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survivalisinsufficient's review against another edition
3.0
I like his writing. This one is a fictionalized (obviously?) account of Jesus' forty days in the desert, but it focuses primarily on other people who cross paths with him. It's an interesting read, particularly the reinterpretations of Jesus being tempted in light of the other people around him. The ending was pretty lame.
maeclegg's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
husk's review against another edition
2.0
A novella bloated into a novel, as dry and as barren as the landscape in which it is based. Ungenerous in its character and characters. Crace is by his own admission a fabulist, attracted to metaphors rather than realism but he overstretches, the worst of which is on page 197: "His testicles furrowed and retracted in the cold, like shrinking slugs with salt put on their backs." This kind of describes how I felt for its seemingly endless 243 pages. Having said that it ends strongly and poetically, just not soon enough.
babetterust's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
booksdogsandjess's review against another edition
3.0
This was a quick read but I feel like its one that next month I will have forgotten most of the plot and characters. It just didn't appeal to me.
thebobsphere's review
4.0
Jim Crace never fails to surprise. The fact that all is books are wildly different from the last heightens my respect for him.
Quarantine is about Jesus' 40 day fast in the desert but the story revolves other characters interactions with Him, notably the devil who tried to tempt Jesus.
As with every Jim Crace novel, it is excellent. No need to say anymore really.
Quarantine is about Jesus' 40 day fast in the desert but the story revolves other characters interactions with Him, notably the devil who tried to tempt Jesus.
As with every Jim Crace novel, it is excellent. No need to say anymore really.
megami's review
4.0
Quarantine takes as its basis the story of Jesus' forty days in the desert. But rather than focusing only on Jesus, Crace introduces other characters into the picture - Musa the conniving merchant and his put-upon, pregnant wife Miri; Aphas, an old man suffering from cancer who has gone into the desert as a last resort attempt at a cure; Marta, an infertile woman who is undertaking the quarantine in an attempt to prove her worthiness to bear a child; Shim, a wannabe aesthete who is perhaps not as above the worries of the secular world as he would like; and a mysterious Badu, a (perhaps) mad tribesman.
Quarantine uses these characters to explore themes of belief and the interactions between humans when they are outside of their normal element. As with other Crace writing, the prose in this novel is terrific, and he manages just as well with descriptions of the landscape as he does his characters. This is a small ensemble for such an intense novel, but it works well - we see society at large explored in this small microcosm.
Unlike some modern-day tales based on stories from the Bible, Crace has not attempted to 'modernise' his story too much (unlike a past story I read which managed to have Judas as a pedophile, Mary suffering from breast cancer, and various gay and disabled characters to give it a more 'realistic' feel). He has managed to explore age-old themes in an ancient setting, yet bring a modern feel to the work. If you take your Bible to be the word of God, and don't like reinterpretations, I would suggest that you don't attempt this book - you will probably throw it away in disgust. But for the rest of us, there is a great reading experience waiting in yet another offering from one of today's most eclectic and versatile authors.
Quarantine uses these characters to explore themes of belief and the interactions between humans when they are outside of their normal element. As with other Crace writing, the prose in this novel is terrific, and he manages just as well with descriptions of the landscape as he does his characters. This is a small ensemble for such an intense novel, but it works well - we see society at large explored in this small microcosm.
Unlike some modern-day tales based on stories from the Bible, Crace has not attempted to 'modernise' his story too much (unlike a past story I read which managed to have Judas as a pedophile, Mary suffering from breast cancer, and various gay and disabled characters to give it a more 'realistic' feel). He has managed to explore age-old themes in an ancient setting, yet bring a modern feel to the work. If you take your Bible to be the word of God, and don't like reinterpretations, I would suggest that you don't attempt this book - you will probably throw it away in disgust. But for the rest of us, there is a great reading experience waiting in yet another offering from one of today's most eclectic and versatile authors.
rsurban's review
5.0
....or, "When Good Miracles Happen to Bad People".
Really, I'm being reductive here of a very rich and beautifully written work, full of the most poetic and rhythmic language. And while one of the main characters is a Galilean named Jesus, he is just one of several individuals in the book who are in crisis, and, to my mind, not nearly the most interesting or important.
