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The Third Day
Two people are about to journey two millennia into the
past. Their mission: to confront Jesus of Nazareth and
learn once and for all what really happened. One of
the time travelers is a devout believer, the other a
jaded skeptic. Together they will discover whether the
truth about Jesus can set them free---or destroy them.
In The Third Day, acclaimed historical novelist Mark
Graham has crafted a tale of faith and fantasy---a new
gospel that is both iconoclastic and reverent.
Experience Jesus of Nazareth again for the first time.
And be prepared for the unexpected.
past. Their mission: to confront Jesus of Nazareth and
learn once and for all what really happened. One of
the time travelers is a devout believer, the other a
jaded skeptic. Together they will discover whether the
truth about Jesus can set them free---or destroy them.
In The Third Day, acclaimed historical novelist Mark
Graham has crafted a tale of faith and fantasy---a new
gospel that is both iconoclastic and reverent.
Experience Jesus of Nazareth again for the first time.
And be prepared for the unexpected.
- GenresTime Travel
316 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2001
1 person is currently reading
125 people want to read
About the author
Mark Graham
6 books14 followersMark Graham is the Edgar award-winning author of "Black Maria", third in a series of historical novels which have been translated into several languages. He studied medieval history and religious studies at Connecticut College and has a master's degree in English literature from Kutztown University. He lives in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 25, 2013
You don’t have to be Catholic or Christian to read this book. You don’t even have to be religious. In fact, I might go as far as saying that if you aren’t religious, you may actually come away with a little bit more from Mark Graham’s The Third Day than those of us who do practice one faith or another. Graham has written a beautiful and intricately woven story of two people—one a devout follower, the other one a sceptic—who travel back two thousand years to walk alongside Jesus Christ in his last few years. Before you abandon this novel as “one of those time-travel stories”, give it a chance. Graham had to find some way to get people of our time back to Jesus’, didn’t he? A few chapters in, and you’ll be hooked, wanting to read on to discover whether the faith that Christians around the world today hold close to their hearts is all for nought or if the events on the third day after his death rightfully crown Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, the Messiah.
Story & Pacing: 9
As a Catholic, I know how the story ends … spoiler alert … Jesus died. But knowing this didn’t make me any less interested in journeying back to his time and experiencing his final days through the eyes of Graham’s two main characters. I liked that I knew what was going to happen because it gave me a timeline with which to work. Graham’s pacing is perfect: He devotes the adequate number of pages for each significant event in Jesus’ ministry so that we know enough of what happens according to history without being bogged down by too much of the fiction part of “historical fiction”.
Characters: 9
Mariam and Ford are likeable, trustworthy narrators. Graham’s premise of having one of them a sceptic and the other a follower drives the emotional turns of the story and provides readers with two contrasting views of Jesus’ significance. This decision makes his story well balanced and easily comprehensible to readers who side with one or the other character. The only aspect of the story I am not particularly fond of is Graham’s choice to create tension between Jesus and his mother, Mary. I have only ever read and been taught that the two had a very close, loving relationship, so it was difficult for me to accept this. However, towards the end of the story, I came to understand this choice as another plot-driving vehicle.
Setting: 8
Graham has undoubtedly done his homework. His detailed descriptions of not only the physical landscape but the cultural and traditional backdrops of the first century are breathtaking. It was very easy for me to close my eyes and imagine myself in Nazareth or Capernaum thanks to Graham’s imagery. The only thing that left me wanting was a map of Israel of Jesus’ time and of ours as a means of both visualizing his travels and seeing the modern-day equivalents of the places where he preached.
Style & Writing: 9
Graham’s writing is pretty flawless and easily understood. He divides the story in appropriately titled chapters and sections to make it easy to reflect upon bits of information at a time. Aside from a few minor typos in my copy, I have no complaints about the writing at all. Furthermore, his decision to have the story told through the interspersing points of view of his two characters allows us to glimpse various sides and reactions to Jesus’ teachings, which fleshes out an already compelling plot.
