Biblical Adventure and Redemption: Thief of Corinth by Tessa Afshar

Thursday, August 16, 2018

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: ♥♥♥♥ Four and a half out of five hearts = excellent

About:

Ariadne has never known her mother's love and approval. It seems as though all she can do is gain her mother and grandfather's displeasure, and so when they try to pledge her hand to an abusive suitor, it is no hardship to leave them and escape to Corinth, the city of her father's residence.

It is only when she is here that Ariadne learns the secret that tore her family apart and sent her father to Corinth- he is the infamous Gentleman Thief of the city, who steals from rich citizens. Not long after, she finds herself mixed up in his escapades, and discovers that her amazing athletic ability greatly aides her and her father in their exploits.

However, it is the arrival of the apostle Paul that really shakes their household, and challenges what they've always believed. Could there be such a thing as a loving God who forgives all and only requires your obedience and love? After all Ariadne has known since childhood about the fragility of a parent's approval, how can she accept this new and life-changing teaching?

My Review:

Biblical fiction is a new genre for me, but I found that I liked the break from what I normally read. Tessa Afshar takes you on a journey into Ariadne's life and soon you're rooting for her to succeed- to help her father in their adventurous exploits (loved all their tumbles and escapes!), sort through relationship struggles and stay out of trouble.

What first intrigued me about the book was the cover. Caught in the midst of what looks like a rooftop escape, it captured my interest and really does look awesome. It fit the theme and content of the book really well.

The story is set in first-person, which, for once, was fine with me. I enjoyed learning about Corinth and Aridne's adventures from that point of view. She was an interesting character to dive into- from her love of running and her special ability with athletics, to her struggles with finding acceptance. The same goes for the other characters as well- their words and actions were realistic and engrossing and accurately historical, while also being relatable.

Paul's arrival in Corinth was fairly realistic, in light of what I know about him from the Bible. Not exactly as I imagine him, but all, I think, pulled from what you read about him in the New Testament. I will say he was a bit more mentor than anything else, so sometimes he did not feel like a real person, but it's always hard to put a real historical figure in a book and portray them properly.

I'd say the book was just about perfect- the only problems I'd mention are the one about Paul I spoke of earlier and also the fact that it seemed to get a little slower and less interesting as I got into the second half of the book.

Mrs. Afshar has led me on a culture-accurate journey through Bible times that I'm glad I got to be a part of. Thief of Corinth put a nice background for the Corinthians that I formerly knew hardly anything about and gave me a bit of insight into their world.