Untamed: How the Wild Side of Jesus Frees Us to Live and Love with Abandon by Lisa Harper is a mixed bag. I have to say upfront that any book that is not about a specifically female issue but is written specifically for women makes me suspicious. There were times in the book where I felt like the author was forcing the female voice too hard. Why does a book about the wild side of Jesus need to be slanted that far toward the female perspective? I also feel like I’m being talked down to throughout the book. Lisa Harper is obviously a very intelligent and educated woman, but sometimes her attempt to “bring it to the average person’s level” came across more condescending than helpful.
I was also frustrated by her inability to stay on topic. I found the parts about Jesus and his “wild” side to be very interesting. But when she would wander off onto stories that only loosely fit her thesis or when she would start focusing on other characters in the Bible, she lost me. I think the book could have been a much tighter, succinct manuscript had she focused on her main idea better. That said, I thought the best parts of the book were the gray boxes spattered throughout with little details and asides. I found these most informing and interesting.
Overall, I wouldn’t recommend or not recommend the book. It was okay. If you like her other things, you may connect with this one. I personally could not.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
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