Joseph's story is a favorite of mine. I love getting to know him through various books and films, and, for that reason alone, I enjoyed reading Jill Eileen Smith's take in "The Prince and the Prodigal."
I'm not a huge fan Smith's writing style, though. She changes the point of view multiple times, which I thought distracting, and her wording is not very descriptive, although she does pay attention to historical detail. Since she begins the story with Joseph's youth, much of the novel directly reflects the biblical narrative, with not much new to add and with some stiff, unnatural dialogue pulled straight from the original texts. The long period of time covered also forces Smith to skip through the most interesting and nuanced part of her story, that of Judah's time in Canaan and Joseph's time in Egypt.
I appreciated the inclusion of some new characters and situations the two half-brothers encounter, and Judah's journey from hatred to guilt to fear of God in particular hit home for me, especially his reaction to the Canaanite custom of child sacrifice. I wish Smith had spent more time developing Judah and Joseph's characters instead of spending so much time with side characters. After all, the book title refers specifically to these two.
Overall, there's just enough in "The Prince and the Prodigal" to recommend itself to most readers. I read the book in just three days, and the speed was not due to any desire to get it done and over with.
*Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.
