The Gospel According to Jesus Christ – José Saramago

The Gospel According to Jesus Christ – José Saramago – 1991

Posted by Lale on 23/8/2013, 10:14:49

I finished reading this a couple of weeks ago and absolutely loved. It would pair very well with my other source of history of Christianity, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar.

There are a lot of alternative accounts offered in this book, such as Jesus’ father Joseph also dying on the crucifix at the age of 33, the same age as his son will.

There is a lot of emphasis of the massacre of the infants which most sources on internet are doubtful it ever happened.

I loved the imagery of the dessert, the travels on foot and on donkeys, the temple …

I loved the comic relief (on Goliath: they called him a giant because at the time he could not have become a basketball player), I loved all the interruptions by the narrator to make comparisons to our times.

It was fascinating. I will take it to be the true story, this is what I choose to believe.

Lale

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Posted by guillermo maynez on 23/8/2013, 10:38:03, in reply to “Gospel According to Jesus Christ”

It is certainly a wonderful account or version of a story that probably never even happened at all. The subject of Christianity and its history and historicity are endless subjects, prone to touch people’s deepest sensibilities, but suffice it to say that, historically speaking, it is preposterous even if there’s some historical basis for it. Anyway, it is the most successful myth or story ever told, the most powerful projection of ideas and feelings about the Divine and its possible meaning. Saramago’s book is excellent and unforgettable.

Some other day, take a look at Robert Graves’s “King Jesus” for yet another incredible version of the story.

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Posted by Sterling on 3/9/2013, 14:52:49, in reply to “Re: Gospel According to Jesus Christ”

Kazantzakis’ The Last Temptation of Christ is also wonderful, in my opinion.

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