Jill Eileen Smith
Revell, 2022
368 pages
Amazon Description: Joseph is the pampered favorite son of the patriarch Jacob. His older brothers, deeply resentful of his status in the family, take advantage of the chance to get rid of him, selling him to slave traders and deceiving their father about his fate. It seems like their troubles are over. But for Joseph and older brother Judah, they are just beginning.
While Joseph is accused of rape and imprisoned, Judah attempts to flee the memory of his complicity in the betrayal of his younger brother. After decades apart, the brothers will come face-to-face in a stunning role reversal that sees Joseph in a position of great power while Judah begs for mercy. Will forgiveness or vengeance win the day?
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I have mixed feelings about The Prince and the Prodigal. It started off slow for me, and felt kind of stiff and forced, especially the dialogue. I didn’t start to really get into the story until about the forty percent mark, even though I really wanted to like it. The premise is interesting, and I’ve enjoyed biblical fiction before, but this one fell a little flat. I think it might be because this is such a sweeping saga of a story that it’s hard to fully develop the characters and build out their stories while staying at a reasonable page count.
What did like about this story was seeing Judah’s point of view, especially after Joseph is sold into slavery. I thought the author did a good job staying true to the biblical account of Judah’s marriage, sons, and his relationship with Tamar while also adding some creative details that made it feel more real and relatable.
Even though it didn’t sweep me away as I’d hoped, I still think this is a solid retelling that I would hand to anyone who likes thinking about something old in a new way. The Prince and the Prodigal made me go back to Genesis and read Joseph’s story for myself, and anything that drives you to your Bible is a good thing.
If you like biblical fiction, you might also like The Heart of a King by Jill Eileen Smith and Of Fire and Lions by Mesu Andrews.