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A review by ecrummy
The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by José Saramago
4.0
Topical choice, being Lent and all.
I could see how this book would be different things to different people, depending on how you feel about Christianity and God in general. Personally, I found it to be a witty, irreverent, philosophical alternate history of the Gospels, according to Jesus himself (as suggested....).
What would happen if Sherlock Holmes narrated instead of Watson? His mystery would disappear: for most of the story he'd be wandering around, just as confused as we are. TGATJC reminded me of this: what do we get when we are privy to the inner voice of Jesus? A man with uncertainties, desires, fears, and doubts.
Saramago spends most of the book on Jesus as a child, which isn't covered as much in the bible. In this rendition, he spent his childhood away from home, herding sheep with the devil. He leaves after a conversation with God, who promises He has big plans for him, and starts performing miracles Christians will find familiar: catching fish, healing, etc.
A brief google search tells me the Roman Catholic Church feels this book has a "substantially anti-religious vision." The book does go against the bible in quite a few places (ex: Jesus is not only intimate with Mary Magdelene, but they are life partners). I think the devout may find the emphasizes on the close relationship between God and the Devil ("… unless the devil is the devil, God cannot be God") more troubling than changing a few details. Additionally, God is depicted as a greedy and selfish; he is unmoved by the millions of lives that will be lost in His name after Jesus' death, and only cares about acquiring new worshipers ("The end justifies the means," the devil explains).
That all sounds terribly heavy, but somehow it's not: it's often quite clever and funny. For example, after Joseph and Mary "lie together" (yeah I know, they're not supposed to do that either), "Joseph stood [...] and gave the most heartfelt thanksgiving of all, which is reserved for men, I thank You, Almighty God, King of the Universe, for not having made me a woman." Ha!
I'm not sure if I'd recommend it to deeply religious folk. I doubt it would shake your faith, but you might not like the disrespectful tone Saramago uses and the details that he changed. I would recommend it to others though; I enjoyed it quite a lot!
I could see how this book would be different things to different people, depending on how you feel about Christianity and God in general. Personally, I found it to be a witty, irreverent, philosophical alternate history of the Gospels, according to Jesus himself (as suggested....).
What would happen if Sherlock Holmes narrated instead of Watson? His mystery would disappear: for most of the story he'd be wandering around, just as confused as we are. TGATJC reminded me of this: what do we get when we are privy to the inner voice of Jesus? A man with uncertainties, desires, fears, and doubts.
Saramago spends most of the book on Jesus as a child, which isn't covered as much in the bible. In this rendition, he spent his childhood away from home, herding sheep with the devil. He leaves after a conversation with God, who promises He has big plans for him, and starts performing miracles Christians will find familiar: catching fish, healing, etc.
A brief google search tells me the Roman Catholic Church feels this book has a "substantially anti-religious vision." The book does go against the bible in quite a few places (ex: Jesus is not only intimate with Mary Magdelene, but they are life partners). I think the devout may find the emphasizes on the close relationship between God and the Devil ("… unless the devil is the devil, God cannot be God") more troubling than changing a few details. Additionally, God is depicted as a greedy and selfish; he is unmoved by the millions of lives that will be lost in His name after Jesus' death, and only cares about acquiring new worshipers ("The end justifies the means," the devil explains).
That all sounds terribly heavy, but somehow it's not: it's often quite clever and funny. For example, after Joseph and Mary "lie together" (yeah I know, they're not supposed to do that either), "Joseph stood [...] and gave the most heartfelt thanksgiving of all, which is reserved for men, I thank You, Almighty God, King of the Universe, for not having made me a woman." Ha!
I'm not sure if I'd recommend it to deeply religious folk. I doubt it would shake your faith, but you might not like the disrespectful tone Saramago uses and the details that he changed. I would recommend it to others though; I enjoyed it quite a lot!