jealousy, and eventually peace.
Rating
I just finished reading The Twin by Kevin St Jarre. This was an interesting read about the unknown years in the life of Jesus. I’ve always wondered what his life was like during those years. This story gives a possible answer to that question. It seemed reasonable to me that Jesus had siblings born to Mary and Joseph. I don’t question my religious upbringing as much as wanting to know more than what I was taught. This book gives plausible answers to my questions. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This book was, for me, a really engaging piece of fiction. There are plenty of titles out there that are similar to this one in that they attempt to take another look at a part or person from the Bible. It’s hard to do this well, and I think this book succeeded. Thomas, an original apostle of Jesus, is the author of this manuscript that has been found and translated by a modern-day self-declared expert. That is the book’s storyline. I think it is important to know that as a reader, really for the best experience you should read all the footnotes as you are going along and not leave them to the end of each section. The expert as translator and commentator really brings out a lot of struggles people have always had with the Bible, like miracles and Jesus as both human and divine. This book takes on several of these sorts of debates, it’s a big ask, and I doubt if any reader would really like all of what this would-be Gospel says. In my opinion that’s a big part of what makes this book worth reading, it does make you think. Thanks to BookSirens and Encircle Publications for a free ARC copy of the book. This review is my honest opinion.
A great read where I was fascinated by a story line where scripture was affirmed in places while, in other places, a whole different slant was introduced. This book helps one realize where their faith is strong and where it is not. Most importantly for me, I found myself reaffirming my faith and my heart is full.
