Anne Rice's Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana

And I may have rolled my eyes as Jesus moons over the beautiful young girl who lives across the street. (Not to worry, though; Rice's Jesus knows that the personal problems of a Messiah don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.)

Still, you (by which I mean "I") don't read a novelization of the life of Christ for the plot. You read it to find out what insights, if any, the novelist has into the mystery of the Incarnation.

Disputations got a review copy and pronounces it good, although with a few shakes of the head along the way. I stopped reading Rice's first "Jesus book" ... what was it called ... Out of Egypt? ... a few chapters in. This sounds somewhat less speculative and much better. John's review gives you a good sense of the highs and lows and he ends up enthusiastic (which in itself is worth seeing!) so check it out.