Daughter of Jerusalem by Joan Wolf Book Review

In Daughter of Jerusalem, readers will quickly identify with Mary Magdalene - a woman of deep faith who used her wealth and influence to serve Jesus. This fictionalized story of Mary Magdalene is, in the truest sense of the word, an inspirational novel for modern people who are looking to renew in themselves the message of Christ. It's the greatest story ever lived, told by one of the most famous women who ever lived, and it's a page-turner. Joan Wolf's years of success as a novelist enable her to combine storytelling and a faith plot in this beautifully written biblical fiction.

 My Thoughts: 

This story is about Mary Magdalene from the New Testament. I think most of my readers already know Mary’s story.

As with Joan’s other books I would have to say that I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book.
 

Joan’s writing is amazing. Her details of the land make you visualize it and feel like you are there. Just coming back from Israel a month ago and it being so fresh in my mind Joan describes it vividly. When I can visualize a scene so well, see the landscape, and feel the emotions of the characters so clearly. That in my opinion is a unique author to be able to do it throughout the book. She makes the character come alive. There is a lot of dialogue in the novel and not many authors can pull it off and keep your interest.

I know and expect an author that writes biblical novels must add fictional details and make assumptions. Unlike Joan’s last novel we don’t have a lot of details concerning Mary’s life so the reality is that you have to make assumptions. I liked how Joan in her previous novel addressed the issue that she "took liberties" with the Biblical accounts in her story. I wish she would have also addressed this in this novel.

Some examples would be that Mary Magdalene is also Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus. I don’t see that in scripture as the Mary’s being separate women. She left out some details about accounts in the Bible that we do know and added her own. I also seen some culture errors that are known like John the Baptist didn’t baptize by pouring the water over your head with your hands. I noticed a lot of culture errors concerning the Jewish culture.

 If you want to know the real story of Mary, the Bible is where you'll get the facts. Just remember you are reading a novel and not the Bible. I would still recommend this book if you can read it as a fictional book and overlook the biblical account of the story. Thanks Joan for a beautifully written story. I would read her other stories when they come out. Her gift of writing in my opinion stands out.

Worthy Publishing has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book. In no way was I asked to give a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Joan Wolf was born in New York City but has lived most of her adult life with her husband in Connecticut, where she raised two children and countless numbers of assorted animals. Joan is the author of numerous historical novels including The Road to Avalon which Publishers Weekly lauded as “historical fiction at its finest.” For more about Joan and her other books, please visit www.joanwolf.com.