King Jesus: A Novel (FSG Classics)

Robert Graves' masterpiece must, must read

It should be made much clearer that this particular edition - Libretto - is actually a translation into French! I will have to return mine, my advice is check the details, I feel the title of the product should say King Jesus (French edition) for clarity!

This re-telling of the incidents around the Nativity, the life of Jesus, and the state of very early Christianity, is unlike any other version of the New Testament I have ever read. The setting of the novel integrates a startling and heady recreation of Palestine at the time: the pagans with their Olympian gods; the older Mediterranean/Semitic Palestinian tribes with their mysterious gods; the orthodox Jewish society; those Jews whose beliefs straddled both the Jewish and the Graeco-Roman world; the Essenes; the Samaritans and many others. The book orchestrates how each of these groups interacted with resignation and suspicion to share in some power and belief. It is a rich, provocative and explosive mix. Each of these strands of society influence the young...and clearly not divine...young man born to Mary, who exhibits a religious genius and charismatic humanity that finally entangle and torment him until he is killed by these external forces, perhaps even sacrificed by them. There are several implausible incidents, but the brisk writing, the astounding backround of cultures and the sheer originality of this book are always compelling. Beware. This is not a book for traditional Christian believers. Nevertheless, it is a reverent but unorthodox take on the origins of Christianity and how it developed. Graves is a genius, with some unusual ideas that he uses well to illuminate and bring down to earth a series of events that has been scrubbed and idealized and overthought for centuries. While no one can know if Graves is close to the truth, he is always compelling and ingenious. Stay with this one. You will remember it.

This was a very tough read for me compared to his I Claudius series. But I was very impressed by his mastery of detail about primitive Christianity and his grasp about the Hebrews Religion during the time of the Roman Empire. It (the Book) also challenged me in my opinions about the start of Christianity. I can also now see why it is a very controversial book.

This is an "alternative" gospel, Jesus story, and historical novel which presents a fairly coherent narrative based on "what if Jesus really was king of the Jews?" Readers should keep in mind that the book was written in the atmosphere of the post WW II 1950s and the author had experiences on the battlefield in World War I that one could call spiritually transformative. The book is part of a genre designed to place the human Jesus in a better perspective, taking him down off the pedestal that frequently makes him unreachable for many. In addition, the author seeks to present Jesus as fully Jewish, an important theme for the time. Some readers may find this "Jesus" excessively human and disturbing.