Two things immediately surprised me: this seems an odd choice of subject matter for an aetheist, and this author shows a great deal of knowledge of the Bible: the reasons for both of these gradually become clear throughout this short, thought-provoking novel.
It's basically a re-telling of the life of Jesus from the point of view of a new character who wasn't in the original Gospel versions. The crucifixion of Jesus is orchestrated by his twin brother (the "scoundrel"), egged on by an unidentified shadowy figure (Satan? An angel?), with the purpose of creating a Church which the author clearly sees as an evil institution. Hence, "scoundrel". Jesus, meanwhile, is just another good, if misguided human being who is caught up in all this. Other well-known characters appear, but pale into insignificance beside the three main protagonists.
It's certainly an original idea, and does provoke some interesting questions about the relationship between Church and power - a theme the author visited in the well-known His Dark Materials trilogy - as well as more general questions about the nature of religious and historical truth. As a Christian, I was not offended by it, since it is clearly a fantasy, and I would go so far as to say that some passages would make good material for discussion groups and the like: particularly parts of the speech made by Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, and the author's Afterword, which ends with a brilliant question to all Christians. We should not be afraid to tackle difficult issues. However, this book could be awkward reading for some Christians I guess, particularly those who believe the Bible is literally true or who are easily offended by criticism of the Church.
And it's very readable, despite the heavy subject matter.
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