Scan barcode
A review by tymgabriel
Under Tiberius by Nick Tosches
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.