BOOKS. paul, a novel

Paul: A Novel, by walter wangerin jr. this is an amzing book. it took me a while to get into it (roughly 8 years...) but once i got the premise it totally clicked! i recieved this book from my aunt for my high school graduation. i gave it a try, but the first chapter is kind of oddly written, so i gave up and put it away. all these years ive kept it, but never gave it another look. well, last year i decided to try again- and boy what a reward! ive never had a book move me to laughter and then tears before.
heres the set up: the book is a novelization of the book of Acts. it is the story of pauls conversion and three missionary journeys. but here is what makes it so unique: we dont really ever get inside pauls head, instead the book is writen from the perspective of all those around paul. some chapters are written from the point of view of barnabas, or james, or timothy, or titus, etc. all of these people give their side of what they think of paul and his actions. i teach the book of acts to middle schoolers, so this book has really come in handy for making the stories come alive. there are a few days where i read sections straight out of the book. the kids love it because its alot more personal than the straight narrative of acts.
the author of the book has done this with other books as well, he did a novelization of the old testament called 'the book of God'. i picked that one up, but it fails at exactly what made the paul book so great- it is very cold and just a basic narrative. he recently released a novelization of the gospels and recounts the life of Jesus. i havent read it, but i probably will.