Reading the Gospel of Mark as a Novel

"Building on the best of European and North American scholarship (especially Markan narrative criticism and reader response criticism), Van Oyen helps today's reader appreciate how Markan rhetoric intertwines the story of Jesus with the stories of his disciples, and thus with the story of the reader as well."

--Elizabeth Struthers Malbon, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA



"In this short, readable volume, Van Oyen helpfully makes accessible for general readers the substance of much recent scholarly work on the Gospel of Mark as a narrative. In so doing, Van Oyen not only explains how to read Mark as a 'novel,' he also guides his readers through the mysteries and the paradoxes, the power and the passion of this amazing story--showing that it leads every reader to make choices and take actions to follow in Jesus's footsteps."

--David Rhoads, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Chicago, IL