Joseph, a master craftsman and carpenter, stokes the ire of his family when he weds his pregnant (and seemingly unfaithful) betrothed, Mary. Pious, devout, and guided by the dictates of Heaven, Joseph has no issue with taking Mary – who still claims to be a virgin – as his wife and committing himself to the protection of her child, whom he senses is extraordinary.However, there are others who are … others who are also aware of how special the child is, and not all have its best interests at heart. Among these is the despot Herod, whose oppressive rule and wanton cruelty are legendary. Deeply troubled by a prophecy concerning a King to Come, the tyrant is committed to finding – and eliminating – this threat to his reign. (And, having already murdered members of his own family in order to maintain power, Herod has no qualms about killing a baby.) In addition, there are forces beyond the ken of men that also recognize the singular nature of Mary’s child, and which are determined to keep the salvation that the babe represents out of mankind’s reach.
All of these factions and more converge on Mary and Joseph as they trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem in hopes of starting a new life. On a journey fraught with peril, Joseph fights to protect Mary and her unborn child from danger on all sides, including the elements, bandits, and Herod’s legions – as well as an utterly evil and otherworldly demonic force determined to stamp out mankind’s only hope of redemption.
Armed with little more than his wits, his faith, and his carpenter’s hammer, Joseph must face impossible odds to ensure the safety and survival of not only his family, but mankind’s future…
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It fills in a lot of gaps, we knew Joseph was an honorable man but did not realize the oposition he faced in being married to Mary, Great out of the box book!!
I loved this book !
The author does not use what is known from biblical text about Joseph.
Example: Joseph’s dream, reason for the journey to Bethlehem
Book.did not line up.with the Bible. The wise men were not at the stable. Can’t recommend.
From the stories that we have read in the Bible, makes you wonder if any thing like this was even possible. It’s just a strange feeling, would God have allowed something like happen? I believe, Not.
The Carpenter by S.A. Wilson is a fictionalized retelling of the story of Joseph of Nazareth.
I was curious about this book because of the premise. I read Biblical fiction all the time, but I’d never heard of one about Joseph, Jesus’ step-father. The cover and the blurb made me think it wasn’t going to be historically accurate, and I was right. I’m a stickler about getting the historical details right, especially concerning the Bible. But if I put that behind me for a second, I still thought it was an enjoyable read (or more like, listen, because it was an audiobook).
The setting and characters in this book were the same as in the Bible: Joseph and Mary, betrothed, when they find out Mary’s pregnant with Jesus. Understandably, Satan and his demons don’t like the Son of God being born as a human and try to kill Him before He was born. Herod, too, like in the Biblical account, isn’t happy about another king coming on the scene, and so he sends out troops to capture the newlyweds before they even reach Bethlehem. That part wasn’t accurate according to the chronology, since the wise men who tipped Herod off to Jesus’ birth wouldn’t have arrived until some time (like 1-2 years) had passed.
Neither does the Biblical account mention Joseph and Mary being chased across Israel by demon-possessed soldiers. But that is what happens in this book, and rather fantasy-like, too. Joseph, with his carpenter tools, fights off all the bad guys like an anime character, with some “magical” intervention by God. Mary listens to Joseph, follows along patiently wherever he leads, and helps when she’s able. Neither character has very much character development.
But I admire the author’s creativity with this story. There are a lot of obstacles for the characters to overcome, and I never would have imagined some of the solutions to them. It made it rather a fun read. I enjoyed it.
The narrator of the audiobook did very well. He was engaging and pleasant to listen to. He voiced the characters well, and I would happily listen to his narration again, if I came across a book of his that I was interested in.
In conclusion, I enjoyed the book on the whole because of its lightheartedness and creativity, but it wasn’t historically accurate, was very fantastical, and the characters needed a little more development. And the narration was great.
I received a complimentary audiobook copy of this book from the author. I received no compensation for posting a review and was not otherwise obligated to write one. Everything I wrote was the truth.
Didn’t really like the book. Wasn’t the kind of St. Joseph I know about.
Pure fiction. Nothing biblical.
I really enjoyed this point of view from a well-known story.
It really was quite far fetched as what we know from the Bible. I did not like that. Normally I enjoy historical fiction but not this time. I was disappointed. I kept reading to see if it would change .
Did not care for this, way too much fantasy and not enough character building. I know we don’t have a lot of detail about Mary and Joseph, but this demon business was just way too out of line.
Joseph is not talked about much, loved the imagination
not at sll what i expected.