The Bookaholic

A long time ago (really long… I was in high school), I read a book called The Memoirs of Jesus Christ by Marcus Harrison.  I loved it!  I lent it to my mother, who also enjoyed reading it.  Instead of returning it to me as I’d requested, she gave it to my father to read.  Apparently, he thought it was sacrilegious and I never saw the book again.  In the intervening 30 years as I searched high and low for another copy of said book, I came across this one by Norman Mailer.  It’s got a similar premise: the gospel written in the first person by Yeshua himself.

(Now that I finally found a copy of Memoirs, I’ll tell you about that after I re-read it.)

Mailer’s book is less detailed and written in a more conversational style, making it easier to read… and faster.  He takes all four gospels and weaves them into a single narrative, noting where the original writers got it wrong or exaggerated.  I found the Jesus of Mailer’s book to be less engaging than Harrison’s… it was harder to really like the character.

Still, if you’re not the sort of person who’s offended by the fictionalization of religious texts, it’s a pretty good book to read over the weekend.

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