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abhollan's review
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
emckeon1002's review against another edition
4.0
This book, like many in the Tosches ouevre, is guaranteed to challenge and offend. Doctrinaire Christians will dismiss it out of hand. Open-minded Christian intellects will admire the blasphemy, and be instructed by its ruminations about the origins of religious faith. I've always found Tosches to be a skilled writer, the kind who knows how to bend a sentence to his will, build characters we recognize from life, and forge a story we don't easily walk away from. Here the story is familiar. The life of Jesus. But in Tosches' hands, Jesus is Eliza Doolittle to a Henry Huggins played as brilliant, appealing scoundrel by Roman nobleman Gaius Fulvius Falconius. Falconius is a speech writer dismissed by emperor Tiberius, who finds a new occupation for his wit when he is cast out of Rome and sent to work in the court of prefect Pontius Pilate. This Jesus is profane, but we see the populace's willingness to grasp meaning from his words and his miracles. This Jesus is no more, and no less, god than Jim and Tammy Faye. If you've read the original account, there may be some surprises in store. I was a little disappointed with the ending, but not as disappointed as Falconius. After all, it takes more than artistry to roll away the stone.
tymgabriel's review against another edition
4.0
Under Tiberius was my first experience with Tosches's work, and an exhilarating one it was. Set in first-century Rome and Judea, Under Tiberius explores an imagining of the origin story for Jesus of the Christian Bible. Given the vast familiarity with the general story, the flap text lays out the general premise without mystery. A disgraced professional orator of Tiberius's court travels to Caesarea, where he meets an enchanting cutpurse - Jesus. The two hatch a get-rich-quick scheme that, as most know, will live in infamy. Yet, this gritty tale ends in a real world scenario without indulging the "what if" that is worldwide legend and belief.
Tosches's prose proves eloquent in its deigned form as a supposed translation. Readers familiar with the general narrative and miracles of Jesus should find the text as engaging and shocking as intended. Those less familiar may feel the text a bit grinding in the itinerant repetitiveness of the story's protagonists. Regardless, Under Tiberius offers a fresh take on the generally wholesomely bland version of the greatest story ever told.
Tosches's prose proves eloquent in its deigned form as a supposed translation. Readers familiar with the general narrative and miracles of Jesus should find the text as engaging and shocking as intended. Those less familiar may feel the text a bit grinding in the itinerant repetitiveness of the story's protagonists. Regardless, Under Tiberius offers a fresh take on the generally wholesomely bland version of the greatest story ever told.
memnoch's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book. Couldn't put it down. The author clearly did a ton if research. The book just has the ability to take you to that time and place. To watch their "friendship" grow was one of the highlights. A lot of people hating on this were never going to like it in the first place. Open your mind up and enjoy the ride.
baggman's review against another edition
1.0
During my years of reading, the number of books that I, for one reason or another, have not finished have been few. There's just something about starting a book and not finishing it that bothers me. Of late, with so many reading options available, I've reassessed my "Die Hard" attitude, and have adopted a more "What the Heck Am I Doing" philosophy. Under Tiberius fit neatly into this last category.
I waited weeks for this title to become available through my local lending library. I was so enthralled by the plot summary, and extremely high Goodreads ratings that I was literally checking the availability list daily. When I was finally notified that it was available, I was giddy.
To say that this book is slow is a complete misnomer. To say that I found it difficult to read is like saying some of the theories put forth by Stephen Hawking can be difficult to understand. Quotes in Latin, Italian, Greek , Hebrew, and more, it's all here. References to every biblical location I have ever heard of and hundreds that I haven't. The list of ingredients on a typical microwave fast food entree are easier to follow. It just goes on and on and on. I made it to chapter 21, and I give up.
As far as I'm concerned, this book is an example of "Literary Politically Correctness". People are giving it high ratings because they think they should, or because professional critics tell them they should, and not because they really think it was good.
srwelch00's review against another edition
5.0
Bold and audacious, written in Tosches's oft-brilliant prose, [b:Under Tiberius|23731889|Under Tiberius|Nick Tosches|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428955970s/23731889.jpg|43344033] is more than an exercise in iconoclasm. In the end a tragic figure, Tosches's Jesus is a flawed anti-hero -- one with which even an unbeliever can sympathize.
I highly recommend it ...
SRW
I highly recommend it ...
SRW
timshel's review
4.0
I really have little tolerance for haters. I'm cool with disagreement, but when a person reaches the point of throwing vehement rage at the object of their disdain, I tune out or turn off. It's counterproductive and it usually makes the hater look like a complete idiot.
Enter the many books which criticize the roots of Christianity in the most vulgar manners. Clearly, some people hate organized religion. That's okay. It's understandable for some. Rather than approach the subject with grace and intelligence, however, they digress into crude tirades, hoping to convince readers that Jesus had his way with his mother and every little boy he came across in his travels. This is not the product of intelligent and insightful discourse; it is the work of a juvenile mind bent on “proving something.” And it does not matter the target of this puerile criticism, portraying Jesus as a horny manipulator or the Islamic religion as a nation of sword-toting brainless idiots is equivalent to black face and Looney Tunes' anti-Japanese propaganda. If you want to disprove the saintliness of Jesus, do so in a way that at least resembles historical reality.
