Mary Rourke, Two Women of Galilee

Two Women of Galilee

Mary Rourke

Mira, Mar 2006, $21.95, 256 pp.

ISBN: 0778323749

Since her twelfth birthday when she caught a chill rushing into the cold water to greet her father returning home, consumption has wracked Joanna. She knows, though she wishes otherwise, that she cannot keep pace with her husband Chuza, Chief Steward to The Tetrarch of Galilee Herod Antipas. She would spend many months resting in their luxurious home in Sepphoris while Chuza worked in Tiberius serving the monarch.

A new hope for a cure that her father and her spouse were unable to buy with their wealth springs up when she learns of the miracle healing of a local Jew, her second cousin Jesus of Nazareth. She has seen him once from a distance, as his family cut off Joanna's family for turning their back on Jewish law and embracing the Roman system. Seeking a miracle, Joanna decides to ask her estranged Cousin Mary to intercede on her behalf with her son. The two cousins turn into close friends and Joanna becomes a follower of Jesus. When Herod and the Roman Governor Pilate decide to end the growing legend of a Messiah, Joanna is at odds with her husband and his boss.

This is an intriguing look at first century Judea during the time that the government (Roman and Jewish) was becoming increasingly alarmed with the spreading reputation of Jesus. The storyline is told from the perspective of Joanna, who is an actual person "footnoted" in the New Testament. Through her eyes, her growing soul searching awareness, and her friendship with Mary, readers obtain a strong glimpse at the most famous mother of them all. Mat Rourke provides an intriguing work of biblical fiction that fans of Anita Diamant will want to read.