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A review by seeceeread
The Gospel According to the New World by Maryse Condรฉ
3.5
๐ญ "Where do I come from? Why am I on this earth? Where am I going?"
Pascal, orphaned and claimed on an Easter day, is on a perpetual existential quest. A poor student who is nonetheless determined to become a philosophical great and a professor of truths, he passes much of his adulthood as a sort of intellectual diva: writing, expounding and pondering โ leaving those who care for him to do the basics, like cook his food and attend to quotidian vagaries. Somehow, he is deemed compelling, noteworthy, meriting study ... the result of his ambiguous racial presentation, his mysterious birth father's spiritual guru status, and a series of events some dub miracles. As a Professional Inquirer who never has satisfactory answers, Pascal undertakes an epic quest. Along the way, he finds several lovers, dutiful followers, diverse political and religious approaches to governance, and wold intrigues (for example: he is, mistakenly, wanted for murder in a gated commune). In short, Condรฉ places the New Testament into the 21st century Americas and invites us to interpret, interrogate and giggle.
The author masterfully balances a sense of annoyance and humor with her main character and his endless searching ... and mature attention to the African diaspora and the kinds of dilemmas that underline our humanity. Quick chapters propel readers through a bursting plot, with a new element every five pages or so.
I'm no Bible scholar, so I'm sure I missed some good book references. Still, there's plenty here (and much of it isn't subtle) to catch even Abrahamic neophytes. In fact, this sent my mind skipping over intertextual connections: Millet's ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป'๐ ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ whimsically reaches for religious allusion while aiming for more serious topics. There's an episode of ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ in which Traci touches on Morrison's selection of names as divine referents; and Nittle's exploration of ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ป'๐ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป digs deep into Toni's synthesis of African diasporic perspectives. Plus, I just finished ๐๐ถ๐ท๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐๐๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐น๐๐ฒ๐, with its powerful revisiting of Koranic stories.
I walk away thinking of the gulf some leave between theory and praxis. I do not believe justice is a byproduct of great thoughts; rather, we achieve justice through struggle โ action.
Pascal, orphaned and claimed on an Easter day, is on a perpetual existential quest. A poor student who is nonetheless determined to become a philosophical great and a professor of truths, he passes much of his adulthood as a sort of intellectual diva: writing, expounding and pondering โ leaving those who care for him to do the basics, like cook his food and attend to quotidian vagaries. Somehow, he is deemed compelling, noteworthy, meriting study ... the result of his ambiguous racial presentation, his mysterious birth father's spiritual guru status, and a series of events some dub miracles. As a Professional Inquirer who never has satisfactory answers, Pascal undertakes an epic quest. Along the way, he finds several lovers, dutiful followers, diverse political and religious approaches to governance, and wold intrigues (for example: he is, mistakenly, wanted for murder in a gated commune). In short, Condรฉ places the New Testament into the 21st century Americas and invites us to interpret, interrogate and giggle.
The author masterfully balances a sense of annoyance and humor with her main character and his endless searching ... and mature attention to the African diaspora and the kinds of dilemmas that underline our humanity. Quick chapters propel readers through a bursting plot, with a new element every five pages or so.
I'm no Bible scholar, so I'm sure I missed some good book references. Still, there's plenty here (and much of it isn't subtle) to catch even Abrahamic neophytes. In fact, this sent my mind skipping over intertextual connections: Millet's ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป'๐ ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ whimsically reaches for religious allusion while aiming for more serious topics. There's an episode of ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ in which Traci touches on Morrison's selection of names as divine referents; and Nittle's exploration of ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ป'๐ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป digs deep into Toni's synthesis of African diasporic perspectives. Plus, I just finished ๐๐ถ๐ท๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐๐๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐น๐๐ฒ๐, with its powerful revisiting of Koranic stories.
I walk away thinking of the gulf some leave between theory and praxis. I do not believe justice is a byproduct of great thoughts; rather, we achieve justice through struggle โ action.