I found an amazing little bookshop in Leura and spent too much money…I really need to get over my need to own books…what’s wrong with my awesome library? Anyway I had been chasing this book since I heard the ABC interview with Cannold. So I grabbed it and devoured it before the nice open fire in the Blue Mountains. Don’t read it if you are looking to appease your ‘biblically correct’ needs. It is not true to scripture, it is probably true to the culture of the time, in fact it gives a wonderful look into the way it may have been, looking into the circle of friends Jesus (Joshua) hung with, imaging life in his family, it was a penetrating look at the plight of women in that culture 2000 years ago.
Named one of Australia’s top 20 public intellectuals in 2005, Leslie Cannold is an author, commentator and ethicist.
With two non-fiction books to her name, The Abortion Myth and What, No Baby?, Leslie Cannold now adds a novel to her catalogue.
ABC bookshow interview here .
What if the man you loved betrayed your brother?
Two thousand years ago, while a young Jewish preacher from Nazareth was gathering followers among the people of Galilee, his sister swept floors and dreamed of learning to read.
In Leslie Cannold’s story, it is the women of Nazareth who take centre stage.
The rebellious, gifted Rachael, consigned by her sex to a life of drudgery.
Bindy, the crone who teaches her the skills of the healer.
Shona her sister, the victim of a harsh social code, and their mother Miriame, a woman seemingly unable to love.
When Rachael falls in love with her brother’s dearest friend, the rebel Judah of Iscariot, it seems that at least one of the women of Nazareth may find happiness. Then a message comes from her brother in Jerusalem. And the events begin to unfold that will change not just Rachael’s life, but the world forever.
No Guarantees 