Marilyn Huntman Giese, The Eye of God: A Fisherman’s
Tale (Xlibris, 2010).
Also available on Kindle and Nook.
(CHRISTIAN FICTION)
Reviewed by Dorinda Kauzlarich-Rupe
Written as an autobiography of Simon Peter, this
book begins when Simon, a young man, is living with his pregnant wife, her
mother, and his brother and fishing partner, Andrew, in Capernaum. The death of
his wife during the birth of their son, Mark, leaves Simon restless and
searching for who he is and how he fits into life. The book continues through
Simon's life, including his call by Jesus to become a fisher of men, through
the period of Jesus’ life, Peter’s role as the rock of the early church, and
finally to his arrests and expected execution by hanging in Rome, including his
request that he be hanged upside down, rather than be given the same death that
Jesus had suffered. He feels unworthy.
Giese skillfully interweaves the lives of most, if
not all, the persons recorded in the Bible interacting in some way in the life
of Jesus, some before they followed Jesus or even knew him. I was impressed
that Simon knew that he was a man with faults/sins all of his life. It is obvious, as you read the book, that the
author knows the scriptures and had done much research into the history of
Israel, the politics and religious climate of the time, the culture of the
period, etc. At the end of the book she gives a list of “Selected References.” There
were times when I wished that she had footnoted some of the book, giving me
some idea of where some particular information was gleaned and where she was
using her own imagination within the framework of the culture, politics, Jewish
faith, etc. That very likely would have added many pages to the book. She did no quoting of any of her references,
except in the epilogue, which is drawn from the First Letter by Peter. This is
a very easy-to-read book, and is quite interesting; it pulls you into the story.
I think that some of her insights can be helpful in reading the actual
scriptures. I would love to read it again. There is a lot of information told
as a story.
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