🕍✡️🌅 “The Prince and the Prodigal” (2022) 🌅✡️🕍– Book Review

 

MY REVIEW

 

Paperback: 368 Pages

Publisher: Revell (February 1, 2022)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0800737636

ISBN-13: 978-0800737634

⬅️ Click Photo for Purchase Information

 

“Joseph is the pampered favorite son of the patriarch Jacob. His older brothers, deeply resentful of his status in the family, take advantage of the chance to get rid of him, selling him to slave traders and deceiving their father about his fate. It seems like their troubles are over. But for Joseph and older brother Judah, they are just beginning.

 

While Joseph is accused of rape and imprisoned, Judah attempts to flee the memory of his complicity in the betrayal of his younger brother. After decades apart, the brothers will come face-to-face in a stunning role reversal that sees Joseph in a position of great power while Judah begs for mercy. Will forgiveness or vengeance win the day?”

 

Thank you in advance to the publisher, Revell (a division of Baker Books), for providing a complimentary review copy through Interviews & Reviews. A positive review was not required nor requested, and all words are my own.

Back in March 2020, I was introduced to the genre of Biblical Fiction. That was Tessa Afshar’s Daughter of Rome. That story is connected to her 2021 release (which I was on the launch team for) – Jewel of the Nile.

 

Last year, prior to Jewel of the Nile, I saw Jill Eileen Smith’s Miriam’s Song on Interviews & Reviews and decided to request it. Unlike Afshar’s books, which center on characters that lived in biblical times, Smith’s characters are directly from the bible – Miriam and, in this one, Joseph.

 

Anyone who has read, or will read this one – The Prince and the Prodigal – will notice a one-line Interviews and Reviews review of Miriam’s Song on the back cover. That line?

 

“An inspiring and uplifting read about hope, faith, and perseverance.”

 

Yes, from my review.

 

The inside? It was edited a bit for clarity, but all my words …

“To be captivated by such a compelling story, so much so I did not want to put it down, attests to the writer’s storytelling ability.”

 

You can read the review here:

 

https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2021/02/miriams-song-2021-book-review.html

 

I mention that, not because I am so very proud (which I am), but, I should’ve remembered my own words when it came to this current release by the author. She definitely has a gift to craft captivating, and compelling stories from the bible, bringing the bible to life in ways that even a movie can’t. And, this definitely rivals the epic bible movies of the late-1950’s to mid-1970’s, especially The Ten Commandments (Charlton Heston, 1956).

 

Like Miriam’s Song, this is a standalone read as well.

 

Accuracy?

 

This is almost as accurate as picking up the bible and reading Genesis 37:1 to 47:12. Smith adds dialogue and emotion to the story – heart-breaking and tragic while still remaining hopeful and moving.

 

Smith beautifully and vividly brings to life the prodigal son bible story that encompasses betrayal, suffering, loss, abundance, and forgiveness. The story’s tone is set off by the evocative cover that belongs more to a movie poster than a book.

 

Since this is a bible story in fiction form – this will have some rather disturbing topics/themes:

 

⚠️ Biblical Standards

⚠️ Forced/Arranged Marriages (this was standard at the time)

⚠️ Rape (more marital due to the situation)

⚠️ Mention of Concubines (multiple marriages, polygamy)

⚠️ Animal Sacrifice

⚠️ Child Sacrifice (the Canaanites)

⚠️ Slavery (usually in Egypt)

⚠️ Child Rape (Dinah, age 13)

⚠️ Severe Suggestion of Punishment for Harlotry (mention of being burned)

 

These incidents, which occurred quite often during that time and were not thought too much out of the normal, might be disturbing to today’s readers. Caution is VERY strongly advised. I cannot emphasize this enough. Too often stories such as this are rated low because of insufficient comprehension of the genre.

 

As this is based on the bible story, spoilers are inherent to books such as this. Anyone can go to the bible to “read ahead” to see what happens.

 

This takes place between 1841 B.C to 1818 B.C. Times in B.C counted down, unlike A.D/C.E count up. Those who are unaware of the way the years worked, here is a list:

 

B.C – Before Christ

A.D – Anno Domini (in the year of our lord; Herod died around 4 B.C which is also around the time Christ was born)

C.E – Common Era (the time we are in now, usually just expressed as 2022)

 

Anyway …

 

As many know, Jacob had two wives (Leah and Rachel), along with their maids – Zilpah and Bilah. At first he wanted Rachel, got Leah first and then Rachel. As the story goes, it wasn’t until after Leah, Bilah, and Zilpah had borne Jacob children that Rachel was finally able to have Joseph and Ben.

