Paul: A Novel by Walter Wangerin Jr.

Paul: A Novel by Walter Wangerin, Jr.
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Zondervan (November 1, 2001)

Review by Mae Clair

Let me start by saying any review I write of this book won’t do it justice.
It’s. Just. That. Good.

If you want to immerse yourself in the early church of the New Testament, the life of Saul-become-Paul, and the spread of the Gospel to Gentile nations, you can’t do any better than this literary epic. It’s a fairly massive tome at 512 pages, but the chapters aren’t long, and the first person POV from multiple individuals make the pages fly. I devoured the story in three days. Once I started, I couldn’t put it down.

The reader experiences Paul through the eyes of his traveling companions and those who knew him best. Even those only mentioned in scripture, such as Erastus (Acts 19:22; Romans 16:23; 2 Timothy 4:20) become fully fleshed out individuals with detailed backstories. I fell in love with him, as well as Timothy, Titus, Barnabas, Priscilla (called Prisca), Luke, and so many more!

Of Paul himself, his perspective is relayed through several of his Epistles. This is an impassioned man, unapologetic of his faith, driven to bring the good news of Jesus to the Gentiles. The story moves from Jerusalem to Damascus, Antioch, Macedonia, Corinth, Ephesus, Troas, and Rome, among other sites. Vast in scope and rich in history, vivid descriptions made me feel as though I walked the streets of ancient cities and marketplaces—that I climbed the Acrocorinth in Greece with Paul. An experience almost as spiritual for me as it was for him.

But there is division too. New faith, coupled with the spread of the Gospel, brings contention between Jews devoted to Torah Law, Jewish believers of Jesus, and uncircumcised Gentiles. Paul, zealous for the Lord, and the infant churches he starts, clashes more than once with Peter, James, and others over Law vs. Grace.

What I’ve read in the Book of Acts and the Epistles played out in a manner I never grasped before. I was there when Paul debated James and Peter over circumcision at the Council of Jerusalem, and when Paul challenged the “super apostles” at Corinth. So many events unfolded with fresh understanding and passion. The depth of emotion had me in tears on more than one occasion and my soul singing with praise on others.

It took me a while to adjust to the physical descriptions of Saul/Paul, particularly at the beginning of the book, but oh, what devotion this man had for Our Lord! In that respect he towered over everyone around him.

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Here Barnabas speaks of Saul:

He had such a thing to tell them, and such a need to say it soon, to say it fast, that the reasonable tone of his voice would change to urgency. So then his sentences got longer, and the words burst from his mouth like flocks of birds, and the faith of the man was a high wind in the hearts of the people, and some of them gasped in delight, and these are the ones who rose up and flew; but others were insulted, and others afraid of the sacred passions, and these were the ones who came to hate him . . .

Paul: A Novel, by Walter Wangerin, Jr.

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I picked up this novel from a used book sale in hardback. It sat on my shelf for a few years, partly because of its size, partly because of content. Although I love Biblical fiction, I usually prefer stories set during the Old Testament. Mr. Wangerin’s book has changed that. Paul: A Novel is without a doubt the best book I’ve read all year, and ranks among my most treasured reads of all time. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

FIVE FABULOUS FISH!!

I purchased, Paul: A Novel in hardback.