Learnability & Teachability: 9
There is so much information to glean from this novel that I don’t even know where to begin! Students, teachers, and general readers will all find historically accurate details, intriguing fictional conversations, and generally interesting factoids of the first century to regurgitate long after the novel has been thoroughly enjoyed.
POTENTIAL TEACHABLES
Timeline of Jesus; history of Christianity; differences between Christianity/Catholicism and Judaism; geographical locations of Jesus’ travels; first-century life, including clothing, food, housing, business, money; first-century expectations, including traditions, occupations, role of women; Bible verses, especially teachings of Jesus; significant events during Jesus’ travels, including wedding at Cana, wrath at temple, silencing of Sea of Galilee; identifying historical and fictional aspects of novel, especially those surrounding characters; implications of and allusions within Graham’s fantastic conclusion; and so much more!
Story & Pacing: 9
As a Catholic, I know how the story ends … spoiler alert … Jesus died. But knowing this didn’t make me any less interested in journeying back to his time and experiencing his final days through the eyes of Graham’s two main characters. I liked that I knew what was going to happen because it gave me a timeline with which to work. Graham’s pacing is perfect: He devotes the adequate number of pages for each significant event in Jesus’ ministry so that we know enough of what happens according to history without being bogged down by too much of the fiction part of “historical fiction”.
Characters: 9
Mariam and Ford are likeable, trustworthy narrators. Graham’s premise of having one of them a sceptic and the other a follower drives the emotional turns of the story and provides readers with two contrasting views of Jesus’ significance. This decision makes his story well balanced and easily comprehensible to readers who side with one or the other character. The only aspect of the story I am not particularly fond of is Graham’s choice to create tension between Jesus and his mother, Mary. I have only ever read and been taught that the two had a very close, loving relationship, so it was difficult for me to accept this. However, towards the end of the story, I came to understand this choice as another plot-driving vehicle.
Setting: 8
Graham has undoubtedly done his homework. His detailed descriptions of not only the physical landscape but the cultural and traditional backdrops of the first century are breathtaking. It was very easy for me to close my eyes and imagine myself in Nazareth or Capernaum thanks to Graham’s imagery. The only thing that left me wanting was a map of Israel of Jesus’ time and of ours as a means of both visualizing his travels and seeing the modern-day equivalents of the places where he preached.
Style & Writing: 9
Graham’s writing is pretty flawless and easily understood. He divides the story in appropriately titled chapters and sections to make it easy to reflect upon bits of information at a time. Aside from a few minor typos in my copy, I have no complaints about the writing at all. Furthermore, his decision to have the story told through the interspersing points of view of his two characters allows us to glimpse various sides and reactions to Jesus’ teachings, which fleshes out an already compelling plot.
Learnability & Teachability: 9
There is so much information to glean from this novel that I don’t even know where to begin! Students, teachers, and general readers will all find historically accurate details, intriguing fictional conversations, and generally interesting factoids of the first century to regurgitate long after the novel has been thoroughly enjoyed.
POTENTIAL TEACHABLES
Timeline of Jesus; history of Christianity; differences between Christianity/Catholicism and Judaism; geographical locations of Jesus’ travels; first-century life, including clothing, food, housing, business, money; first-century expectations, including traditions, occupations, role of women; Bible verses, especially teachings of Jesus; significant events during Jesus’ travels, including wedding at Cana, wrath at temple, silencing of Sea of Galilee; identifying historical and fictional aspects of novel, especially those surrounding characters; implications of and allusions within Graham’s fantastic conclusion; and so much more!
October 22, 2009
I had the pleasure of reading The Third Day in manuscript form in 1999. “Faith” is the theme, and through the literal format of a “contemporary gospel,” it explores questions like What is faith? Who has it, who doesn’t? How is it acquired, learned or gleaned? Is it truth, belief, or both? These are only a few of the challenges to the concept of faith put forth by The Third Day. As you read it, not only may you be surprised to find your own idea of faith put to the test – but you may be delighted to find that such an important issue can be relayed by way of a story with all the drama and suspense of Graham’s McCleary mysteries. After all, isn’t faith one of the greatest mysteries?
