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Juvenile Fiction. Historical Fiction. HTML: He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. �from the Song of David (2 Samuel 22:35) The Bronze Bow, written by Elizabeth George Speare (author of The Witch of Blackbird Pond) won the Newbery Medal in 1962. This gripping, action-packed novel tells the story of eighteen-year-old Daniel bar Jamin�a fierce, hotheaded young man bent on revenging his father's death by forcing the Romans from his land of Israel. Daniel's palpable hatred for Romans wanes only when he starts to hear the gentle lessons of the traveling carpenter, Jesus of Nazareth. A fast-paced, suspenseful, vividly wrought tale of friendship, loyalty, the idea of home, community...and ultimately, as Jesus says to Daniel on page 224: "Can't you see, Daniel, it is hate that is the enemy? Not men. Hate does not die with killing. It only springs up a hundredfold. The only thing stronger than hate is love." A powerful, relevant read in turbulent times. .… (more)
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The Bronze Bow is the story of Daniel bar Jamin, a young Galilean Jew living during the time of Christ. His father and mother died at the hands of the Romans, and his younger sister Leah has been left traumatized and empty. Daniel is a Zealot and lives in the mountains with the rebel Rosh, whom he believes will raise an army to rout the Romans from Israel. When his grandmother dies, forcing Daniel to come down to the village and take care of Leah, he hates the cage of responsibility and longs to do something active against Roman rule. But Rosh doesn't seem to share that urgency... Is this wandering preacher, Jesus, the strong leader that Israel has been waiting for?
Speare does a good job keeping the story light enough for young readers but dark enough for more mature minds to imagine the backdrop. Daniel's father was crucified along with five other men for trying to rescue his brother-in-law from slavery. Leah's traumatization occurred because as a five-year-old child, she stole out and saw the gruesome scene of her father's crucifixion. The grandmother's death scene is shown, and some of Daniel's friends are killed during a rescue mission. Looking back, I see that I unconsciously took all these darker elements as a compliment from the author to me, the reader: even so young, I could handle them. And these sad pieces of reality are probably what gave the book its resonance, why I have remembered it with such affection all these years.
The characters are well drawn. Daniel especially is a very complete character, but the others are very good too. I found Rosh particularly intriguing. Daniel thinks the Romans are the villains, but slowly we come to see (along with him) that Rosh is a parasite too, using the Romans as an excuse for his own pillaging. The lessons about misplaced hero-worship and the growing awareness that comes with maturity are subtle but unmistakable. Thacia, Joel, and Leah are also quite vivid people to me.
Sometimes the writing seemed a bit stiff, and other times it was just perfect. It reminded me of the style of Ann Weil's Red Sails to Capri; I don't think there was as much emphasis on avoiding "telling" in favor of "showing" in the 1960s. Some sentences and adjectives were so right that I remembered them even now; the Roman soldier standing in the "broiling sun" always stayed with me. The last scene of this story is perfect to a word. It's a fantastic culmination of character development and all the themes — vengeance, justice, forgiveness, grace — that have been brewing from the beginning of the book. Powerful stuff.
The Bronze Bow richly deserves the Newbery Medal it won in 1962, and it is a book I look forward to putting in my children's hands and minds. Highly recommended.
His hatred and thirst for vengeance is challenged when he meets two children of a Rabbi, the boy Josh and the graceful and beautiful girl Malthace - questions and uncertainty arise - is violence towards the Romans the right path for him? He begins to train other young boys to plot against the army forces. But will rebellion change anything? At the fringes of this story Jesus is lurking, we don't hear him speak directly but through other persons who have met him and they share his message of love and forgiveness.
This is a beautiful and action-packed story that takes its characters seriously. Specially the slow change of Daniel towards forgiveness and reconciliation is well told - and also his sister Leah's blooming confidence and maturity is interesting.
The person of Jesus as described in the story seems a little too human, a little too weak; and the Disciples (though not named as such) may be a little too protective of their charge. The conversations with Simon and Jesus, however, feel plausible and true (which had me worried).
"Can you repay love with vengeance?"
I do like the way Jesus was portrayed, and I don't think many people could pull off having Jesus be in a fictional book, but Elizabeth George Speare made a passable attempt.
I found the pacing and characterization in this book very good, though it is a product of its time and contains a few historical inaccuracies. This book will be best appreciated by readers who approach it from a Christian worldview, as it dovetails neatly with Biblical accounts of Jesus' teachings in Galilee during the early part of his ministry. This book is not without bias, and has been criticized for portraying some aspects of Judaism harshly, so that's something some readers may want to keep in mind. As inspirational historical fiction, this book works pretty well -- and since I believe the author originally wrote it for her Sunday School class, that makes perfect sense. I doubt that it will appeal to a broader audience, though.
Although this book
If you've read Ben Hur, it is similar in some ways, but not as if the author borrowed from Lew Wallace's classic tale. Good read.
--J.
I loved this book because it speaks of many of the great characteristics of Jesus
On a personal level, too, it shows the fact that Jesus knows each one of us. and wants what is best for us.
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813.54 |