Life for the blacksmith Hesekiel is difficult. He wants to marry the love of his life and start a family, but the religious leader Jesus keeps asking him to become his thirteenth disciple. Kayat's book about life by the Kinneret in the Galilee, its people, its religious phalanges, and its many so-called prophets, is remarkably believable. The biblical stories (obviously) talk about people in respect of how they pertain to the story, but here we are presented with the normal human version of those characters. Jesus is a charismatic and rather persistent (or annoying?) character and his disciples are prone to anger and resentment towards anyone who disrespects their leader. Kayat lets the conflicted Hesekiel be a voice, or discussion, of reason - the voice that questions all angles of this new era when old and new comes to a stand. Regardless of personal religious views, Kayat manages to bring to life the Galilee and its people as well as the religious fervor without preaching to his reader. Definitely a recommended read. ( )