December 17, 2017
Very clever concept
An excellent page turner with an intriguing viewpoint of humanities burning questions about the Messiah.
Well written and thought provoking.
An excellent page turner with an intriguing viewpoint of humanities burning questions about the Messiah.
Well written and thought provoking.
November 27, 2012
Unfortunately, this is another book I finished for two reasons only: a) I always finish a book. b) I felt a moral obligation to do so.
The problem with "The Third Day" is that it tries to do/show a lot of things in parallel and doesn't succeed in any. Take two people dissatisfied with their lives; a depressed agnostic widow and a faithful scholar. Their lives basically change over night due to a spectacular discovery; building the story up from this, describing the protagonists *before* their, let's say, departure, is where the author succeeds - it's believable and interesting.
*** WARNING *** Spoilers ahead *** WARNING ***
From that point on, though, things spiral down: The widow and the scholar basically exchange their roles and beliefs; while the former turns into a fervent believer, the latter becomes a fanatic closet-opponent. Even if we simply accept this process (which at least in the scholar's case is not really believable at all), the means this is achieved by are ridiculously annoying - enter a time traveller. A well-known antagonist, disguised as a time-travelling scientist, tempts both our "heroes" and succeeds in one case and partly in the other.
While I do understand the author's motivation and the idea, the implementation is tiresome and doesn't really fit with the characters as sketched out up to the respective point in the story.
*** No important spoilers from this point on ***
Most of the remainder of the book is basically a rather naive re-narration of the New Testament (NT) - with a strong artistic licence in some parts. This is what annoyed me the most - I've read the Bible, thank you very much, and I really don't need to re-read the NT in the words of some novelist and with a strong focus on the more "spectacular" parts, skipping the more seemingly "boring" but important parts - and, in the process, spending a lot of time telling the reader where Jesus and his disciples are going.
If you want to write some kind of religious novel, please have the decency to choose religiously important parts and expand on those.
If you just want to write an interesting historical novel, please don't mostly re-narrate but boldly take more liberties and write what *you* think is important.
If you, dear reader, want to read a very interesting albeit controversial religious novel, give "The Shack" by William P. Young a try. Much more ambitious than this one - but Young actually pulls it off while Graham bit off way too much.
The problem with "The Third Day" is that it tries to do/show a lot of things in parallel and doesn't succeed in any. Take two people dissatisfied with their lives; a depressed agnostic widow and a faithful scholar. Their lives basically change over night due to a spectacular discovery; building the story up from this, describing the protagonists *before* their, let's say, departure, is where the author succeeds - it's believable and interesting.
*** WARNING *** Spoilers ahead *** WARNING ***
From that point on, though, things spiral down: The widow and the scholar basically exchange their roles and beliefs; while the former turns into a fervent believer, the latter becomes a fanatic closet-opponent. Even if we simply accept this process (which at least in the scholar's case is not really believable at all), the means this is achieved by are ridiculously annoying - enter a time traveller. A well-known antagonist, disguised as a time-travelling scientist, tempts both our "heroes" and succeeds in one case and partly in the other.
While I do understand the author's motivation and the idea, the implementation is tiresome and doesn't really fit with the characters as sketched out up to the respective point in the story.
*** No important spoilers from this point on ***
Most of the remainder of the book is basically a rather naive re-narration of the New Testament (NT) - with a strong artistic licence in some parts. This is what annoyed me the most - I've read the Bible, thank you very much, and I really don't need to re-read the NT in the words of some novelist and with a strong focus on the more "spectacular" parts, skipping the more seemingly "boring" but important parts - and, in the process, spending a lot of time telling the reader where Jesus and his disciples are going.
If you want to write some kind of religious novel, please have the decency to choose religiously important parts and expand on those.
If you just want to write an interesting historical novel, please don't mostly re-narrate but boldly take more liberties and write what *you* think is important.
If you, dear reader, want to read a very interesting albeit controversial religious novel, give "The Shack" by William P. Young a try. Much more ambitious than this one - but Young actually pulls it off while Graham bit off way too much.
June 30, 2012
Difficult book to locate. Small Publishing House used.
