I scored an advance copy of Janette Oke’s next book, The Pharisee’s Wife. (Thank you, NetGalley and Tyndale Fiction publishing!) The Pharisee’s Wife is about a teenager named Mary. It’s AD 33, the year Jesus died (so she’s not Jesus’s mother, not that Mary). Because Enos, an up-and-coming Pharisee, spots the beautiful teenager and is determined to make her his wife, Mary gets a front-row seat to the turmoil Jesus causes in the Jewish and Roman communities.

Poor Mary, her new husband is a pompous jerk: “He did hope that the upcoming Passover would bring more life back to the city. At least the visiting commoners who crowded the city over the Passover season could be counted on to view the Pharisees with admiration and a bit of envy. That had been missing for far too long.”

The more dire Mary’s situation becomes, the more I became attached to her. What a beautiful character! And as much as Enos is a jerk, I felt sorry for him because he gets himself into such a mess. Oke has a way of doing that, making the reader get attached to and care for her characters.

Oke leaps into non-traditional story structure into this book. In her author’s notes at the end of the book, she says those readers who expect a plot climax (and subsequent denouement) “may find it lacking in this story.” Instead, Oke attempts to point to “the climax of God’s great plan … still in the future.”

In fact, the last third of the book is largely a narrative summary covering decades in time. Children are born, grow up, and have their own children. Parents wither and die. The plot thins to dust and spreads as if blown by the wind in Mary’s desert landscape. The effect of Oke’s narration suggests vastness not only through Mary’s life, but into the centuries that follow, into our lives. In that sense, Oke succeeds in thrusting the story’s ultimate climax into our future.

I’m not sure, though, that readers acquainted with Oke’s plucky heroines, enemies-to-lovers tropes, Canadian/American settings in the 1800s, and happily-ever-after endings will buy into this new type of story. She raises questions that are unresolved at the end. The opposite of a happily-ever-after ending is not a tragic ending but an unresolved ending. What is the purpose of life? When will Jesus return? Will governments around the world ever allow religious freedom?

Even as I type this, I’m still not sure how I’ll rate The Pharisee’s Wife. Five stars for Oke’s ability to connect the reader with the characters in the story and feel their pain and joy? Four stars for a strong sense of time and place due to Oke’s evocative descriptions but with an ending that left me uncomfortable and wanting more? Either way, I look forward to whatever she writes next.

This was my first book by Janette Oke (Yes, I know, I can't believe it either) - but it definitely won't be my last. What a lovely, lovely story. It had everything I was looking for - lyrical writing, a captivating, endearing heroine, wonderful historical accuracy, and a fascinating story. One of the things I really appreciated was that it felt authentic to me - that the heroine was real (not a 21st century woman magically implanted into the ancient world). I couldn't turn the pages fast enough as I wanted to know how this would end. Highly recommended and I can't wait to own this novel in print!

So wonderful to have a new title by Janette Oke. Even though the time period it takes place in isn't my favorite, I still enjoyed the book and found it very interesting. Very thankful to read it and review.

Mary, a young Jewish woman, runs into the Pharisee Enos in the marketplace and he determines she will be his wife. He changes her name, directs her training in being the wife of a Pharisee in the upper classes, and demands her submission. As Mary learns more about Jesus, she is frightened what her new beliefs will bring when her husband becomes one of the Pharisees trying to discredit Jesus. Janette Oke provides readers another excellent novel.

THE PHARISEE’S WIFE by JANETTE OKE is beautifully written biblical fiction in which Jesus’ life, death an resurrectiom form the foundation of the story. From the beginning of the book where Mary, together with her parents, Amos and Huldah, is searching for the miracle-working Prophet,to touch and heal her beloved father, through Mary’s uhappy marriage to the angry and prideful Pharisee Enos, whose ambition is to destroy Jesus, and then to His crucifiction and resurrection. His miracles are well portrayed throughout.
Mary, whose name Enos has changed to Simona, is a gentle, hardworking village girl, who has much to learn to make her “worthy” of marriage to a Pharisee……
The struggles of the believers in Jesus become more and more dire after the resurrection, and we see those who are willing to die for Christ. We also see the love they have for one another.
The author has given us a good picture of life at the time, right up to the destruction of the Temple by the Romans.
I cannot recommend this lovely and inspiring read highly enough.
I was given an ARC by NetGalley from Tyndale House Publishers. The opinios in this review are cometely my own.

After seeing Mary in the market, Pharisee Enos is determined to have her as his bride. He negotiates with her father and she is given to him. Before becoming his wife, she undergoes training on etiquette, social norms, and customs of the upper classes. When she is brought before Enos, she is frightened and barely speaks a word. Enos quickly loses interest in her as his money dwindles. Outside of their small circle, rumors begin about Jesus, an alleged prophet with the ability to heal. Enos is sent on a mission to discredit Jesus leaving his wife behind for long periods of time.

While this was an interesting story, I felt that it became way too preachy at the end. I don’t mind reading Christian fiction, particularly when it is presented as a historical novel. However, I like to draw my own conclusions and do not like it when the story becomes too pushy about pushing an agenda. While I’m sure many will enjoy this novel, ultimately it was not for me.

A wonderful book that shows the reality of living as an early Christian believer. It's heartbreaking and sombre but also very real. Enjoyed reading.

This was a great read. As a Christian, it really was thought provoking and insightful. I loved the constant theme of the need for repentance and the all too persistent blindness both in the times of old and now. I also loved that the story didn’t take the turn I would have naturally expected and ended in bouts of reality. I did feel at some point the story was getting a little bit rushed as time lines consistently passed, but all in all, it was a good story once you focus on the main themes.