Ew, Ick, Phewwft! A Book Review

Yes, you can gather from my title that I did not care for the book my group read this month. Pilate's Wife, by Antoinette May, did not attempt to hide what I perceived as an attempt to diss Christianity through dishonoring it's namesake. The book is a fictional account of Pilot's wife, Claudia. She grew up as the privileged daughter of the Rome elite, closely related to the emperor, with all of the political intrigues and betrayals of the time.

The author chose to give us the details in first person, so Claudia comes off as self-centered and, I guess as the culture of the time, a bit hedonistic. Deities are worshiped wily-nilly, base needs being the determining factor. Claudia has some small physic powers which is actually spoken about in the New Testament account dealing with Pilot (Matthew 27:19).

It is how the author takes license with the facts, I would go so far as to say abuses them, that offends my sensibilities. In her forward Ms. May talks about being a journalist, and so she should understand that facts are facts, and you can't change them and call it fiction. A good historical fiction writer should tell her made up tale to fit the facts from original documents or primary sources, and as Ms. May speaks about gathering information for no less than six years, you'd think her research would have enabled her to get that part of the story right.

How is it that she places Jesus in a temple of Isis, the Iseneum, in Egypt when he is twenty-something and has him speak of "seeking"? (She intimates that Isis and Jesus are not so very different.) How is it that she has Jesus marrying a prostitute shortly before his crucifixion? Why has she chosen to disregard what historians would regard as eye witness accounts given in the New Testament?!

My fellow bibliophiles chalked it up to, "Hey, it's just fiction, a story!" No, Jesus was a real person (and much more than that!) as was Claudia, Pilot, Germanicus, Caligula, Livia and Tiberius. Much is known about them, and those things should not be distorted.

My guess would be that Antoinette May is more a seller of books than an author and sensationalism is the best way to get books moving off of the shelves. Shame on her as an author for not treating the Christian part of the history in her books with as much respect as she gives the Roman part.