 

Because of this arrangement, Jacob ended up with 12 sons and 1 daughter. But, Jacob favored Joseph (Rachel’s oldest) more than the oldest 10 boys, and Ben was far too young to do any real work or be any competition for the others.

 

Readers won’t have to look to the bible to see who is who. Smith included a family tree at the beginning of the book for easy reference. While there were many sons and grandsons, Smith kept this focused on a few characters.

 

The Prince and the Prodigal starts when Jacob is returning to his father (Isaac) after being away with Laban (Leah and Rachel’s father) for 30 years. Joseph is 17 at this point.  

 

Smith carefully, without being repetitious or straying from the bible, tells not only Joseph’s POV, but Judah’s as well. Judah is referred to as “the prodigal son” having left Hebron shortly after selling Joseph and staying away for over 20 years.

 

Smith also adds other POVs, such as Reuben, who had wanted to rescue Joseph and told the others not to do anything until he returned after chasing a lost sheep. Dinah, Jacob, and even Potiphar’s POVs are added to this story to enrich it.

 

There is no secret that Joseph is the favored son of Jacob. And, as a result, his older brothers want nothing to do with him. They see him as spoiled and pampered. But, some of his brothers have also committed a crime by avenging the rape of their sister Dinah.

 

Despite Reuben being the oldest born of Leah, he has disgraced his father by sleeping with Bilah (Rachel’s maid) – thus Jacob then chooses Joseph as his “first born”, which brings even more chaos to the dynamic.

 

It isn’t until about chapter 11 (page 96; roughly 28% in) that the “story” really picks up with Joseph’s being sold to a caravan of Ishmaelites, who then sell him to Egypt.

 

Reuben is angered by this as he had planned to free Joseph despite what he’d tell their father, Judah feels immense guilt for his father’s inconsolable grief and leaves. He settles into Canaan, hoping to forget Joseph’s cries for help.

 

While Joseph could’ve turned bitter, he kept his hopes low. He doesn’t embrace his fate, but he doesn’t attempt to escape it either as he knows the consequence for such an action. Instead, he leans more into the God of his father, and prays to Adonai (the term they used for God) to deliver him back to his father.

 

For most of the book, Smith then turns her focus towards the two different lives of Joseph (who was a like a prince in Hebron; now a slave in Egypt) and Judah (who has exiled himself and still can’t shake his guilt).

 

Over the course of the novel, Judah’s life takes tragic steps, leaving him wondering if “God” was punishing him for what he’d done.

 

Joseph’s life isn’t much better, at one point he ends up in prison.

 

Yet, despite the odds, Joseph eventually ends up in a better position than his brothers, even finding love and a family. He begins to wonder if this is the life God has prepared him for.

 

In each side – Judah and Joseph, it shows that while God takes away, he also gives. How he rewards and punishes.

 

I wasn’t surprised by the ending – as I said, by reading the bible, one can usually see the ending. But, I was definitely amazed by how enthralled I was by the story.

 

Biblical Fiction isn’t one of my “favorite” genres, the story has to grab me and I have read less than five (5) novels in the genre. As soon as I got this, I kept drifting towards it. I read 70 pages in 30 minutes, and I just didn’t want to put it down. And, within a 2-hour period, I’d read 150 pages.

 

I reconciled this with the bible chapters, and there were only subtle differences due to the bible I have (Lucado NKJV, Tyndale) and the one used by the author and/or publisher (NLV – Biblica or NIV, Tyndale).  

 

Fans of the author and the genre will no doubt appreciate and love this latest release. I definitely am a fan of Smith’s writing and look forward to seeing her next book.

 

It was also a pleasure to be on the launch team!

 

 

 

RATING:

 

 

5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads

 

5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub

 

5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html)

 

 

NOTE:

 

NIV – New International Version

NLV – New Living Version

NKJV – New King James Version

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

 

Jill Eileen Smith is the bestselling and award-winning author of several biblical fiction series, as well as The Heart of a King, Star of Persia, and Miriam’s Song. Her research into the lives of biblical women has taken her from the Bible to Israel, and she particularly enjoys learning how women lived in Old Testament times. Jill lives with her family in southeast Michigan. Learn more at www.jilleileensmith.com.

You can follow her on the following social media accounts:

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jilleileensmith/

 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/JillEileenSmith/

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jilleileensmith

 

 

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