The first of the holiday books are hitting the library shelves right about now. Anne Perry, Mary Higgins Clark, and many more of your favorite authors have special Christmas titles out. Elizabeth Berg has a short sweet Christmas offering entitled The Handmaid and the Carpenter. It's a fictionalized version (duh!) of Mary and Joseph's courtship, romance, and marriage. Berg portrays Mary as a sassy teenager who is devout, thoughtful, and nature-loving and loves to speak her own mind in a time when women were NOT encouraged to do so. Joseph is seen as a loving, hard-working, husband who is sometimes gruff and is a stubborn, rule-abiding man. Mary's pregnancy shakes him to the core but he remains supportive and takes good care of Mary and Jesus and the rest of their family. The book is a nice, easy read that you could tackle in an evening or a weekend. It allows you to see these familiar Biblical characters in a new light and more easily understand the hardships they faced. A great way to start the Christmas season!
No comments:
Post a Comment