Tabita is growing up in a mountain village in the Middle East. When a tragic accident results in the death of her closest friend Sholem and the paralysis of her brother Phanuel, Tabi’s life is shattered. When word comes of a miracle-working teacher it’s not only Phan who needs healing.
The author’s childhood in Turkey and Lebanon is reflected in his immersive descriptions of the people and landscape. Although I found the early chapters a bit hard going, before long I was captivated. When Tabi and the four friends who with Phan make up ‘The Hand’ take him to the Teacher, it’s far from being the end of the story. Influence for The Hand comes from Luke 12:52 and the overall story arc includes events from Mark and Acts which are woven in very well. I like ‘biblical novels’ which don’t follow key characters, they give their authors scope for wider turns in the storytelling.
Mosaic gives the reader an insight into what life may well have been like for many in Jesus’ time. It clearly describes the rift between those who followed The Way and the Jewish leaders, while making people on both sides of that rift ‘real’. When reading the Bible we often go quickly through its stories. Here, we’re aware of how tensions would be building over time, and the struggle of knowing what was right not just in the bigger things, but in individual lives where many broken pieces can be restored and create a beautiful mosaic.
9781782643388, Lion Fiction, £9.99, pb, Apr21
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