I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley, Tyndale House Publishers. I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.
Thief of Corinth by Tessa Afshar Published by NavPress on August 7, 2018
Genres: Ancient World, Christian, Clean & Wholesome, Fiction, Historical, Romance
Pages: 400
Source: NetGalley, Tyndale House Publishers
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First-century Corinth is a city teeming with commerce and charm. It’s also filled with danger and corruption—the perfect setting for Ariadne’s greatest adventure.
After years spent living with her mother and oppressive grandfather in Athens, Ariadne runs away to her father’s home in Corinth, only to discover the perilous secret that destroyed his marriage: though a Greek of high birth, Galenos is the infamous thief who has been robbing the city’s corrupt of their ill-gotten gains.
Desperate to keep him safe, Ariadne risks her good name, her freedom, and the love of the man she adores to become her father’s apprentice. As her unusual athletic ability leads her into dangerous exploits, Ariadne discovers that she secretly revels in playing with fire. But when the wrong person discovers their secret, Ariadne and her father find their future—and very lives—hanging in the balance.
When they befriend a Jewish rabbi named Paul, they realize that his radical message challenges everything they’ve fought to build, yet offers something neither dared hope for.
Be transported back in time by this gripping tale of adventure, bravery, and redemption, and discover why Debbie Macomber says, “No one brings the Bible to life like Tessa Afshar.”
The premise of this book beckoned me to read it. I’m accustomed to reading Afshar’s Biblical fiction. I’m hesitant to label this book in that genre. It is more historical Christian fiction set during Biblical times. Set in the backdrop of Greece and Corinth during the time of Paul, we meet Ariadne as she is on the cusp of adulthood. Running from a marriage that sets her teeth on edge and a domineering grandfather, who arranged the match, and a mother who can’t see past her own father’s wishes for the family. From a broken home, Ariadne does the only thing she can think to do. . .runs how to Corinth and the father she loves and hasn’t seen since she was a child. I have to admit I was surprised to find a divorced family in this book and how simple it seemed, somehow I thought that divorce was much more rare, and typically much more involved, during these times. We meet with Paul again and even get mention of Lydia and even Aquila and Priscilla are referenced. Again though, not Biblical fiction.
Outside of the fact that Biblical characters are mentioned and Biblical places are referenced there are reasons that I can’t classify this book as Biblical fiction. First, there isn’t a ‘thief of Corinth’ in the Bible. Corinth was a rough place situated as it was on the isthmus between two vital bodies of water as well as the pagan temples there. Commonsense would surmise that this would be haven for crime as well as a rough place to live. We know that Paul traveled there and I’m fairly certain he met a variety of people but somehow I don’t see a Ariadne in his life. I can’t really say why without spoilering things, just trust me. The other thing that pulls me back from Biblical fiction, but also as historical fiction, is how modern everyone’s speech and mannerisms are. At times it was easy to forget that I was reading a book set in ancient times, everyone came across as that modern! Which for me is a detraction from the genre of book I was reading. It was good but it was detracting.
While there were detractions there was still a great story of finding love, faith, and redemption. In the years following Christ’s death and resurrection Christianity was a word of mouth revolution. In Greece and Rome these converts were few and far between. When Ariadne ran from her Grandfather and Mother in Greece to find her father in Corinth she took only her adoptive brother with her. And a memory of a shrine she had seen that had left an impression on her. ‘My favorite shrine had been made of plain white marble with a simple inscription in Greek: ‘To an Unknown God’. She had already encountered God without realization. Yes, this book is about her and her family finding God through Paul. But it’s also about a young girl finding her place in the world, her community and society. It’s about a young woman finding her future, and love. It’s about a family finding wholeness in their brokenness and healing in their hurts. It’s engaging and embracing and a historical coming of age story. There’s so much to embrace in this book in it’s modernness. And so much to learn from this book in it’s history. But it’s not Biblical fiction.
About Tessa Afshar
Tessa was born in Iran and lived there for the first fourteen years of her life. She moved to England where she survived boarding school for girls and fell in love with Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, before moving to the United States permanently. Her conversion to Christianity in her twenties changed the course of her life forever.
Tessa holds an MDiv from Yale University where she served as cochair of the Evangelical Fellowship at the Divinity School. She serves on the staff of one of the oldest churches in America. But that has not cured her from being addicted to chocolate.
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