Being non-religious, I do admit having a bit of a fascination with the story/stories/folktales regarding the individual that was called Jesus Christ. Upon hearing about this novel where two people — one a staunch believer and the other an atheist — mysteriously traveling back in time to the final months leading up to the crucifixion caught my interest. A Science-Fictional twist was the clincher in my locating a copy to read.
The Author did do a fair bit of research in putting together the storyline and 'The Third Day' is well written. Yet...
Having had a number of years editing experience it's now that whenever I read anything I become more critical if spelling errors and sloppy typesetting occurs as this completely takes away any higher praise I may have had in regards to the overall book. I did catch a couple spelling mistakes, yet the biggest disappointment was in the typesetting. Instead of three hyphens together(---), a proper Em-dash (—) should had been used and this particular problem ran rampart throughout the entire book as if the person doing the typesetting hadn't a clue to what an Em-dash actually is and how it is to be used. I would have given this novel a higher rating if it was crafted better than what it was.
Still, it was a decent read and should had been picked up by a major Publishing House.
One does not have to be religious to enjoy the story.
Being non-religious, I do admit having a bit of a fascination with the story/stories/folktales regarding the individual that was called Jesus Christ. Upon hearing about this novel where two people — one a staunch believer and the other an atheist — mysteriously traveling back in time to the final months leading up to the crucifixion caught my interest. A Science-Fictional twist was the clincher in my locating a copy to read.
The Author did do a fair bit of research in putting together the storyline and 'The Third Day' is well written. Yet...
Having had a number of years editing experience it's now that whenever I read anything I become more critical if spelling errors and sloppy typesetting occurs as this completely takes away any higher praise I may have had in regards to the overall book. I did catch a couple spelling mistakes, yet the biggest disappointment was in the typesetting. Instead of three hyphens together(---), a proper Em-dash (—) should had been used and this particular problem ran rampart throughout the entire book as if the person doing the typesetting hadn't a clue to what an Em-dash actually is and how it is to be used. I would have given this novel a higher rating if it was crafted better than what it was.
Still, it was a decent read and should had been picked up by a major Publishing House.
One does not have to be religious to enjoy the story.
January 5, 2013
I win The Third Day as part of the Member Giveaway and loved it!! It is like a mix between Michael Crichton's Timeline and The story of Christ
In third day we see two characters who go back in time to find out the truth behind the story of Jesus Christ
Thomas Ford is a professor who studies dead languages and Mariam is a widow mourning her husband's death Ford is a firm believer in the story of Christ while Mariam does not seem to believe he was anything more than a Man
An archeologist unearths a letter supposedly written by Mariam that says that they would go back in time and see Jesus Christ
The story follows their journey back in time and the experiences that change Mariam into a believer and Ford into a non believer
The storyline is well thought out and the characters are strong The only weak point is that Ford's change from being a believer to a non believer seems a bit too sudden
On the whole a great read!!!
In third day we see two characters who go back in time to find out the truth behind the story of Jesus Christ
Thomas Ford is a professor who studies dead languages and Mariam is a widow mourning her husband's death Ford is a firm believer in the story of Christ while Mariam does not seem to believe he was anything more than a Man
An archeologist unearths a letter supposedly written by Mariam that says that they would go back in time and see Jesus Christ
The story follows their journey back in time and the experiences that change Mariam into a believer and Ford into a non believer
The storyline is well thought out and the characters are strong The only weak point is that Ford's change from being a believer to a non believer seems a bit too sudden
On the whole a great read!!!
December 3, 2012
This is such an interesting read and a great concept. Its not too sci-fi to get you all caught up in the science and gadgetry. The time travel aspect is an interesting concept and setting the story and plot in the 1st Century CE during the last days of Jesus life is not very original, but coupled with the science fiction, it is a very engaging read. For those who are well versed in the New Testament, this will be a simple enough story to follow as the story chronicles the Gospels. Perhaps those who are very well versed will find some flaws but the paraphrasing of the messages is quite accurate. It is not insulting, belittling or blasphemous.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews