A book to read along with The Secret Magdalene, one for its biting wit and one for its profound understanding. Bookends, really. ( )

The Gospel According to Jesus Christ is a distinctly non-traditional novel
in both style and substance.

I am intrigued by religious books by non-religious people. (Well, non-traditionally
religious, and non-fundamentalist, certainly). It’s a human attempt by a thoughtful and creative soul
to cut through the centuries of accumulated baggage and try to drag some relevant human truth
out of the biblical stories. I was intrigued by his treatment of Joseph, and a
mirror image of atonement that Jesus presents for his earthly father’s sins, I
was mesmerized by a misty encounter on a boat between Jesus, God, and the
Devil, and I was stunned by the last sentence of the book. I really enjoyed the
realistic portrayal of these well-known characters, especially the “Marys”, who came
off as real women and not as story props. Well done.

I would be careful about who to recommend the book to, though. Religious folk
will be put off, I’m sure and there are certainly doctrinal problems here, not the least
of which is an abortive reimagining of Jesus’ raising of Lazarus--a wonderfully
mordant existentialist take on that whole affair.

Non-religious folk will have to have the determination to sit through “that old story
again”. Of course, I found the novel to be most compelling in the areas between
the familiar story, where Saramago has the broader canvas upon which to paint. Some
parts felt like just going down the laundry list of events and miracles, but I suppose they
needed to be there.

I really enjoyed the writing style, I have read that it is a barrier to some readers of
Saramago, but I was swept away by it. He tends towards run on sentences, and
missing punctuation, to poetic effect.

Give this one a try if you're poetically inclined and philosophically curious about
the Christian tradition. ( )

The same way Lolita is a little more beautiful because it doesn't exactly translate into perfect English, this book is spell-binding in its story of the life of Christ, through his eyes. It's blof and brave in the most glorious off-the-cuff, sarcastic way. If this were the Bible, I think a lot more people would have read it. ( )

I really liked the whole content of the story; it is something different and interesting. The only downside I find is that, it being a Saramago, the writing is a little complex at certain points making it tedious to read. In overall I do recommend it, but just take your time to read it. ( )