That said, it's surprising that I not only finished Nick Tosches' Under Tiberius, but that I quite enjoyed it.
From the beginning, it is clear Tosches has some bones to pick with Christianity. Jesus is portrayed as a stinking drunk whose only ambitions are money and getting laid. Jesus forms a business relationship with our narrator, Gaius, and the two embark on a scheme to get rich. Along the way, they become friends. For me, this relationship never made any sense whatsoever. Gaius was somebody, banished perhaps, but it seemed unlikely he'd ever form a true relationship with the likes of Jesus. Everything about this novel reeked of authorial manipulation based on a long-standing hatred. Gaps of narrative and logic abounded.
But I pressed on. And somewhere, midway, the author did something unexpected: he began to treat the character of Jesus with some dignity. Though Jesus was no messiah by any stretch of the word, he developed a sense of humanity. He became a person, not a caricature. And like that, Under Tiberius became a worthwhile fictional critique of Jesus. Was that the intention all along? Did the author lose focus? Seriously, what the hell?
Suddenly, the writing was interesting and gorgeous. There were still gaps in the story and I still didn't understand the character of Gaius, why he cared so much about the man he was manipulating, but Jesus, ironically, became more real. Compared to the way he was portrayed for much of the novel's beginning, Jesus was multi-multi-faceted. And though he was no son of god, he began to resemble the historical figure who believed in something.
Under Tiberius could've been so much better had it not initially been a strident mockery of Jesus. It could've been the book that completely changed my mind about Jesus-bashing novels. I could've accepted the greed and the sex, even more surprising, I could accept the plot holes and the rushed ending, but I could not accept the blatant vulgarity of a one-dimensional Jesus. Had more time been invested in the relationships Jesus had with his disciples and others, less time spent jumping from whore to whore, I would've had a greater appreciation for this novel. Nevertheless, it surprised me in the end, and that counts for something.
Thank you, Mr. Tosches, for giving me a Jesus I could believe in.
Enter the many books which criticize the roots of Christianity in the most vulgar manners. Clearly, some people hate organized religion. That's okay. It's understandable for some. Rather than approach the subject with grace and intelligence, however, they digress into crude tirades, hoping to convince readers that Jesus had his way with his mother and every little boy he came across in his travels. This is not the product of intelligent and insightful discourse; it is the work of a juvenile mind bent on “proving something.” And it does not matter the target of this puerile criticism, portraying Jesus as a horny manipulator or the Islamic religion as a nation of sword-toting brainless idiots is equivalent to black face and Looney Tunes' anti-Japanese propaganda. If you want to disprove the saintliness of Jesus, do so in a way that at least resembles historical reality.
That said, it's surprising that I not only finished Nick Tosches' Under Tiberius, but that I quite enjoyed it.
From the beginning, it is clear Tosches has some bones to pick with Christianity. Jesus is portrayed as a stinking drunk whose only ambitions are money and getting laid. Jesus forms a business relationship with our narrator, Gaius, and the two embark on a scheme to get rich. Along the way, they become friends. For me, this relationship never made any sense whatsoever. Gaius was somebody, banished perhaps, but it seemed unlikely he'd ever form a true relationship with the likes of Jesus. Everything about this novel reeked of authorial manipulation based on a long-standing hatred. Gaps of narrative and logic abounded.
But I pressed on. And somewhere, midway, the author did something unexpected: he began to treat the character of Jesus with some dignity. Though Jesus was no messiah by any stretch of the word, he developed a sense of humanity. He became a person, not a caricature. And like that, Under Tiberius became a worthwhile fictional critique of Jesus. Was that the intention all along? Did the author lose focus? Seriously, what the hell?
Suddenly, the writing was interesting and gorgeous. There were still gaps in the story and I still didn't understand the character of Gaius, why he cared so much about the man he was manipulating, but Jesus, ironically, became more real. Compared to the way he was portrayed for much of the novel's beginning, Jesus was multi-multi-faceted. And though he was no son of god, he began to resemble the historical figure who believed in something.
Under Tiberius could've been so much better had it not initially been a strident mockery of Jesus. It could've been the book that completely changed my mind about Jesus-bashing novels. I could've accepted the greed and the sex, even more surprising, I could accept the plot holes and the rushed ending, but I could not accept the blatant vulgarity of a one-dimensional Jesus. Had more time been invested in the relationships Jesus had with his disciples and others, less time spent jumping from whore to whore, I would've had a greater appreciation for this novel. Nevertheless, it surprised me in the end, and that counts for something.
Thank you, Mr. Tosches, for giving me a Jesus I could believe in.
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