The Gospel According to Jesus

A scandalous novel of the 20th century, critiqued by the church. A year after the release of this book, José Saramago received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Saramago's novels are saturated with metaphors. Through them, one can discover oneself, just as one can through tarot cards. Saramago, like Mikhail Bulgakov in the novel "The Master and Margarita" or Dan Brown in "The Da Vinci Code," reinterprets the biblical story and tells his own version of what happened. The reader becomes an unseen witness to the beginning of the married life of Mary and Joseph. The characters are young and unaware that soon a beggar will appear at their doorstep, announcing Mary's pregnancy and leaving behind a cup filled with glowing earth. That Joseph will be guilty of the murder of the Bethlehem infants, and this guilt will weigh heavily on the shoulders of his firstborn. That Mary will be left alone with nine children, while Jesus will inherit only sandals from his father. And, of course, no one could have thought that God and the Devil would end up in the same boat to reveal to Jesus of Nazareth his destiny…