A review by emckeon1002
Under Tiberius by Nick Tosches

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.