~ novel, 2009, read Apprentices of the Word in English and Romanian
The fiction novel Apprentices of the Word reveals the crucial events of the world caught in a unique and ineffable vision. The story is overwhelming, the suspense is binding, and the reader becomes the prisoner of a life-and-death fight between good and evil. The stake of the conflict is man (the reader), to whom God gives the freedom of choice.
Awards and Distinctions
- received the Special Jury Book of the Year (for prose) Award by U.S.R.–Pitesti* (2010)
- awarded the Plaquette of Saint Voivode Neagoe Basarab and the icon of the Saint, plated in silver and gold, by His Eminence Calinic Argatu, the Archbishop of Arges and Muscel (2009)
Reviews – Apprentices of the Word
The Reverend Father, Prof. Dr. Nicolae Balasa
Apprentices of the Word, written by novelist M.M. Loviste, may be classified as one of the great religious novels. Although the author is a fiction writer, his novel encompasses the history of the redemption of humankind. M.M. Loviste starts from the temptation of Jesus Christ in the desert of Quarantania and goes through all the biblical stages that comprise this history.
An erudite writer, with a narrated Romanian language that flows beautifully; a high level of suspense; credible, superbly drawn characters; exact data; wonderfully described events; towns, mountains, and atmosphere: all of these elements hold the reader captive, eager for gnosis, a deeply inspired spiritual understanding.
Loviste passes with subtlety and literary ease from one event to another. You can find in his book the Embodiment, the Sacrifice, the Resurrection, and the Ascension of Christ, set among authentically drawn individuals from the Bible.
Although considered a secular writer, Loviste’s depth of writing provides the reader with excellent theological knowledge. The irrefutable merit of this novelist is reflected also in the fact that his novel addresses all kinds of readers, irrespective of their religion or their theological, worldly, scientific, literary, or philosophical knowledge, and likewise, irrespective of their age, gender, or skin color.
The focus of this novel is Christ, the Son of God, Embodied-God-Man, who is in the very center of the events narrated by the author. The dialogue in the novel reflects a life-and-death struggle between man and evil, but the struggle also provides man’s path to the freedom that God gave him from his very creation.
Apprentices of the Word will take your breath away.