Comment

crankylibrarian
Sep 19, 2011crankylibrarian rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Intriguing though not totally original idea: did Jesus really say what we've been taught he said? What would he think of modern Christianity, and how it is used to justify bigotry, warfare and greed? We've seen this in _The Last Temptation of Christ_ (Kazantzakis) and _The Gospel According to the Son_(Mailer); Pullman's twist is to split him into two distinct people: Jesus the lovable human teacher and leader, and Christ his twin brother, scribe and eventual betrayer. It is Christ who seems closest to angelic (or is it demonic?) revelation, yet he is a deeply ambivalent character. Devoted to his brother, and determined to preserve his legacy for posterity, Christ can not resist "improving" on certain events in order to draw truth from history. Pullman's legendary distaste for the Catholic church is under better control here than in his _Dark Materials_ saga; he wrestles thoughtfully with some of the more challenging aspects of the gospels. Though the results are not strikingly profound, the struggle is a worthy one.