Madman

This is an amazing story. It is important to note that you must get started into a couple of chapters before you are gloriously hooked. Tracy's research is amazing. It is very interesting that this book is written by a female since the story is read from a very male point of view. This is not a book that you will whip through in a day. It invokes thought and processing of the information. There are parts that really chilled me. And, I don't chill easy! Pick it up and read it! She's great!

...and the Geresene demoniac of the gospels of Mark and Luke. I'd known the story of the madman tormented by Legion. I never once took it so personally or considered looking at it from the man's point of view. That is, until I read a work of fiction that, while I was suspending disbelief and getting into the narrative, worked on my memories (from the Gospels and my little picture book of Bible stories that I loved as a child). At the end, I closed the book and had to take a minute to compose myself. Groot writes a powerful and introspective novel that makes you back up and take a look at the story you think you know from the Gospels (i.e.: the madman living alone in a cave, saved when Jesus casts the demons into a herd of pigs who then take a header off a cliff and into the ocean). While I knew the Biblical account, I never considered that the madman had family or friends who loved and cared for him before, during, and after his possession. I never wondered what the man might have done for a living before having his mind torn to pieces. Groot makes him a whole person rather than just a cog in the wheel of a parable or a background character in the life of Jesus. In Groot's story he is a person, with a life, who suffers horribly and endures until one comes who is able to release him from his possession. This is the type of Biblical fiction that I love. It does not diminish the Biblical account, but it humanizes the people, asks the reader to apply common sense and context to what is being read, and makes the situations more applicable to modern life. Just to be useful, there is another recent work of fiction that provides some human insight into a Biblical event. Not the End of the World by Geraldine McCaughrean tells the story of the Deluge from the point of view of Noah's daughter, Timna. A few examples of that common sense I mentioned earlier: All things being equal, other people knew how to build boats and were much better sailors than Noah and his family...it takes a while to drown, so Noah and his sons probably had to listen to the cries of mothers and fathers as they tread water, banging on the side of the ark, and begging them to, at the very least, take the children on board...and so on. These works of fiction do not diminish the Biblical accounts, but enhance them and ask us to bring context to what we are reading.

Riveting! Madman is the most uniquely-written biblical fiction I have ever encountered. The characters are incredibly well developed; the character names are unique, but easy to remember. Groot draws an incredible portrait of the madman and of the internal struggles we all face. The dialogue is often humorous and is strangely modern, but it works, probably because it is used throughout the novel, so it doesn't stick out as anachronistic. The plot is developed astonishingly well and includes several spots of complete surprise. The Palestinian setting adds immensely to the tone of the novel, and the cult of Dionysus is explained well. Groot's constant use of excellent, evocative phrases such as, "her apron had a little bit of fresh in it from the clothesline," makes readers feel as though they are participating in the story. All too often, biblical fiction falls flat because it's a rehash of a story we've read dozens of times, and of characters who have grown old with the rereading. Madman is a fabulous, well-written biblical fiction with characters that come alive, an intriguing plot that focuses on the portion of the story not accounted for in the Bible, and an excellent, subtle portrayal of the gospel message.

A demon possessed man feared by an entire village comes into direct contact with Truth, something new both to the man and also to the people from his geographical area. The story is found twice in the Bible, recollected by two of Jesus' followers: Mark and Luke. The biblical narrative provides good opportunity for some great `blank-filling,' which the author took advantage of. This novel is packed full of interesting information about ancient Greek culture. Reflecting the Greek culture, there is also a lot of philosophy about life, death and the spiritual realm. The story was fascinating. It was such a page turner that it only took me about two nights and one plane ride to finish it.

I couldn't put this book down! Accurate and compelling - it drove me to the Bible to read the account again, and I was amazed at what I'd missed in my previous reading of the account. I read this as a part of the Midday Connection bookclub.