Crace's meditative and provocative novel is the story of five pilgrims who come to the desert back in ancient times in order to fast and meditate for the "quarantine" period of forty days (and, naturally, forty nights). The most important of these is Marta, who has come to the desert, supposedly barren, hoping for a miracle that will allow her to avoid being divorced by her husband for the crime of childlessness. Additionally, there is also fool, a traveller, an old man dying of cancer, and a carpenter trying to prove his devotion and piety to his family and the members of his village.
They all come across a vile and conniving merchant, Musa, and his oppressed and pregnant wife, Miri, abandoned by a caravan when the husband suffers a fever and descends into a coma. Miri's fervent wish is that Musa, abusive and tyrannical, will finally die and free her from a life of servitude and punishment, but then a strange thing happens: while she is out preparing his grave, Jesus comes upon the man in their tent and inadvertently, almost accidentally, heals him. Thus Christ's first miracle is to save the life of an evil and predatory man, paving the way for the man's renewed predation and violation of those around him.
Further, drastic re-imaginings of the Christ myth are woven into the narrative as the plot plays out, not least of which is Jesus's death from starvation several days before the 40-day period comes to an end. Yet in telling what can be thought of as an alternate history of the man Jesus, Crace leaves open the possibility of his divinity, from a hinted-at supernatural intervention late in the novel, to the ambiguity of whether that man seen walking into the mountains is the resurrected Messiah.
There is no question though that the author wants to examine the personalities of those in physical and emotional extremity, and show how it is human nature to seek others in moments of crisis. And Crace, an avowed atheist, rejects an easy dismissal and belittling of belief, instead positing the idea that from the most dire and bleak of circumstances, hope can still survive, and transcendence is available where you least expect it. Quarantine is a sober, seductive story, full of exquisite language and a crystalline clarity of place, where humanity's struggle for survival and understanding is etched in sharp relief against an unforgiving, eternal landscape.
Really, I'm being reductive here of a very rich and beautifully written work, full of the most poetic and rhythmic language. And while one of the main characters is a Galilean named Jesus, he is just one of several individuals in the book who are in crisis, and, to my mind, not nearly the most interesting or important.
Crace's meditative and provocative novel is the story of five pilgrims who come to the desert back in ancient times in order to fast and meditate for the "quarantine" period of forty days (and, naturally, forty nights). The most important of these is Marta, who has come to the desert, supposedly barren, hoping for a miracle that will allow her to avoid being divorced by her husband for the crime of childlessness. Additionally, there is also fool, a traveller, an old man dying of cancer, and a carpenter trying to prove his devotion and piety to his family and the members of his village.
They all come across a vile and conniving merchant, Musa, and his oppressed and pregnant wife, Miri, abandoned by a caravan when the husband suffers a fever and descends into a coma. Miri's fervent wish is that Musa, abusive and tyrannical, will finally die and free her from a life of servitude and punishment, but then a strange thing happens: while she is out preparing his grave, Jesus comes upon the man in their tent and inadvertently, almost accidentally, heals him. Thus Christ's first miracle is to save the life of an evil and predatory man, paving the way for the man's renewed predation and violation of those around him.
Further, drastic re-imaginings of the Christ myth are woven into the narrative as the plot plays out, not least of which is Jesus's death from starvation several days before the 40-day period comes to an end. Yet in telling what can be thought of as an alternate history of the man Jesus, Crace leaves open the possibility of his divinity, from a hinted-at supernatural intervention late in the novel, to the ambiguity of whether that man seen walking into the mountains is the resurrected Messiah.
There is no question though that the author wants to examine the personalities of those in physical and emotional extremity, and show how it is human nature to seek others in moments of crisis. And Crace, an avowed atheist, rejects an easy dismissal and belittling of belief, instead positing the idea that from the most dire and bleak of circumstances, hope can still survive, and transcendence is available where you least expect it. Quarantine is a sober, seductive story, full of exquisite language and a crystalline clarity of place, where humanity's struggle for survival and understanding is etched in sharp relief against an unforgiving, eternal landscape.
lcsmcat's review
4.0
Not for those who take the Bible literally, this book turns the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert tempted by the devil inside out and upside down. The writing is sometimes poetic, sometimes funny, even when the bare facts of the plot are horrific. I'll definitely read more by Crace.
lisagray68's review
2.0
Jim Crace is a great author, just not MY kind of author. I did finish another of his, Pesthouse, so I thought I'd try again. This story, a retelling of Christ's 40 days in the wilderness, I thought would really be my cup of tea. But alas, no.