Book 3 : The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ

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Having read Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' trilogy, I saw this in a thrift shop and just -had- to buy it.  It intrigued me more than anything; I wondered how the story of Jesus' birth and death could be told differently, how someone who describes himself as an 'agnostic atheist' could portray such a tale.

This novel tells the story of Jesus and Christ, two brothers born of Mary, brothers who could not be more different; Jesus, a hard-headed, mischievous boy who grows to be the outspoken preacher we all know and Christ, his quiet, introspective twin who used his words to keep his brother from trouble and took it upon himself to record Jesus' words.  In both characters, we see parts of the Jesus we are familiar with, as though the man we know from the Bible was an amalgam of both individuals, as though just one man, with one set of ideas, was not rounded enough to lead to a new way of thinking, of being.  Jesus is, of course, the man who spoke out, who encouraged those around him to see the world in a different light.  Christ was his author, who included some of his personal ideas to make sure that his brother was observed to always be true, honest and the right man to lead.

It is an interesting concept and well executed by the author.  He tells it with care, with consideration, as an alternative viewpoint on one of the most famous stories of all time.  I read it -very- quickly (sometimes super big print is so awesome) and I enjoyed it.  It wasn't what I expected at all and I liked that ^_^

I hope you've all got a lovely weekend waiting for you!  I'm working the whole thing =( but I've got a chat with S tomorrow night to look forward to, and not having to do another 12-hour shift in the near future!  Woo!  Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sit down with some yummy nibbles and a new episode of The Walking Dead - remember, if Daryl dies, we riot ^_^ Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo