7.2 /10 1 Votes
Country United States Pages 384 pp Originally published 1 November 2005 Genre Speculative fiction Adaptations The Young Messiah (2016) | 3.6/5 Goodreads Language English ISBN 0-375-41201-8 Publisher Alfred A. Knopf | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cover artist anonymous, (Funeral Portrait, Pushkin Museum) Media type Print (Paperback & Hardback) Followed by Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana Similar Anne Rice books, Jesus books, Speculative fiction books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt (2005) is a book by Anne Rice that depicts the life of Jesus Christ at the age of 7 to 8. Rice wrote the novel after returning to the Catholic Church in 1998.
Contents
Reviews
Beliefnet named Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt its 2005 Book of the Year on the basis of its "creativity, its unique spin on one of the world's most important religious figures, and for its impact on Christians and other readers". Janet Maslin of The New York Times said "The restraint and prayerful beauty of Christ the Lord is apt to surprise Rice's normal readers and attract new ones." Lev Grossman of Time said "This is in fact an intensely literal historical, reverent treatment of a year in the life of Jesus, written in simple, sedate language."
Film
A film based on the book was scheduled to start shooting in October 2007 in Israel, produced by David Kirkpatrick, co-founder of Good News Holdings. The production company hoped to release the film in the northern fall of 2008. However, the project was cancelled due to "creative differences".
Rice has since announced that a new development for the film adaptation is underway. The script is being written and directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh (his wife Betsy will also help adapt the film). FilmDistrict at first acquired the U.S. distribution rights but distribution has since shifted to Focus Features. According to Rice, production is slated to begin in Fall 2014 in Rome, Italy with the films tentative release date set for March 23, 2016.
Production commenced on September 11, 2014 in Matera, Italy and concluded sometime before November. The film was released in the US on March 11, 2016.
Follow-up books
The second book in the series, The Road to Cana, has been published.
While answering questions at the 2012 New York Comic-Con, Anne herself confirmed that she has no intentions of developing a third book due to the potential controversy it might lead into.